Prince Harry promised a 102-year-old Canadian veteran that he would jump out of an aeroplane with him. Most people would have smiled politely and hoped everyone forgot. Harry travelled to Ontario and actually did it.

The Duke of Sussex completed a charity skydive near Cookstown in Innisfil, Ontario, on Friday, landing in an open field beneath a red-and-yellow parachute. After touching down safely, he kissed the ground, which feels like the correct response to voluntarily falling through the sky.

The jump fulfilled a promise Harry made to Second World War veteran Ed Marshall during a November 2025 visit to Sunnybrook Veterans Centre in Toronto. Ed trained as a paratrooper with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and completed a tandem skydive at 100, raising more than $100,000 for Toronto’s SickKids Hospital.

Harry took an interest in Ed’s photograph from that jump, and the pair began discussing doing another one together. Unfortunately, Ed’s doctor later ruled him out because of reduced heart function. His grandson Bailey jumped in his place while Ed watched from the plane, wearing a parachute, just in case the 102-year-old decided to improvise.

“There’s no version where you can let a 102-year-old veteran down,” Harry told CTV News afterwards.

The jump raised money for Sunnybrook and the True Patriot Love Foundation, which support Canadian service members, veterans and their families. Harry’s connection to that community is hardly ceremonial. He served ten years in the British Army, completed two tours in Afghanistan and previously jumped with the Army’s Red Devils parachute team. True Patriot Love also helped bring the Invictus Games to Toronto in 2017 and supported the 2025 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler.

Harry called his wife, Meghan Sussex, immediately after landing. Asked whether he had needed to convince Meghan about the jump, Harry said he had not, although she was “very relieved” once everyone was safely back on the ground.

CTV also tried to steer the interview toward Harry’s recent move back to Britain. He politely declined, explaining that answering would cause the purpose of the day to be forgotten. That is precisely how this media cycle works: Harry jumps from a plane for veterans, and somebody still tries to turn the landing into royal drama.

He confirmed that his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are happy at school and that returning to Britain has allowed him to focus on the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. He also described Canada as holding a special place in his heart and praised its “incredibly important” role in global moral leadership.

Most importantly, Harry kept his word to Ed—and redirected the cameras toward the veterans and organisations the jump was meant to support.

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