London
CNN
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Prince Harry returns to Britain in May to celebrate a milestone of the Invictus Games, the biennial sporting competition he founded a decade ago.
The Duke of Sussex will deliver a lecture at a ceremony at London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 8, marking the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games and its founding, it announced on Sunday.
The last time the prince was back in his home country was in February, during a quick visit after the cancer diagnosis of his father, King Charles, was announced.
Harry spoke about that diagnosis more than a month later, telling ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he “jumped on a plane and went to see him as soon as possible.”
“I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and spend time with him, I’m grateful for that,” he added.
It was not immediately clear whether the prince will meet his relatives during the trip next month.
The Duke and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, moved to the United States in 2020. In the years since, Harry, 39, has made several fleeting trips back to Britain, most notably attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022 and his father’s coronation last year.
It is also not yet clear whether Meghan will accompany her husband to the Invictus celebration. But it could be a challenge for the mother of two as the event at St. Paul’s falls two days after Prince Archie’s fifth birthday on May 6.
Buckingham Palace has announced that Charles, who is still undergoing treatment, will make public appearances again on Tuesday. His medical team is said to be “sufficiently satisfied” with his progress and “remains positive” about his recovery.
His diary will be carefully managed, with decisions about what events he will undertake closer to the time being made in consultation with his doctors. The king will not carry out a full summer schedule, the palace said, but he will welcome Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako for a state visit in June.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Prince Harry talks to wheelchair basketball players during the launch of the Invictus Games at the Copper Box Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in March 2014.
The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry after his deployment in Afghanistan. They are intended to support the recovery of wounded, injured and ill service members and veterans, according to the foundation’s website.
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The next Invictus Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, in February 2025. More than 500 participants from more than 20 countries will compete in adaptive sports such as indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball.
The Vancouver Whistler Games will also feature winter sports for the first time, including alpine skiing and snowboarding, cross-country skiing and biathlon, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
The games will be held in partnership with First Nations “in the spirit of truth and reconciliation with Indigenous communities,” Harry said on the games website.
Meanwhile, the prince’s office confirmed to CNN on Sunday that he and Meghan would travel to Nigeria in May.
In a press release, the Nigerian Defense Headquarters expressed “honor and joy” at the Duke and Duchess’s trip.
“During their stay in the country, they will meet soldiers and participate in all kinds of cultural activities,” the press release said.
The possibility of Nigeria hosting the Invictus Games in the future will also be discussed, according to the press release.
The Duchess previously said on her ‘Archetypes’ podcast that she is ’43 percent Nigerian’.