Prince Harry has unwittingly found himself in the middle of a boisterous "Aussie Aussie Aussie" chant when posing for a team photo with serving and retired armed forces personnel participating in his Invictus Games in London.
The Paralympic-style competition officially opens on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEST) at the London Olympics stadium.
It will see 430 wounded and ill military personnel participating in nine different adaptive sports.
The Australian team of 36 athletes - including 15 serving members of the armed forces and 21 retired personnel - attended a reception at Australia House on the Strand on Wednesday.
As the Australians posed for a team photo underneath a nearly 100-year-old Murano glass chandelier, a boisterous "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi" chant erupted in the main hall.
Prince Harry, in the middle of the group, looked bewildered at first, but then broke into a grin.
The chant was led by Leon Seccombe, who's participating in archery, shot put, rowing and swimming events.
He said it was a spur of the moment call when a teammate suggested to him: "Come on, give it some."
"So I whispered in the Prince's ear, 'Do you mind if we do an Aussie Aussie' and he said 'No, go hard', so I said, righto here we go," Mr Seccombe explained afterwards.
"He's probably heard one before, but not been right in the middle of it."
Mr Seccombe said there was a real buzz within the Australian team competing at the Invictus Games.
"This has been a wonderful opportunity for service and ex-service people to come together," the 44-year-old said.
"There's been a lot of what I call therapy, of people discussing their problems and thoughts.
"It's achieved what it set out to do, which is bring people into an arena and let them compete and feel part of a team, and be with like-minded people."
Mr Seccombe is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, arthritis in his right leg and tinnitus after serving in Bosnia with British forces in the late 1990s.
He was a corporal in the army, but said he's now "just an old, fat man".
Before the team photo, Prince Harry mingled with the Australians and asked athletes about their events.
"I've been asking the (other) teams who has got a secret weapon," the 29-year-old royal said.
"But everyone's holding their cards close to their chests."
When one athlete told the Prince the Australians had been training hard the past few days, Harry quipped: "Training with drinking!"
He later encouraged all competitors to "Enjoy the rest of your week."
The first events have already been run and won ahead of Wednesday night's opening ceremony, which will feature an anthem written by Coldplay's Chris Martin.
Australia sits atop the medal table.
Prince Harry's sister-in-law, Kate, was initially scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, but had to pull out due to acute morning sickness.
It was announced earlier this week that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting another baby.
The Invictus Games closes on Sunday at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The countries participating are: the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Canada, Holland, Afghanistan, Georgia, Germany and Australia.
Share
