Prince Harry needs you to get off your phone and go do something with your life

Royalty sure has changed over the centuries. Back in the good old days if you so much as looked at a prince funny he could have you put in the stocks. Nowadays they just give impassioned speeches to young people encouraging optimism and proactiveness. What's the world coming to, eh?

Prince Harry has been in Toronto for the Invictus games, and made a surprise appearance yesterday at WEday — an event aimed at young people and sponsored by the charity WE, which aims to empower marginalised people.

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It's safe to say he received a warm welcome.

The prince delivered a speech to the young generation aimed at galvanising the disenfranchised.

"In today’s world too many people feel cynical and apathetic," he said, and expressed sympathy for a generation who "often struggle[s] to get your voices heard".

His focus was chiefly on the environment and the planet, saying, "I see that you’re frustrated - that entrenched mindsets are not keeping pace with the urgency of the threats to our environment."

Then he called for optimism and singled out the effect of social media on social divisions.

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"You know that in a clickbait culture, we cannot waste time sharing and drawing attention to things that make us angry, or that we know to be false.You all know that it’s great to ‘like’ things on social media, but that it’s more important to look up from our phones, to get out into our communities, and to take real action; to stand up for what you believe in."

He also called for those listening to go and engage with the competitors in the Invictus games, "I want you to listen to their stories. If you see them around town, introduce yourselves, make some new friends, hear what they and their families have been through."

You can read the full speech here or watch it in the clips below.

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Even the staunchest republican (p.s. not the U.S. kind, the UK kind) would find it hard to argue with the prince's point. So stop reading this, go out and make your voice heard. Also if you liked this article please "like" and share. Yes we get the irony.