Prince Harry will return to UK in just DAYS for Invictus Games 10th anniversary – but Meghan is not expected to attend
PRINCE Harry will return to the UK for the Invictus Games Foundation’s 10th Anniversary in just days – but Meghan is not expected to be by his side.
The duke will arrive at the Service of Thanksgiving, at St Paul’s Cathedral, on Wednesday 8th May, an Invictus Games spokesperson confirmed.
The star studded event marks a decade since the inaugural Invictus Games London in 2014.
Harry, 39, will be celebrating the difference sport can make to people’s lives and honour the occasion with a special reading.
It will be his first time in Britain since Princess Kate announced she is receiving treatment for cancer after surgery in January.
However, wife Meghan’s attendance has not yet been confirmed, along with children Archie and Lilibet.
Son Archie’s birthday lands just two days prior and will mark the same day as King Charles’ one year coronation anniversary, May 6.
Meg, 42, has joined Harry at his games in Toronto, Sydney, The Hague and Dusseldorf – and the one-year out launch party for Vancouver.
But she has not been seen in the UK since attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
She turned down an invite to the King’s Coronation because it clashed with Archie’s fourth birthday.
Meanwhile, acting legend Damian Lewis is expected to recite the Invictus poem during the service.
Harry previously said he would want the star to play him in a film about his life.
William Henley, the author of the sentimental poem, has a memorial bust within the Crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral.
Representatives from across the Invictus Games participating nations will be attending the heartwarming service.
They include members of the wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veteran community, confirmed the Invictus Games spokesperson.
They will also be performing readings throughout the Service, led by The Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett, Dean of St Paul’s.
Major members of the Royal Family – who did join in with early editions of Harry’s biannual event – are not expected to attend.
It is not known where the duke will be staying on his visit but he is homeless in the UK after being evicted last summer from Frogmore Cottage.
FAMILY REUNION
It comes as several royal experts speculate on the possibility of a reunion between Harry, the King, and Prince William.
The Invictus Games service runs from 5pm until 6.30pm which clashes with the first Buckingham Palace garden held between 3pm and 6pm.
With King Charles announcing he is fit and well enough to return to public-facing duties, the lavish outdoor bash could be on the cards.
Prince William, 41, could also appear at the first of two palace garden parties and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Anne are also possible star guests.
Everything we know about King Charles' return to work
Q: Does the announcement mean King Charles’ cancer treatment has been successful or finished?
A: The King’s treatment programme is ongoing but doctors are “sufficiently pleased” with the progress so far and Charles is now able to resume a number of public-facing duties. Further royal engagements will be adapted where necessary to cut down on any recovery risks.
Q: How much longer will King Charles receive treatment?
A: While it is too early to say, the King’s medical team are “very encouraged” by progress made so far and remain “positive” about his recovery.
Q: How many engagements will King Charles undertake in the weeks and months ahead.
A: They will be announced nearer the time in the usual manner and will remain under doctor’s advice. It will not be a full summer programme. His Majesty will continue with all official State business and selected Audiences.
Q: Is there a risk King Charles may be taking on too much with these external duties?
A: The King’s schedule will be carefully designed to meet his recovery needs and he will be in close consultation with his medical team.
Q: Will King Charles attend the Birthday Parade, D-Day Commemorations, Garden Parties, Royal Ascot, or an Autumn overseas Tour?
A: Planning continues for ways in which the King and Queen can attend these summer and autumn engagements. All future plans remain under doctor’s advice.
Q: How is King Charles feeling?
A: The Palace said: “His Majesty is greatly encouraged to be resuming public-facing duties and very grateful to his medical team for their continued car and expertise.”
The Princess of Wales, 42, who is undergoing cancer treatment, is not expected to attend.
While come royal experts claim His Majesty is open to reconciliation – it may be a tougher job with Wills.
Others have suggested a turbulent period for the family amid their health battles could see the fractured relationships pieced back together.
Esteemed royal reporter, Richard Palmer, spoke on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show and said: “I do think Harry and his father are trying to reconcile,” said Mr Butler.
“I think with William it’s going to be a much longer process.
“But eventually, maybe, you know that lots of families have disputes and over time they can heal their divisions, but there’s a big job to be done yet with William.”
Meanwhile, Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams revealed that while a possible reunion could happen soon, the future King “has been through enough”.
And, the royal commentator previously dubbed Meghan the obstacle in the way of laying “one of the worst public royal rifts ever” to rest.
He claimed: “Meghan has the say. There’s no doubt Harry wishes to convey he is a very devoted family man and will put them above everything else. Just like William.”
A timeline of Prince Harry and William's 'feud': Brothers 'at war'
In 2018, the Sun told how “simmering tension” began when William questioned the speed of Harry and Meghan’s engagement.
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she’d returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn’t take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he “went mental”.
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure – but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fallout.
Harry, 39, also hinted in his ITV documentary “Harry and Meghan, An African Journey” that he and his brother had grown apart.
It came after Prince Philip called Meghan the “D.O.W” after the Duchess of Windsor — the American divorcee who led Edward VIII to abdicate.
And he warned the late Queen to be “cautious” of Harry’s then bride-to-be, a royal author claims.
Ingrid Seward revealed in new book My Mother And I that Prince Philip felt it was “uncanny…how much Meghan reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor“.
In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.
In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a “peacemaker” between the brothers.
Last year Harry claimed his brother “knocked him to the floor” during an argument about Meghan.
In his book Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan “rude” and “difficult” during a row.
Harry alleged William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.
He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.
In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch’s shock cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew back to the US the following day – without seeing Wills.