Prince Harry’s Invictus Games Unveils a Special Mode of Transportation to Mark 1Year Countdown to Next Event Stephanie Petit, Simon PerryThu, July 9, 2026 at 11:45 AM UTC 0 The Spirit of Invictus train is unveiled by JJ Chalmers at Euston StatioCredit: Jonathan Brady/ Alamy Prince Harry’s Invictus Games unveiled a specially branded train ahead of the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham The London Northwestern Railway previously announced a collaboration with the Invictus Games Foundation, and the public helped name it by voting Spectators hailing from around the world are expected to attend the ...
Prince Harry’s Invictus Games Unveils a Special Mode of Transportation to Mark 1-Year Countdown to Next Event
Stephanie Petit, Simon PerryThu, July 9, 2026 at 11:45 AM UTC
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The Spirit of Invictus train is unveiled by JJ Chalmers at Euston StatioCredit: Jonathan Brady/ Alamy -
Prince Harry’s Invictus Games unveiled a specially branded train ahead of the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham
The London Northwestern Railway previously announced a collaboration with the Invictus Games Foundation, and the public helped name it by voting
Spectators hailing from around the world are expected to attend the Invictus Games Birmingham, hosted at the city’s National Exhibition Centre and Sandwell Aquatics Centre next summer
Prince Harry‘s Invictus Games are chugging along to the 2027 event in Birmingham.
As the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games gets underway this week, with Prince Harry returning to the U.K. for a series of related engagements, a specially branded train was unveiled on Thursday, July 9.
The London Northwestern Railway previously announced a collaboration with the Invictus Games Foundation for the train in support of next year’s Invictus Games in Birmingham. Spectators hailing from around the world are expected to attend the Invictus Games Birmingham, hosted at the city’s National Exhibition Centre and Sandwell Aquatics Centre next summer.
Last month, the public was invited to help name the train, with a vote between The Spirit of Invictus, the William Ernest Henley (after the author of the “Invictus” poem), Unconquered and Master of My Fate.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Patron of the Invictus Games FoundationCredit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
J.J. Chalmers, broadcaster and Invictus Games veteran, unveiled the winner, The Spirit of Invictus, on the platform at London’s Euston station before its inaugural journey. The train will move around the U.K.’s railway network over the coming year.
The former Royal Marine was among the first British team in 2014, winning gold in cycling. “I’ve done the games since the start and today is the closest to that 2014 feeling that I’ve had,” he tells PEOPLE. “Our home games is like nothing else. You just feel such pride and ownership for the thing.”
“This is the next level up because this is my community coming to a city that means so much to me.”
Prince HarryCredit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
He was initially treated in Birmingham for his injuries incurred when an IED exploded in Afghanistan in 2011. “When I was blown up, I closed my eyes, dying on the floor in Afghanistan. And when I opened them a week later, 2,500 miles away in Birmingham, I went, “ What is this place?” It took me a long time to really appreciate exactly what that place was – the most remarkable hospital, with the most remarkable staff, who were on the absolute cutting edge of keeping people who should die alive. And giving them a life beyond it.”
He adds, “The idea is that this train will roll around the country, enabling people to see this unbelievable brand. But that means nothing without what’s actually inside it. And what it actually is is a cohort of unbelievable people who served, sacrificed — and they are the brand. This is a 200 [yard] long physical manifestation of that.”
The Spirit of Invictus train is unveiled by JJ Chalmers at Euston StatioCredit: Jonathan Brady/ Alamy
Prince Harry, who served in the British Army, created the Invictus Games after being inspired by the U.S.’s Warrior Games, another adaptive sporting competition for service personnel and veterans. The first Invictus Games were held in London in 2014, and the Birmingham event will mark its return to the U.K.
The Invictus Games have also been held in Orlando (2016), Toronto (2017), Sydney (2018), The Hague (slated for 2020 but delayed until 2022 amid the coronavirus pandemic), Düsseldorf (2023) and Vancouver-Whistler (2025).
Harry, 41, is in the U.K. this week for a series of events tied to the Invictus Games’ one-year-to-go countdown.
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The duke recently told TIME that creating the Invictus Games combined his desire to give back to veterans with his longtime love of sports.
“Sport held me together,” Harry, who grew up playing rugby, soccer, cricket and polo, said. “I was one of those kids at school who did not enjoy classroom work. If it wasn’t for the sports field and the amount of sports that were on offer, there’s no way I would have stayed in school.”
After attending the 2013 Warrior Games, Prince Harry felt that veterans outside the U.S. needed a similar outlet.
“I thought, ‘Wow, look at the power of sport, look at how it is literally changing lives in front of my very eyes,’ “ the father of two — who was highlighted in TIME‘s 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 list — said.
“It was so clear to me. Let’s invite as many countries as possible to make it international, because clearly more countries need to benefit from this.”
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Harry arrived in his home country on July 6 after spending time on vacation in Europe with his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, and their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. He made a surprise appearance that day at the premiere of friend Misan Harriman’s documentary.
He then attended the 14th Invictus Games Foundation Conversation: From Policy to Practice at Chatham House in London on July 7.
That same day, the ruling came out that Harry and six other high-profile claimants lost their legal case against Associated Newspapers Limited, after accusing the publisher of illegal information gathering for their stories.
On Wednesday, July 8, Harry attended private meetings related to the Invictus Games Foundation at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a facility for British Army veterans. Harry avoided reporters as he headed into the engagement, quietly using an alternative entrance.
Although Meghan was initially expected to join her husband at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, it was revealed over the weekend that the Duchess of Sussex and their children would not join Harry in London due to security concerns. The family could return to the U.K. for parts of the trip outside the capital city, but a decision had not been made.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: July 9, 2026 at 08:00AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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