Prince Harry has admitted he would have struggled to stay in school without sport, as he returned to Time Magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people for the first time in five years.
The Duke of Sussex features in the Leaders category, with Time highlighting his creation of the Invictus Games in 2014 as the primary reason for his recognition.
His previous inclusion came in 2021, when he appeared alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, in the icons section.
"I was one of those kids at school who did not enjoy classroom work," Harry told the publication.
Prince Harry has laid bare his Eton College struggles as the duke has credited sport with keeping him in school
|GETTY
"If it wasn't for the sports field and the amount of sports that were on offer, there's no way I would have stayed in school."
Prince Harry attended Eton College from 1998 to 2003. During his time at the school, he would have had access to their sports programme, which offers rugby, football, hockey, cricket, rowing, athletics, and traditional games like the Wall Game, Field Game, and Eton Fives.
Students can also participate in tennis, squash, rackets, badminton, swimming, water polo, sailing, fencing, judo, kickboxing, kung fu, climbing, basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, trampolining, cycling, and golf.
Shortly after completing his second combat deployment in Afghanistan in 2013, Prince Harry attended the Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, an adaptive sports competition for injured American service personnel.
Prince Harry attended Eton College from 1998 to 2003
|GETTY
He said: "I thought, 'Wow, look at the power of sport, look at how it is literally changing lives in front of my very eyes.'
"It was so clear to me. Let's invite as many countries as possible to make it international, because clearly more countries need to benefit from this."
The inaugural Invictus Games launched at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London just over a year later, welcoming more than 400 competitors from 13 nations.
Seven editions have now taken place, with the 2025 Vancouver and Whistler Games introducing winter disciplines including alpine skiing, snowboarding and skeleton.
Prince Harry playing football during his time at Eton
|GETTY
The duke, who served a decade in the British Army, spoke candidly about the profound impact the Games have on participants.
"When you are wearing your nation's flag on your arm, on your chest, once that's removed, there's something that's missing," he said.
"What we've managed to achieve through Invictus over the years is not only to give people their purpose and their meaning back, but give them their identity back."
Harry emphasised that the competition's significance extends beyond transformation: "One thing that we really celebrate at Invictus is not only do we change lives, but we save lives as well.
Prince Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014
|GETTY
"That's not based on anything other than the amount of individuals that come up to me and say, 'If it wasn't for Invictus, I would have killed myself.'"
The duke is scheduled to visit the UK in July for events celebrating the forthcoming Birmingham Invictus Games.
The 2027 competition will host approximately 550 athletes representing around 25 nations, with three new disciplines set to debut: esports, laser run – a combination of cross-country running and pistol shooting – and pickleball.
"To be amongst that community, those are the moments that I cherish," Harry said. "You wish that every society, every community, had this same vibe about it."