Prince Harry Will Return to the U.K. to Celebrate Invictus Games Anniversary

Prince Harry will return to the U.K. to celebrate 10 years of the Invictus Games, the sports competition he started for wounded military personnel.

The royal will attend a “service of thanksgiving” at St Paul's Cathedral in London on May 8, according to the Invictus Games Foundation. The organization said the Prince along with British actor Damian Lewis and representatives from the Invictus Games participating nations, including veterans, will come together to mark the occasion.

Prince Harry will be giving a reading at the service. Lewis will recite the “Invictus” poem, written by poet William Ernest Henley, who has a monument in the Crypt at St Paul’s. The poem inspired the motto of the games, which means “unconquered.” Other members of the community will also give readings as part of the service, led by Reverend Andrew Tremlett, Dean of St Paul’s.

The Prince served in the British military for a decade, including two one-year tours in Afghanistan, before leaving in 2015 to become a full-time working royal.

He founded the inaugural Invictus Games in London in 2014, inspired by a similar model called the Warrior Games that he witnessed in 2013 in the U.S. At the time, he directed his charity, The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, to deliver the games in partnership with the Ministry of Defence, the royal website says.

In 2020, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle stepped back as “senior” members of the royal family. They have since started a new life together in Meghan’s native California, where they live with their two children. In April, the Prince officially changed his residence to the U.S., and retroactively dated the move to June 2023. 

Prince Harry also briefly visited the U.K. in February to see his father, King Charles III, following an announcement that the King was diagnosed with cancer. After receiving treatment and recuperation, the King is set to return to public-facing duties.