Doing good. Prince Harry, Kit Harington and other celebrities answered phones on Wednesday, September 11, for the 15th annual BGC Charity Day, a fundraiser that honors those who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
The Duke of Sussex, 34, and the Game of Thrones actor, 32, made calls on the trading floor of BGC Partners’ London office in the city’s Canary Wharf financial district. The event, which was held by the New York City-based brokerage service, commemorates the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald and 61 EuroBrokers employees who died on 9/11. The attack killed 2,996 people and took down the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York City.
Other celebrities at BGC Charity Day include singer Cheryl Cole, rapper Common, Homeland actor Damian Lewis, Harry Potter star Helen McCrory and English TV presenter Donna Air. The event was also one of Harington’s first public appearances since he left a Connecticut rehab center for alcohol abuse and stress in June.
According to SkyNews, Harry, who was on three phone calls at one point during the telethon, closed a £1 billion ($1.25 billion) government bond known as Gilts, which is one of the market’s largest trades in the past five years.
“[He was] on top form on the trading floor,” said SkyNews reporter Sarah Hajibagheri.
Ryder Brown, co-head of the Gilts department, told SkyNews that the prince was “excellent” at securing transactions.
“It was very nerve-wracking but he handled the pressure well and closed the trade,” he said. “That was the hard bit, to close the trade. He picked the telephone up and managed to do it — it’s like old-style trading.”
According to SkyNews, BGC Partners earned a commission for deals it facilitated between financial clients, with a percentage of the funds donated toward good causes. Among those causes is Harry’s Invictus Games Foundation, an adaptive multisport event for wounded veterans and armed service members.
On Tuesday, September 10, a day before the charity event, Harry celebrated the 5th anniversary of the Invictus Games in an Instagram post.
“Thank you to everyone who has played a part in the Invictus movement, from you the competitors and your families, to the thousands of volunteers and supporters – you have all guarded the Invictus spirit, while creating a wider understanding and respect for those who serve their country at home or abroad,” he wrote on the official Sussex Royal Instagram. “Thank you for the inspiration, thank you for the laughs and thank you for the memories! I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved together. Once served always serving!”
Scroll through for more photos of Prince Harry and Harington at the BGC Charity Day