Prince Harry to return to London for Invictus Games anniversary
Prince Harry is expected to return to the United Kingdom for the first time since he made a quick trip to visit his father King Charles III after his cancer diagnosis became public earlier this year, the prince and Invictus Games Foundation announced Sunday.
The Duke of Sussex will attend the thanksgiving service for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games Foundation in London on May 8.
The prince will give a reading during the service at St. Paul’s Cathedral while actor Damian Lewis will recite a poem. It was not immediately clear if Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, would be making the trip from California, where they live with their two children.
The prince first created the Invictus Games, a sporting event for military personnel wounded in action, in 2014, when the first event took place in London.
The ceremony next month will mark a “decade of changing lives and saving lives through sport,” a spokesperson for the Invictus Games said.
The news of the prince’s visit to London comes two days after Buckingham Palace confirmed that King Charles III will resume public engagements next week. The palace said the king had made sufficient progress in his cancer treatment and that doctors were “very encouraged by the progress made so far and remain positive about the King’s continued recovery.”
Harry made a quick visit to his father’s Clarence House residence in central London in February, a day after news broke of the king’s diagnosis.
Harry spoke with his father about the cancer diagnosis before leaving the U.S., Buckingham Palace said. The king personally informed both of his sons, Harry and William, the Prince of Wales, and his siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, about his health.
Charles’ health diagnosis is not the only troubling health news for the family: About a month after the king disclosed his cancer treatment, his daughter-in-law Catherine, the Princess of Wales also known as Kate Middleton, announced that she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy following abdominal surgery in January. Harry and Meghan issued a statement after Kate’s health disclosure saying they “we wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace,” and People magazine reported they privately reached out to her.