The Duke of Sussex was the wheelchair rugby king during a victorious exhibition match as rumours persisted of a UK appearance by his wife and children.
Harry was in his element rushing around the court, crashing into opponents with glee and scoring tries as he launched the one-year countdown to his Invictus Games at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham.
Missing was the Duchess of Sussex, who was due to attend the event but did not fly to the UK with Harry earlier this week because of security concerns.
Meghan is now widely expected to travel with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in the coming days, prompting rumours of a meeting between the King and his grandchildren.
In an interview with ITV’s This Morning, presenter Alison Hammond suggested to Harry that his family must appreciate him, and he replied: “They don’t tell me everyday that they’re proud of me, but yeah I’m proud of them, they’re proud of me – I love my family.”
During the wheelchair rugby match, Harry threw a blind pass over his head straight into the arms of a teammate, who crossed the try-line, a move praised by TV presenter Ade Adepitan who won a bronze with the GB basketball team at the 2004 Paralympics.
The broadcaster, who played on Harry’s team which ran out 7-1 winners, said: “He did a no-look pass. Did you see it? A no-look pass over his head.
“I mean, he said to me at the end ‘it was just a throw and hope’ but I said ‘style it out, style it out,’ that was done on purpose.”
The event was part of a series of showcase sports highlighting events that will be staged when Birmingham hosts the Invictus Games.
Adepitan said about wheelchair rugby, a favourite sport among fans at past Invictus Games: “This is a fantastic exhibition, a fantastic opportunity for people who’ve never seen the sport and never seen these athletes compete.
“When you’re on there, you’ve got to do it justice.”
In a speech to mark the countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games, Harry told past and present competitors and international captains: “This is just the warm-up, I think we’re all in for something truly extraordinary.
“Of course, while the Games are famous for the competition, they have always been about more than medals.
“At the heart of Invictus are the competitors – remarkable men and women who have served their countries and who continue to show us what courage really looks like.”
Harry also tried playing pickleball, a popular racket sport which will debut at the 2027 Invictus Games alongside laser run – a biathlon style event where competitors run or wheel themselves around a course before shooting at targets with laser pistols.
The duke, a former Army officer, raced around the track and made easy work of his five targets, but watched as his teammate from Australia’s Invictus squad was pipped into second place at the finishing line in her race.
He unveiled the new British Sign Language sign for Invictus Games, demonstrating from the lectern for the Invictus “family”.
Harry added: “That resilience in this community, in every individual that turns up to the Invictus Games, all those people that have served our 26 nations, is something that every community in this country and every community around the world can take some strength from.
“The world has a lot of troubles but when it comes to national resilience lets use this moment, the next 365 days, to lean on and learn from the Invictus community.”
