British Royal Biographer Attacked Disabled Veterans to Save the Monarchy
Here's why it matters that Tom Bower accused wounded warriors playing in Prince Harry’s Invictus Games of not actually missing limbs while using wheelchairs in the games.
To save the monarchy, he attacked disabled veterans.
In desperation to save the monarchy, a British Royal biographer accused wounded warriors playing in Prince Harry’s Invictus Games of not actually missing limbs while using wheelchairs.
Yes, you read that correctly.
This story tells the tale of wider media corruption and agenda-laden narratives shared in lockstep to protect the powerful.
Tom Bower, an unauthorized biographer of the Royal family and British former journalist who in previous public remarks has asserted that “the monarchy in fact depends on actually obliterating the Sussexes from our state of life,” has written a new book on the Royal Family.
It’s filled with feverishly unhinged attacks on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex that are so stale they aren’t even worth discussing. Suffice it to say, he is most focused on the two members of the Royal family who are self-supporting, while leaving the taxpayer-funded Royals relatively unscathed. It’s giving obsessed.
But one attack stands out, as it goes so low as to attack disabled veterans.
One of the shining jewels of Prince Harry’s public life is his now international Invictus Games, so Bower attacked the veterans playing the games as not being properly disabled.
In an extract of his book Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, Bower wrote of the 2025 Invictus Games in Canada that while two Nigerian players had lost legs, “none of the Americans were limbless” and were “apparently suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”
He also claimed that the Americans “wheeled themselves off the court into a secluded area” before getting up and walking away, adding that “none of them appeared to be physically injured.”
Not only did the US team director for Invictus Games dispute this narrative, saying that multiple team members had below-the-knee amputations or loss of lower limb function, but he also emphasized that the Invictus Games are specifically designed to allow service members with both visible and invisible injuries to compete equally.
Furthermore, GB News quoted Invictus Games Foundation as condemning the attacks on the players disabilities, "Attempts to question the legitimacy of competitors or diminish the experiences of those living with both physical injuries and invisible wounds such as PTSD are deeply disrespectful to the men and women the Games were created for.”
The Invictus Games are an international, Paralympic-style multi-sport event for wounded, injured, or sick armed forces personnel and veterans, founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The games are designed to help wounded warriors heal on their recovery journey.
Disabilities Are Not All Visible
There are many injuries, sicknesses and disabilities that cause a person to need a wheelchair most of the time or some of the time, like when engaging in something like sports or needing to go a long distance, but allow them to stand on their own for a brief period of time.
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Wheelchair Basketball is not a sport defined by lower limb amputee status.
Every organization has their own rules about what qualifies an athlete to play wheelchair basketball. Here are but a few examples Mr. Bower could have found as easily as I did with a quick internet search.
The U.S. military, not the governing body of global Invictus but just an example, says while it is a Para sport, participants do not need to use a wheelchair in their daily lives to compete, making it accessible to various individuals. The NWBA Military Division and many local DASA | Disabled Athlete Sports Association and adaptive sports organizations welcome veterans and individuals with varied mobility issues.
The Australian Paralympic rules say some don’t use a wheelchair in every day life :
For British Wheelchair Basketball, the governing body in UK, classification system is based in terms of movement, and can include conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome, hyper joint mobility, and more, which would allow someone to get up from a wheelchair to walk a short distance while still needing a wheelchair to participate in a vigorous sport.
Obliterated from State of Life
The Sussexes response last week to extracts from Bower’s book included noting Bower’s statement about obliterating them, “This is someone who has publicly stated, ‘the monarchy in fact depends on actually obliterating the Sussexes from our state of life,’ language that speaks for itself. He has made a career out of constructing ever more elaborate theories about people he does not know and has never met. Those interested in facts will look elsewhere; those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find him.”
