t’s been a busy year for Prince Harry. In addition to releasing his meme-making, earth-shaking memoir Spare in January, his new TV show Heart of Invictus is set to air shortly on Netflix.
So far, Netflix has kept details firmly under wraps, but what we have seen so far promises a royal-family-free look at one of Harry’s biggest passions: the Invictus Games. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s it about?
Heart of Invictus is billed as a five-episode documentary series about the Invictus Games. Set up by Harry in 2014, the games take place every two years and are primarily for ex-soldiers who have sustained life-changing injuries as a result of their time in service. It’s an international event that is as much about supporting each other as it is about competing in sporting events – the games also aim to develop a peer-to-peer support network between those taking part.
The word “Invictus” means “undefeated” – a nod to the fighting spirit those who take part have had to embody to recover from their injuries and move on in their lives.
The series will follow six competitors from the 2022 Invictus Games as they heal and prepare to compete. There is a trailer, although it doesn’t show us much beyond shots of people from different nationalities competing in various races and events, as well as clips of interviews with Harry.
“The games don’t focus on what causes the injury,” Harry says in it. “But really about recovery, and how to be a part of a community again.”
The trailer also teases interviews with several different veterans – though they aren’t named, we see somebody from the US, the UK and even Ukraine, alongside shots of the Ukrainian war.
The series was announced in April 2021 and will be directed by Orlando von Einseidel, who has previously worked on nature doc Virunga. Prince Harry will executive produce the series.
Will Meghan appear?
She’s not featured anywhere in the trailer, so as far as we currently know, no – although the show was produced by the couple’s company, Archewell, so she has been involved in its creation.
What can I watch in the meantime?
If the royal family (and royal-related drama) is right up your street, good news: there is plenty of Harry and Meghan content already out there.
First things first, there’s the documentary series they released with Netflix in December last year. Titled Harry & Meghan, it told a behind the scenes story of the couple’s dramatic exit from the royal family, their attempts to build a new life for themselves in California and their interview with Oprah.
There’s also Harry’s book, Spare. This one caused more than a few raised eyebrows when it was released, mostly because of the eye-popping stories it told – read more about those here.
And for the true, die-hard fans, there’s Meghan’s podcast Archetypes. Though there’s only one series, she interviews some of the biggest names in the celebrity world (including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton) about stereotypes that frequently get levelled against women.
When is it out?
Invictus will be dropping on Netflix at 8am BST on August 30.