The Prince Has Arrived - Prince Harry and Ryan Shannon

Prince Harry at the Invictus games in Toronto, 2017.

​In 2014 the first Invictus games were held in London, England. The games, which were created by Prince Harry, are a multi-sport event for wounded armed service personnel. In the fall of 2017, those games were held in Toronto.
 
I hadn't really thought much about attending the games until I saw Derek Hough of Dancing with the Stars, and The World of Dance fame on The Social promoting them as he was the American Ambassador for the games. His passion sparked my interest, so I purchased a ticket for that evening's sitting volleyball finals.
 
When I arrived at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, it was pretty empty. My ticket was for general seating so I was told I could sit anywhere. However, the first seat I chose apparently was reserved for special guests, so I had to choose another. I decided to move further down in that section to the front row which was a better seat and closer to the action.

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The woman behind me is pointing to Prince Harry who is at the very top centre.

During the second round of the competition, a picture of Prince Harry was flashed on the big screen announcing that he had arrived in the building. Thinking that was pretty cool I slowly began to scan the arena to see if I could spot him and when I couldn't I turned to the two young women sitting behind me to ask if they had spotted him. Without saying a word, they both turned and pointed behind them. Yup, the seats that I was told were reserved were exactly where Prince Harry and his entourage were sitting. (And no, his then-girlfriend Meghan Markel was not with him).
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​I'm sure he must have been aware of those around him taking his picture, but he carried on like anyone else just there to watch his team play. He wasn't in clear view since he was seated six rows behind me, so it wasn't until I climbed the stairs on the way to the washroom I that I was able to see him.

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Ryan Shannon, a member of the U.S. men's sitting volleyball team.

​Although, I didn't meet Prince Harry one-on-one that evening I did get to meet another very special person whose name is Ryan Shannon. Ryan was a U.S. Navy veteran and a former petty officer 1st class and member of Team U.S.A. He, along with his teammates, won the bronze medal that evening for sitting volleyball.
 
It was an amazing evening as teams from all over the world were competing against each other, but the audience cheered and clapped for every point regardless of which team had scored. It was the players, after all, why we were all there.

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Coming soon to The Story Behind the Photo is Kamal Al-Solaylee, Diana Galbaldon, Terry Fallis, Judy Blume, Bryan Baeumler, Carol Shields (Anne and Nicholas Giardini), Nino Ricci, Kim Thuy, Ami McKay, Joseph Boyden, Elizabeth Strout, and many more.​​​​

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