Harry and Meghan wheel out their PR guru and Archewell director James Holt on Netflix again for Heart of Invictus ‘group therapy’
James Holt, Harry and Meghan’s right-hand man, can be seen hosting an emotional group discussion in the couple’s Heart of Invictus Netflix documentary.
Mr Holt was the UK spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before taking up his current role as Executive Director of their Archewell Foundation in March 2021.
He makes fleeting appearances in the five-part Heart of Invictus, which appeared this morning.
In a scene in the fourth episode, dubbed “Group Therapy,” Mr. Holt hosts a discussion in The Hague ahead of last year’s Invictus Games competition.
Speaking to Harry and Meghan and other organizers, he elaborates on the competition’s Covid-enforced hiatus, saying, “After a few years’ delay, we’re finally here.”
After Mr. Holt warns them all that the next few weeks will be “tense” and “tough,” Harry adds that the games are “group therapy” for everyone.
James Holt, Harry and Meghan’s right-hand man, can be seen hosting an emotional group discussion in the couple’s Heart of Invictus Netflix documentary. In one scene in the fourth episode, dubbed “group therapy,” Mr. Holt addresses the Covid-enforced hiatus at the Invictus Games, saying, “After a few years’ delay, we’re finally here.”
Mr Holt was the UK spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before taking up his current role as Executive Director of their Archewell Foundation in March 2021.
Holt appears two more times in the fifth episode, called Where the Light Enters.
In the first, Harry is seen holding his printed speech, which is covered in handwritten edits. He jokes to his wife and Mr. Holt, “How not to give a speech.”
The PR guy replies, “Well, at least you can read your writing.”
Harry then asks for his help in pronouncing the name of the Dutch chief of defense, Onno Eichelsheim.
Mr. Holt has to look up the correct pronunciation on his phone.
Later in the episode, Mr. Holt gives the Prince a wooden plaque inscribed with his name that was a gift from Team Canada.
In the discussion in the fourth episode, Harry also said, “After so many delays because of the global pandemic, with all the craziness happening in the world, what’s happening in Ukraine, to be here in the games now with all the people who have been out since 2020 patiently waiting, it’s a relief to be honest.
“We didn’t think this would ever happen, and it’s been a real emotional rollercoaster for everyone.”
Mr. Holt adds, “It’s going to be exhausted, it’s going to be tense, it’s going to be tough.”
Harry concludes his poignant contribution by saying, “The vast majority of people who have made it through the Invictus games, the vast majority of these individuals alive today, are due to their support network, to their family, to their friends. .
In the fifth episode, Harry is seen holding his printed speech, which is overlaid with handwritten edits. He jokes to his wife and Mr. Holt, “How not to give a speech.” The PR guy replies, ‘Well, at least you can read your writing’
“This week at the games there is group therapy, for everyone. And I find that very exciting, so bring it on.’
Meghan adds, “Oh my God, thank you everyone.”
Holt took over as Executive Director of Archewell from Catherine St-Laurent in March 2021 after serving just a year.
He is one of Prince Harry’s longest-serving team members, leading communications for the Royal Foundation from October 2017, when it was headed by Harry alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Mr Holt, who has previously worked for the Liberal Democrats, also acted as UK spokesman for Harry and Meghan Markle before taking up his current position.
He received a BA in journalism from Lincoln University and became head of media for the Lib Dems in 2010, a role he held until 2013.
Later in the episode, Mr. Holt gives the Prince a wooden plaque inscribed with his name that was a gift from Team Canada
Mr Holt also served as a special adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg before becoming his head of communications.
And between 2016 and 2017, he served as the volunteer communications director for Pride in London.
The Invictus documentary is under pressure to become a viewing success after the couple’s other lucrative media deal with Spotify ended in June after one season of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes.
Netflix unveiled the first trailer for the series on August 16.
It comes after Netflix paid £3 million for the movie rights to Carley Fortune’s romance novel Meet Me At The Lake, which Harry and Meghan will produce for the service.