Harry to return to UK for first time since Kate revealed cancer diagnosis

The Duke of Sussex will return to the UK next week for a ceremony to mark 10 years of the Invictus Games.

The Invictus Games first took place in London in 2014 and was founded by Prince Harry as a sporting event for injured and sick military personnel and veterans.

Harry will be at the service of thanksgiving at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday 8 May, where he is expected to provide a reading.

Since 2020, he has lived in the US with his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two children Archie and Lilibet.

Harry’s arrival to the UK will mark his first time in the country since he visited his father in February when King Charles’ cancer diagnosis was announced. Buckingham Palace announced earlier this week that King Charles is to return to public royal duties next week after responding well to his cancer treatment.

It is also the first time he will visit the UK since his sister-in-law Kate went public with her own cancer diagnosis. The Duchess of Cambridge had been out of the spotlight for weeks before the diagnosis was revealed in March.

The prince’s return for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games is also the first major event he has attended in Britain for some time.

It is not currently known whether any other members of the Royal Family will be in attendance at the service, nor if the Duchess of Sussex and their children will be travelling over with him.

The service is set to include readings from Harry and the British actor Damian Lewis. Wounded veterans and members of the Invictus community will also attend.

According to organisers, the event will mark “a decade of changing lives and saving lives through sport”.

Following on from the event, Harry and Meghan will then head to Nigeria together after being invited by the west African country’s chief of defence staff, who met Harry in Germany last September at Invictus Games Dusseldorf.

The couple will meet service members and their families, and participate in traditional cultural activities, Nigerian media reported. Other details about the visit are not yet known.

Local newspapers reported that Defence Headquarters was “honoured” and “delighted” after Harry and Meghan, who is of Nigerian descent, had accepted the invitation.

It will be their first visit to Nigeria as a couple.

Earlier this month, Harry formally confirmed his status as a US resident. Travalyst, a travel company he controls, filed paperwork informing British authorities that he has moved and is now “usually resident” in the United States.

This formal acknowledgement comes four years after he and Meghan walked away from royal duties for a life in North America – first in Canada, and now in Montecito in Southern California.

For some, this move underscores the prince’s increasing estrangement from Britain. The release of his 2023 memoir, Spare, featured Harry detailing his complicated relationship with his elder brother, the Prince of Wales, among other familial gripes.

Harry has only returned to Britain on rare occasions since his departure, mostly for major events such as the 2022 funeral of Queen Elizabeth and his father’s coronation in May 2023.