The Royal Family could be put in a “difficult position” if Prince Harry’s Invictus Games return to the UK for the first time since he and Meghan moved to the US.
One question that would need to be answered is whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, will move into their former home of grace and favor, Frogmore Cottage, for the duration of the games.
Royals would also have to take a stand if they support the event, which they did at the first games in 2014, when then-Prince Charles, Camilla and Prince William appeared alongside Harry for the opening ceremony. The Telegraph reports.
But at the time, he was a full-time working royal, and tensions and disputes were not aired in public, as they so often are these days.
Since 2014, the Invictus Games have become a popular global sports competition in which 22 countries and more than 500 athletes have participated.
Prince Harry and Meghan on the fourth day of the Invictus Games 2023 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany
Prince William, Prince Charles and Prince Harry watching athletics at the inaugural Invictus Games, at the Lee Valley Athletics Center on September 11, 2014.
At the games in Düsseldorf, Germany, last year, the 59 athletes on the British team won 69 medals between them.
The Royal Family has not made a public statement about the Invictus Games for several years, despite its growing global importance.
The annual sporting event is one of the most public engagements for the Sussexes, but their return to the UK could prove challenging for them.
It’s an incredibly important job for Prince Harry and one of his last remaining legacies from when he was a full-time working royal, and one he’s very proud of. Gaming also allows you to reconnect with other military veterans.
But last month Harry lost a High Court challenge against the Home Office over the decision to downgrade his taxpayer-funded personal security when visiting Britain.
The Duke of Sussex took legal action over the move by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) after he was told he would no longer receive the “same degree” of publicly funded protection when in office. United Kingdom.
His lawyers had claimed that he was “singled out” and treated “less favorably” in the February 2020 decision by the body, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior.
But at a hearing in London in December, the Government insisted that Harry’s claim should be dismissed, arguing that Ravec was entitled to conclude that the duke’s protection should be “tailor-made” and considered “on a case-by-case basis.” Two months later, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled: “The application for judicial review is refused.”
While Harry plans to appeal, this means he will not be expected to have a high level of security and will have to use his own private protection.
The Duke of Sussex and Michael Bublé curling on the final day of the event One year before the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 on February 16, 2024
Harry and Meghan attend the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers 2025 One Year To Go Winter Training Camp on February 15
The Duke of Sussex greets a competitor from Team Denmark as he attends athletics on the athletics track during day two of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 on September 11, 2023.
Unless he can successfully appeal the ruling, the Duke of Sussex would not feel comfortable bringing his wife and children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, to Britain, The Telegraph understands.
The newspaper reported that plans are being made for him to return alone to the UK in May for a service at St Paul’s Cathedral in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.
It is unknown whether the royals would support the games returning to Britain, and they have more important things to worry about at the moment, with both King Charles and Princess Kate undergoing cancer treatment.
Prince William and Kate were key figures in establishing the games and were reportedly “delighted that it was a success.”
Given the current disagreements in the Royal Family, it may not be likely that the Welsh will watch the matches with the Sussexes.
But perhaps they could be joined by Mike and Zara Tindall, who took part in a wheelchair rugby match with Harry at the inaugural Invictus Games in London 2014.
The UK will need to win a bid against Washington DC to host the games, and the Government has pledged £26m to get it underway.
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry laugh during the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games on September 10, 2014 in London.
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer co-hosted a symposium in London to raise more private funding to help with the bid to hold the games in Birmingham in 2027.
He praised the power of the Invictus games and sport to transform the lives of those harmed by service in body and mind.
Merer added: “The vision the Duke of Sussex had a decade ago had almost single-handedly transformed the lives of thousands of veterans, not just in the UK but around the world, with up to 22 nations now involved in this incredible legacy. “. . So yes, I want the Games.
“I want the Games because you really have to be there to feel that incredible transformative power of the Invictus Games building in these people’s lives.”