Harry's German Lesson Goes Public (And It's Actually Not Terrible)

By HOAR Team 15 June, 2025 5 mins read 150 Views

So Prince Harry decided to dust off his high school German yesterday.

The Duke of Sussex posted a video message for Germany's very first Veterans Day, and honestly? I wasn't expecting much when I heard he was going to attempt speaking German. But the guy actually pulled off a decent "Guten Tag Deutschland!" without completely butchering the pronunciation. My German teacher from 2019 would be proud (she always said Americans sound like they're chewing gravel when they try German).

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The Dusseldorf Memory Lane Trip

Harry got all nostalgic about his 2023 trip to Düsseldorf for the Invictus Games. You know, back when he was still doing those big public appearances and everyone wasn't constantly analyzing every word he said for hidden meanings about the royal family drama.

"The warmth, the enthusiasm, and the unwavering support shown by the German people for our global community of wounded service personnel was truly humbling," he said in the video. And honestly, watching footage from those games back then - the Germans really did go all out. They created what Harry called "a home for respect," which is actually a pretty beautiful way to put it.

The whole thing reminded me of when my cousin came back from his deployment in 2018 and couldn't stop talking about how different countries treated their veterans. Some places just get it, you know?

Medal Drama (Because There's Always Medal Drama)

Here's where things get interesting. Harry wore his ceremonial medals in the video - the Afghan Campaign medal, Golden Jubilee, Diamond Jubilee, Platinum Jubilee medals. All legit, all earned.

But here's the thing that still bugs me about this whole situation: after he stepped back from royal duties, they stripped him of his honorary military roles. Yet the man served two actual tours in Afghanistan. He wasn't some ceremonial prince playing dress-up.

Remember the Queen's funeral? Poor guy had to wear his medals on a regular suit while other royals got their full military regalia. The optics were... awkward.

When Harry Gets Philosophical

"Veterans are more than warriors - they are leaders. Living testaments to resilience and moral courage, they understand that loyalty must never lie with power alone, but with the people. With truth."

Okay, that hit different. You can read into that statement however you want (and Twitter certainly did), but there's something genuine about how he talks about service. Maybe it's because he actually did the work, not just the photo ops.

He continued with this whole bit about serving "not to glorify war, but to protect peace" and honestly, it felt less scripted than most royal speeches I've sat through. Though his speechwriter definitely earned their paycheck with that line about Germany showing "how memory, accountability, and unity can be turned into strength."

The Timing Couldn't Be Weirder

This video dropped literally 24 hours after Trooping the Colour, where William was doing his full ceremonial thing on horseback and Kate looked stunning in that aquamarine Catherine Walker coat.

The contrast is just... there's Harry in California making German veterans videos while his family is doing the traditional British pomp and circumstance. It's like watching two completely different movies about the same family.

And yes, he closed with "Vielen Dank und einen schönen Tag" - which means "Many thanks and have a beautiful day." His pronunciation wasn't half bad, though I caught him hesitating slightly on "schönen."

Look, whatever you think about the whole royal mess, the guy clearly still cares about veterans. That much hasn't changed since 2016 when he started Invictus Games. Some things transcend family drama, I guess.

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