For this year's Invictus Games, Prince Harry teamed up with Jon Bon Jovi on one of his final royal engagements before he steps back as a senior member of the royal family. The Invictus Games is an international charitable benefit Harry created to support wounded veterans through competitive sports games.
Harry joined Bon Jovi at the historic Abbey Road Studios in northwest London where they recorded a unique single with the Invictus Games Choir. The song, "Unbroken," was written by Bon Jovi to shed light on veterans living with post-traumatic stress disorder.
A video of the two wearing headphones, with Bon Jovi strumming a guitar before singing was posted on the official Instagram page of the prince.
They recreated one of the Beatles' popular album covers on Friday by walking across the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road recording studios in north London like countless Beatles fans have done since the release of the "Abbey Road" album in 1969. They were led by a military veteran in a wheelchair. The song was from the recent album, "Bon Jovi 2020."
View this post on InstagramIconic moment recreated today with Prince Harry, Jon Bon Jovi @jonbonjovi and members of the Invictus Games Choir @weareinvictusgames A post shared by Harry & Meghan ♔ (@dukeandduchessofsussexdaily) on Feb 28, 2020 at 5:44am PST
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, declared in January that they would step down from their duties as working royals, spend more time in North America and aim to become financially independent.
Bon Jovi gave Harry the new nickname, "The Artist Formally Known As Prince" which was said to be seemingly more fitting than many expected.
The rock icon has revealed that he has "immense respect" for Harry and Markle leaving their royal duties in the hopes of gaining independence.
The "Livin' On A Prayer" singer commented, "I don't know what it's like to walk in his shoes and as an American, I'm further removed, but (I have) immense respect for the family and for his brother and himself, his wife, his father, his grandmother, his grandfather."
Harry and Markle are not officially out of the roles until April 1.
Bon Jovi poked fun at Harry, saying he was planning to "hand him a tambourine and see what he's got going."
Previews started showing on Monday, March 2 at the Longacre Theatre for the musical "Diana" by Bon Jovi member David Bryan and his creative partner Joe DiPietro. Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, was Prince Harry's late mother.
Set to take place between May 9-16, 2020 at Zuiderpark (located in The Hague, Netherlands), the novel coronavirus outbreak is threatening the Invictus Games.
One of the best strategies in preventing epidemics is to avoid large, social gatherings. Thus, fears are great that the Invictus Games may be canceled this year.
The charity version of the single will be released in March ahead of the next Invictus Games in May.
On how Harry was doing, Bon Jovi described, "He seems awesome. And he's so involved in the lives of these soldiers and their stories, and of course, he can relate to them because he is one of them. They loved their time with him where they could be open and honest, which was pretty cool. They were talking to him like one of their mates, which I was a little surprised by...They all felt like they were part of the same team."
