Prince Harry opens memorial as royal tour continues

Prince Harry paid tribute to Australian service members by opening a new wing of a war memorial on Saturday before heading to a delayed opening of the Invictus Games as he and wife Meghan continued their visit to Australia and the South Pacific.

A thus-far joyous debut royal tour by the couple, buoyed by news that they are expecting their first baby, turned solemn as the Duke of Sussex opened a long-awaited extension to the Anzac Memorial in downtown Sydney's Hyde Park on Saturday morning.

The former British army captain and his wife laid a wreath of Australian native flowers at the steps of the memorial, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison, other dignitaries, and service men and women looked on.

Harry and Meghan were then taken on a tour of the newly remodeled shrine, which was first opened in 1934 by Harry's great-great uncle, Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester, but was left incomplete due to a shortage of funds during the Great Depression.

A project worth 40 million Australian dollars (USD 28.4 million) has finally realized the memorial's original design.

In a handwritten signed note pinned to the wreath, Harry wrote, "In memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and in recognition of the men and women for whom the scars endure."
Wearing the tropical dress of his regiment, the Blues and Royals, Harry unveiled a plaque that noted the extension was "opened by a grandson of the Queen."
The wording was a nod to the original plaque Prince Henry unveiled 84 years ago, which noted that the memorial was "opened by the son of a king."