Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex will return to the UK in the coming days, a spokesman for the Invictus Games has said – but he will not be joined by Meghan Markle
Prince Harry will return to the UK in the coming days but will not be joined by Meghan Markle.
He will be at the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, on Wednesday 8 May, an Invictus Games spokesperson confirmed. It follows days of speculation as to whether he will attend the service, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the games for injured servicemen and women. Actor Damian Lewis is expected to recite the Invictus poem at St Paul’s.
A statement published on the Invictus Games’ social media accounts read: “The Invictus Games Foundation will celebrate 10 years of changing lives and saving lives with a ‘Service of Thanksgiving’ at St Paul’s Cathedral on May 8th. We will be joined by our Patron, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, actor Damian Lewis and members of the worldwide Invictus Community to mark the occasion.”
The statement does not say that Meghan Markle will be attending. The event is scheduled just two days after Harry’s son Archie celebrates his fifth birthday. The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, who held the first event in London from 10 to 14 September 2014.
The next games in 2025 will take place in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada. It will be the first to include winter adaptive sports, such as alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling. Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals at the start of 2020, moving to the US shortly afterwards.
The couple now live in Montecito, California with their two children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two. The Duke and Duchess attended a preliminary event for the games in the US last year. After losing his security battle against the Home Office earlier this year and citing his concerns over his safety in the UK, it was rumoured he could choose to appear at the upcoming Thanksgiving service via video link or a pre-recorded message, rather than attending in person.
