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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Ted Hennessey and Miriam Burrell

Prince Harry returning to London for Invictus Games anniversary

The Duke of Sussex is returning to the UK in just over a week to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.

Prince Harry will be at the service of thanksgiving at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday, May 8.

He is expected to provide a reading at the event, marking a decade since the inaugural Invictus Games London in 2014, founded as a sporting event for injured and sick military personnel and veterans.

He is back in the UK for the first time since his visit to see King after his cancer diagnosis in February, and it is the first major event he has attended in Britain for some time.

It is not known if any other royals will be in attendance at the service, or if the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, or the couple’s children Archie and Lillibet will be in the UK.

Charles and Harry together in 2014 at the first Invictus Games (PA Archive)

Actor Damian Lewis is set to recite the Invictus poem during the service.

Representatives from across the Invictus Games participating nations, including members of the wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veteran community, will also be in attendance.

It will mark "a decade of changing lives and saving lives through sport," organisers said.

More than 300 competitors took part in the first games which is now held every odd year. Twenty-two nations now take part and the next event is set to be in Vancouver next year.

Harry has only returned to Britain on a few occasions since he quit working as a member of the royal family in 2020, arriving for major events such as the 2022 funeral of Queen Elizabeth and his father's coronation in May 2023.

Jam from Meghan Markle's new business (Instagram)

On Wednesday, Harry put on his medals to film a special presentation at a military award ceremony in America.

The Duke paid tribute to his friend Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks at the Service Members of the Year Awards, describing her as a “beacon of inspiration” in an enthusiastic speech from his California home.

Last week, Meghan launched her new lifestyle brand with its first product – strawberry jam.

Meghan’s American Riviera Orchard firm sent out 50 jars to influencers around the world as part of the promotional effort with fashion designer Tracy Robbins and Argentine socialite Delfina Balquier among those receiving them.

It comes a month after Meghan released the first details about her business with an online video showing her in the kitchen and arranging flowers.

In other royal news, the King announced on Friday he would be returning to public duties after the positive effect of cancer treatment.

Charles has been receiving care as an outpatient for an unspecified type of cancer since early February.

They added that the monarch’s medical team were “greatly encouraged by the progress made so far” and “remain positive” about his continued recovery.

Royal sources stressed that the King is not yet in remission and will continue to receive treatment for the disease.

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