It’s official: Montecito, California resident Prince Harry is apparently headed back to his hometown. The royal will be part of a London-set celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games Foundation, the organization announced Sunday. If he appears in person at the May 8 event, this will be his first visit to England since a whirlwind 24-hour trip in February after King Charles III announced his cancer diagnosis.
Harry founded the Invictus Games after his deployment in Afghanistan, a multi-sport event intended to bring visibility to injured and disabled service people and veterans. He’s remained closely tied to it in the years since, regularly attending its events and supporting friends made through the organization.
Earlier this month, the Games announced that it would hold a special Service of Thanksgiving to mark its decade of work. It was unclear, however, if Harry would attend the St. Paul’s Cathedral event in person. That’s because a few weeks after his February visit, the Duke of Sussex lost his legal battle for taxpayer-funded police protection while in the UK. Harry had previously said that without police protection, he’s unsafe in that country; he also said that he thinks his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, could also be in danger.
It had been rumored that due to those safety concerns, Harry would attend the event remotely, either by providing a pre-taped address or appearing via video link. The announcement from the Invictus Games leaves room for that WFH out, saying only that “We will be joined by our Patron, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, actor Damian Lewis, and members of the worldwide Invictus Community to mark the occasion.”
But “joined” can mean many things in the era of constant Teams and Zooms, so automatically assuming that the royal will be hopping on a plane might be premature. (Vanity Fair has reached out to the Invictus Games Foundation for clarification.)
But if he does go, it will be at an auspicious time. He’d be landing just after his father makes his first official appearance after his cancer treatments, a public engagement with Queen Camilla during which the pair will visit a cancer treatment center, where they’ll meet with patients and doctors.
His brother, Prince William, has also just returned to public duties, following the announcement that his wife, Kate Middleton, is recovering from cancer treatments of her own. If Harry does, indeed, make the trip, all eyes will be on his moves outside the St. Paul’s event. If he visits family, headlines will certainly be abundant—and if he doesn’t…well, let’s not even contemplate that.