The 2027 Invictus Games could possibly be hosted in Birmingham, England, which could create future "difficulties" for the royal family's estranged dynamic with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. However, royal editor Victoria Ward wrote in The Telegraph that the "jury is out" on whether senior monarchy members would offer support to the games at all.
This news comes amid a flurry of reports suggesting that Harry may meet with Prince William and/or Catherine, Princess of Wales, while in London on May 8. The outcast prince will be in the British capital to attend a 10th-anniversary celebration of the Invictus Games at the historic St Paul's Cathedral. The seventeenth-century church was the venue for William and Harry's parents, the then-Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer's "legendary" 1981 marriage.
It was also on the steps of St Paul's where crowds booed the Duke of Sussex and Meghan after a "tension-filled" Service of Thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.
Senior royals are also not expected to attend this anniversary event, since there is an unspoken rule that they do not get involved in each other's professional projects. This is despite Ward and others reporting how "entrenched" the Prince and Princess of Wales once were in crafting the early days of the Games' popularity.
This led a royal insider to share: "Prince William and Catherine always supported Harry's efforts to establish Invictus. They are delighted that it has been a success." It is believed that both King Charles III and Queen Camilla feel the same way about the Games, but prefer to share their thoughts "privately" due to their regal stature.
The Hollywood Duke is also reportedly on edge about his upcoming trip as a possible "serious security risk."
An anonymous source shared: "The prince is expected to return to the U.K. in May; however, Harry’s team wanted the exact date of the appearance to be kept confidential for safety reasons."
The source claimed that Harry has "anxiety" about the trip due to "regretful" sensitive information he shared in his memoir, Spare. The Duke of Sussex wrote that he killed some 25 Taliban fighters during his tour of duty in Afghanistan during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Numerous royal analysts observed that the fiery-haired prince wrote about the lives he took in a "boastful manner."
Many reports during the first quarter of 2023, following the memoir's January release, shared how the militant organization Al-Qaeda ordered the death of the Duke after the book's Taliban extract made headlines.
It is still unknown if the Duchess of Sussex or Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet Diana will attend the May 8 celebration.
