Prince Harry makes first public appearance since returning to UK
Prince Harry makes first public appearance since returning to UK
Jordan ReynoldsThu, September 17, 2026 at 6:48 PM UTC
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The Duke of Sussex has made his first public appearance since returning to the UK as he attends the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards in London.
Dressed in black tie and wearing his military medals, Harry posed for photographs in front of the press and then for selfies with wounded veterans as he arrived for the ceremony at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, south-east London.
Harry’s first public engagement since moving back to the UK from the US came on Thursday evening, after a war of words broke out between his father the King and Earl Charles Spencer, the brother of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Thursday evening’s event supports wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans by raising funds for the Invictus Games Foundation, of which Harry is the founding patron.
The Duke of Sussex has a selfie taken with Steve Arnold (centre) and Josh Boggi, as he arrives at the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards (Ben Whitley/PA)
The ceremony is to be opened by James Corden, with a headline performance from singer Jess Glynne.
It comes after explosive claims from a new memoir by Earl Spencer were published, in which the King is said to have told Diana’s brother at the time of her death in 1997 that “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”.
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A palace spokesman said: “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”
Meanwhile, this week it was revealed that Harry and Meghan moved their children to a new school after talks with their security team.
Prince Archie, seven, and five-year-old Princess Lilibet had only just started at their new school in England after the family relocated from the US three weeks ago.
Prince Harry poses with members of the Irish Guards' Band as he arrives at the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards in London (Reuters)
But they will now join another one, after heavy traffic and the lengthy journey to the school reportedly put the Sussexes’ security team under strain, Hello! magazine reported.
The decision comes amid reports that both the Sussexes will receive an official risk assessment following their return.
In January 2020, Harry and Meghan had announced they intended to step back as “senior” members of the royal family, become financially independent, still support Queen Elizabeth II, but split their time between the UK and North America.
But the late Queen ruled at the Sandringham Summit, which was convened to resolve the Megxit crisis, that the couple could not be half in and half out – and the King recently said the agreement still stands.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
