In 2014, the inaugural Invictus Games were held in London, having been founded and organized by Prince Harry. His father, brother and stepmother were in attendance for the opening ceremony. Then-Prince Charles appeared to be incredibly proud of Harry, and Charles even chose a photo from the ceremony for his Christmas card that year. In 2024, Harry was invited back to London to attend the ten-year commemoration of the inaugural games. There was a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, with a date well-known for months in advance. Harry invited King Charles and other members of the royal family to attend. They refused, and briefed the media in advance of the event that their refusal was Harry’s own fault and he should have known better and he’s desperate and lonely. What they didn’t know was that Harry also invited the Spencer family, and the Spencers all showed up, including his uncle, the Earl Spencer. Charles and William looked like petty, spiteful, childish idiots.
Well, in the summer of 2027, the Invictus Games will be held in Birmingham, England. In my opinion, the games are being factored into all of the recent conversations about Harry’s UK security and the Home Office’s risk assessment. What’s also being taken into consideration is that the left-behind Windsors will look extremely stupid (if not downright vile) if they continue to ignore the Invictus Games, the Invictus community of veterans and military families, and Harry specifically. All of which to say, the Sun now claims that Harry is desperate to have his father at the Birmingham games’ opening ceremony.
Prince Harry will ask dad King Charles to open his Invictus Games when it returns to the UK next year — in a major thawing of relations. The pair have had two brief meetings in recent years but the olive branch could see them both on stage in Birmingham, where Harry will “fulfil a dream” with the King at his side for the opening ceremony.
Sources say Charles and his youngest son appear keen to end their lengthy feud. And next year’s UK return of Harry’s games for wounded personnel and veterans would be the perfect time to seal their reconciliation. Organisers have contacted officials in competing nations and preparations for Birmingham 2027 are said to be in full swing.
A source said last night: “Prince Harry desperately wants Charles at Invictus — and he wants him to open the games alongside him. Harry wants it to happen both for the games, and for their relationship. It’s his dream to have his father by his side.
“It is appropriate because Invictus is returning to the UK for the first time since 2014, and given Charles is Head of the Armed Forces. Invictus always invites Heads of State but Harry wants to go further with Charles involved in the opening ceremony. The games represent a cause close to both’s hearts. They appear to want a reconciliation and the games are a perfect opportunity for them to work alongside each other. The sight of them on stage when it opens would be heart-warming and in the spirit of the occasion. People helping to plan the games are convinced it will happen and are planning for Charles to play a role in the opening ceremony.”
The Invictus Games return to the UK with a glittering opening at Birmingham’s NEC on July 10 next year, and will run until July 17 — the day Queen Camilla turns 80. Our source added: “The games are planned way in advance, and there have been meetings and conference calls about the 2027 Invictus pretty much since the last ones in Vancouver finished. Planning committees are aware of Camilla’s birthday and hope Charles will be able to do the opening and attend events while still honouring commitments to his wife. And Harry is across every detail of what is going on with Invictus. He is buoyed with the thought of opening the games with his father, and there are hopes that other royals will attend. It would be fitting as they are in Birmingham.”
If Keir Starmer is still the prime minister in the summer of 2027, I can guarantee that he will be in attendance at some point, either for the opening or closing ceremonies (or both). I can pretty much guarantee that people in his cabinet/government will also be present in various official capacities too. Which makes me wonder if this is purely about Harry’s relationship with his father, or whether this will be one of those things where Downing Street gets involved and tells Charles: this is something you have to do, you have to show up for veterans, this is one of the easiest PR wins ever and you would be stupid to put up a fuss over it. The way the Sun frames this reads like projection, that’s why I wonder if Charles is already getting some government pressure. That being said, I’m sure Harry wants his father there. I would assume that Harry has already mentioned it or invited Charles. It would be hilarious if William throws an 18-month-long tantrum about “I refuse to go, and Harry should have given Invictus TO ME!!” As for the thing about Camilla’s birthday…lmao.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- 125944, Prince Harry, Prince William and Prince Charles at the athletics competition on day one of the Invictus Games in London. London, United Kingdom – Thursday September 11, 2014. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office: +1 310.822.0419 London Office: +44 208.090.4079 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 531003172, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- 125945, Prince William,The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles and Prince Harry attend the Invictus Games opening ceremony at Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park in London. London, United Kingdom – Wednesday September 10, 2014. Picture by i-ImagesUK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office: +1 310.822.0419 London Office: +44 208.090.4079 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 531003734, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, attends the launch of the team selected to represent the UK at the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 at The Honourable Artillary Company, Finsbury Barracks, London. Pictured: Prince Harry, Harry Duke of Sussex BACKGRID USA 29 OCTOBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Whistler, CANADA – Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, attends the Whistler Welcome Celebration for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 in Canada. She delivers a heartfelt speech praising Prince Harry’s dedication to the Games and their family. Pictured: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry BACKGRID USA 10 FEBRUARY 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Guests arrive to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- Guests attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- Guests attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: London, United Kingdom When: 08 May 2024 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- The opening ceremony of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Vancouver, Canada When: 08 Feb 2025 Credit: INSTARimages
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- Swimming during the 2025 Invictus Games Featuring: Prince Harry Where: Vancouver, Canada When: 14 Feb 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke of Sussex salutes during the sitting volleyball final at Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC), at the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Vancouver, Canada When: 15 Feb 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Indoor Rowing at the Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC) during the 2025 Invictus Games Featuring: Prince Harry, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Where: Vancouver, Canada When: 16 Feb 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex at the Closing Ceremony of the 2025 Invictus Games at the Rogers Arena Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Vancouver, Canada When: 16 Feb 2025 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
I doubt harry is desperate. He is a realist about his dad.
Agree. I think he takes his father for what he is. He will invite because he is the monarch of the country (and his father) but he isn’t expecting much. If he goes great and if he doesn’t that’s fine.
I believe Harry will be happy if he accepts the invite but will not be sad if he doesn’t. Charles has shown the world who he is and we believe him.
Harry is never desperate!! He may have invited his crappy father but he knows exactly who his father is and how he operates so there is no desperation in Harry.
The scum recycling this boring story again. At IG each participating countries’ representatives including their heads of states, military officials etc have always been invited. With IG27 being in the uk, yes the head of state & its commander of chief (Charles) would be invited whether Harry personally wanted him there or not. Royals representing the uk at international tournaments is not new. Whether Charles & the brf ignore invictus as they have done the last few years is more the story & I think these articles are more about the press ‘encouraging’ Charles to attend & give them photo ops.
The press are going to make IG 27 all about fake royal reunions & then turn around & blame H&M for “making IG all about themselves” & taking attention from the competitors 🙄
It would be such a self-defeating and short-sighted move for Charles to refuse to attend. There’s no excuse for him to miss it that doesn’t read as unprofessional and disrespectful for the troops. Even if Charles and Harry were openly and publicly feuding it is inexplicable for the sitting monarch to ignore an event of this magnitude that celebrates British veterans and soldiers. It looks equally bad for William to miss it but he’s stupid enough to do so.
It would look so bad! And yet I can still see Charles avoiding it. Or trying to.
@Red Maple: Self-defeating and short-sighted, you say? Hm. Don’t temp the Windsors because that’s when they turn to the closest drunkard with a sharp knife and ask them to “hold their beer” as it were.
He’s not desperate. However I do believe he hopes Charles will man up. He is, after all, the commander in chief of the armed forces and Invictus is an event of and for veterans of those armed forced.
But I think even he knows he’s going to be disappointed by his father again.
The only thing certain is 18 months of Willnot’s tantrums about how Invictus belongs to him, Harold.
It’s quite possible that an invitation will be extended to Charles and no doubt there will be representatives from the British Government there but I’m not sure that Harry is “desperate” for Charles to be there. I think the press are the ones who desperate for this to happen because it will give them an excuse to cover the event and to stalk Harry (and Meghan if she goes).
The article makes a point of saying Charles is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, so I’d say someone is trying to remind Charles of his duty.
I’m going to guess it’s the newspaper editors. They’re desperate for Charles to attend.
I’m sure you’re right, but I can also imagine Charles defiantly staying home to reorganize his sock drawer. After decades of coddling from those very same newspaper editors, Charles knows that whatever he does or doesn’t do, he will not suffer great consequences from the BM. He would look at himself in the mirror and, like Harvey Korman, say, “What can they do to me, after all, I’m king you know.”
Yup. I think the press is desperate for Charles to attend and honestly I think the government is desperate too. Someone at Downing Street knows what a bad look it would be for the Commander in Chief to skip the games entirely. Every other head of state has attended the games in some capacity or another in their respective country, and there are usually high ranking government and military officials in attendance as well. So Keir Starmer will attend and I am sure there is significant pressure being applied to Charles.
I don’t think Harry is desperate, but I think he would like his father there – maybe as his father, but definitely in his role as head of state and commander in chief.
The press is starting to apply pressure to Charles and they’re spinning it as “harry is desperate” so when Charles attends it can be spun as “poor Charles, just trying to make Harry happy, isn’t he the best father ever.”
Will July 2027 be when WanK finally visit Australia or another large Commonwealth country?
For a minute, I wondered if they’d be on their summer vacay during the IG but Wimbledon ends on July 11th so technically Kate would need to be around for the finals. It’s usually the last thing before the vacay.
If so, it’ll be Australia or Canada. Peg won’t be caught dead in a majority brown-skinned Commonwealth country again!
I doubt any Commonwealth country would invite them during Invictus. It sends a terrible message to their own troops (Invictus is a big thing in Australia and I’m sure the rest), and i doubt any Brit PM would sign off on the PoW traveling (and my understanding is the Foreign Office approves/denies their trips).
Now, do I think “kancer” might suddenly, conveniently return? I’d bet Kate’s wigs on it.
Of course Matt Wilkinson, the guy who creepily and infamously stalked H&M at Invictus Düsseldorf, is one of the authors of the story.
The heads of states have always been involved — the Obamas *and* Bidens in FLA, Justin Trudeau twice — in Toronto *and* Vancouver/Whistler, in addition to one of the countdown events, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, the German President Frank Walter Steinmeier and his wife, in addition to that NATO family day where ~ 1500 people attended, including four star generals and their families.
Delegations sent their ministers of defense, in addition to Veterans’ affairs people.
So CRex wouldn’t look good if he didn’t go — after all these years of the BRF not acknowledging the Games, in fact actively snubbing them by not even sending “good luck” tweets to the participants.
Does Harry wants his father to attend? I think so, not as a sign of a better relationship with him but as the king showing some respect for the veterans and his family. Charles is petty and Harry knows that. This story is most probably provided by the king’s team. I so wish Harry finds a legal way to shut up the UK toxic press. I also hope the king attends, but with Harry and Meghan having no public interactions with him.
The utter silence of any mention of Wm in any of this is hilariously and delightfully deafening. Like he doesn’t even exist. Hahahaaaaaa
This seems like the establishment trying to center Charles as a key figure in the upcoming games, based on the quoted text within the article, while inferring that Harry is pushing for his attendance as an opportunity to reconcile with his father. The King who is HOS and Head if the Armed Forces, will be invited. It is customary military diplomacy for a military linked event. He can choose to accept or decline.
I think the King’s attendance will be a PR win for him and the monarchy on the global stage. Most importantly, I think it will likely lift the spirits of the British veterans who will partake in the games. The games which is in summer 2027 (over a year away) will not be a venue for reconciliation. Harry has nothing to personally gain or lose from Charles’ attendance. His contributions with The Invictus Games are his way of honoring and respecting the veterans as they continue their healing journey.
Am I the only one who thinks it is pretty normal to work on Birthdays? Even on milestone birthdays? Usually we have a nice dinner and the large celebration on the next weekend.
Why should Camillas Birthday be a problem?
It’s normal but the Windsor royals are abnormal. They are a dysfunctional brood.
I don’t think harry is desperate for anything but I do think he is determined. The get together with their reps followed by his own meeting with his father was largely about security i’m guessing. I can see charles attending at some point but making a speech, opening the games, after all these years? That’s an unrealistic goal for Charles. He will do the least he can do for his own image and reputation. He doesn’t want to compliment Harry in any way if he can avoid it and he won’t want to see Meghan. The press will certainly enjoy all the coverage
I really doubt Starmer would attend, he’s trying to appeal to Red Wall voters and Prince Harry doesn’t poll well among this group. At most they’d send the Culture Secretary.
@Holly – Nonsense! If Starmer doesn’t attend then the press will have a field day. As for the Red Wall voters disliking Harry I’m pretty sure they are the same people who cosplay the military as a matter of course. They will be the first to call out Starmer if he’s “too busy” to attend. This isn’t about Harry this is about veterans and I’ll be very surprised (and disgusted) if Starmer doesn’t attend but, I do feel this is a moot point as he’ll be there.
18 months is a long way away but maybe KC has pencilled it in because he can get a lot of mileage out of “will he/won’t he”. Sad to say it very much depends on who he is beefing with then. He’s also a dithery man surrounded by wife, angry heir, problematic advisors and the tabs. What to do, what to do? The right thing is to attend alongside son and daughter in law with good grace but will he?
“The games represent a cause close to both’s hearts”? Ha! Who are they kidding? Harry’s heart — yes. He has been there every time, behind the scenes making sure that things went well for the participants and before the cameras. Close to his father’s heart — not so much, judging by actions. The man couldn’t be bothered to order his underlings to rhetorically wish his own nation’s competitors a simple good luck. I mean, he wouldn’t even have to lift a pen, which we all know can be rough.
Also, we all know that even if Chuck did attend in 2027, he would soon leak stories about Harry and/or Meghan again. So, an attendance wouldn’t mean there was a thaw in their personal relationship, just a photo-op for Chuck. So, I’m still baffled about why they chose any place in England to put on IG. If there were no reasonable choices, I would have skipped a year, like they did during Covid. I think that the specter of Sentabale looms too close to this event this year. I think, and hope to hell I’m wrong, that if William and his henchmen can’t take Invictus from Harry, they will try to ruin it. At any rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more unexpected things, or drama, than ever before during the games.
Can I just say that the photo of Harry ascending the stairs, looking towards the camera is one of my favorite photographs of him?!? The man is fit as a fiddle!
I agree with Kaiser that the government will insist on Charles’ attendance, especially if — as there was last time — a big NATO presence is there.
The British media will spin it as Harry’s desperation but we all know Charles is more concerned with his official duties than with being a decent parent.
I remember a bunch of NATO dignitaries showing up in Dusseldorf. With the way the world is right now and Trump threatening to invade a European territory, I think the head of the UK armed forces not showing up for their military would be a very bad look, especially if other countries send representatives and dignitaries. The UK monarchy is letting their pettiness and personal resentments tarnish their image internationally.
Harry doesn’t desperately want his father to attend. His father is desperate to attend because it will be the most attended event that he will be present and he needs some positivity to his reign. IG is popular around the world and with the military because of Harry. IG doesn’t need Charles to be successful.
@MsKrisTalk
Exactly! If Charles and Camilla had any decency, they would both show up. It would do Camilla a lot of good if she showed up to support her husband and the military on her birthday. It’s absurd to even mention that they can’t do anything on her birthday. The military does Trooping the colour for the sovereign’s birthday- the least Charles could do is support Invictus.