Prince Harry gets into the Invictus spirit! Smiling Duke of Sussex cheers and chants at racetrack on second day of Games in Germany as royal joins VIP spectators including Ukrainian Minister Yulia Laputina

Prince Harry was in a boisterous mood today as he sang along with spectators during the athletics event at the Invictus Games.

He was cheered by the crowd as he took his seat in the stands of the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, together with six members of his entourage.

As competitors took part in a 200m race, the Duke of Sussex could be seen putting his hands over his mouth and cheering along with the crowd.

Harry sat next to Yulia Laputina, Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs, who wore a green military uniform and draped a Ukrainian flag over her shoulders in a show of patriotism.

The Duke was due to spend an hour at the event and will later attend the wheelchair rugby final, which is often one of his favorites to watch.

Harry has said he plans to attend as many events as possible during the weeklong competition for injured and disabled military veterans.

A constant stream of music playing over loudspeakers along the track kept spectators in a festive mood.

The large contingent of Team UK supporters took part in a Mexican wave along with family and friends from other countries.

At the wheelchair basketball game – where he playfully pulled a Canadian supporter’s beard – there was a revolving door of dignitaries sitting next to the prince.

First the Nigerian Defense Minister, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and finally a member of the South Korean delegation arrived at the games.

Harry had arrived at the event followed by dozens of excited schoolchildren who had been given time off from their studies to attend the event.

His main bodyguard Chris Sanchez led the way as Harry walked briskly to his seat in the stands.

Harry’s wife Meghan Markle is expected to meet some of the children attending the event when she arrives at the Games later this week.

She and Harry are staying in the presidential suite of the waterfront hotel, where they will celebrate his 39th birthday on Friday.

The Duke founded the games to support the rehabilitation of military personnel by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympic Games.

This year the competition runs until September 16.

A total of 550 sick, injured and wounded former and current military personnel from 21 countries participate in ten team and individual sports.

Team UK, led by Royal Navy submarine officer Lieutenant Commander James Rogers, is supported by the Royal British Legion in partnership with the Ministry of Defense.

Harry revealed at the opening ceremony on Saturday that Meghan will cheer on Nigeria at this year’s Games after discovering she is of Nigerian descent.

The Duke said that while the Sussexes are not ‘playing favourites’, the discovery means things are likely to become ‘a little more competitive’ between the pair.

“We are also very excited to have new nations joining us,” the Duke told the packed arena. “Let’s hear it for Colombia, Israel and Nigeria.”

“Now I’m not saying we’re playing favorites at home… but since my wife discovered she’s of Nigerian descent, it’s probably going to be a little more competitive this year,” he added.

Meanwhile, Harry took part in a penalty shootout on German television and lost without scoring a goal.

The duke was involved in the challenge on TV channel ZDF, together with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and two athletes from the Invictus Games.

Harry joked ‘what happens before zero?’ before taking part in the penalty shootout and agreeing to wear a Germany jersey if he missed his attempts.

Instead of a goalkeeper, two holes were made in the goal for competitors to score through.

Harry politely joked to the spectators sitting close to the goal, “You might want to move,” before reaching his goal.

After a quick dance, the Duke fired his first two attempts straight through the center of the goal, missing the gap in the bottom right corner. Although his third attempt was closer, he also missed.

The Duke then watched as Mr Pistorius calmly scored his first two chances. Harry returned later in the shootout to score three more shots, but was unable to get the ball through a gap in the top left corner.

With no German shirts around, Harry donned an FSV Mainz 05 scarf after his defeat and joked with the German politician ‘in your spare time you could manage the national team’.