Prince Harry Shares Emotional Moment with Canadian Students About Facing 'Struggles': 'There's Always a Way Back'

Mar. 15, 2025

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“How many of you have felt struggles yourself and had to deal with it yourself without the help of family and friends?” he said.

He added, “It’s important to know that when things get so hard, there’s always a way back.”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Prince Harry asked the students, “Who’s on social media?” to which everyone raised their hand.

“Who feels social media is a double-edged sword?” he continued. As hands went up, Harry added, “That’s how everybody feels. Everybody feels the same thing.”

Prince Harry gave an emotional speech about the dangers of children consuming online content during a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York City on Sept. 24, where he shared that “Young people today possess an incredible understanding of technology that older generations may struggle to grasp.”

He added, “Our laws and regulations are different, state to state, country to country. We may have different backgrounds, viewpoints, beliefs and even access to the internet itself, but the one thing that we can universally agree on is the safety of our children.”

“We’ve come a long way to be able to talk about this,” Harry said in Vancouver on Nov. 18. “Ten years ago, even five years ago, it was considered a weakness to talk about these things.”

Speaking of being more alike than not, Harry told the students, “When everyone starts sharing their story, you realize we’re not that different.”

Invictus’ two-word motto, “I Am,” is derived from the last two lines of the “Invictus” poem, which reads, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” The poem, Harry told PEOPLE in 2022, “is a reminder that you have the power to take control of your life.”

“My goal has been getting these competitors to share their experiences,” Harry said on Nov. 18. He added, “They are brave enough to have the permission to share their story, which is not a sad story — it’s a very inspiring story.”

During his remarks to the crowd assembled at Seaforth Armoury, Harry said that “ultimately why we’re all here today” is to “further our collective journey of healing together.”

In that vein, after his speech, Team Canada competitor Franceca Colussi hugged Harry and said, “You saved my life.”

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source: people.com