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Prince Harry on stage during the closing ceremony of the 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Prince Harry will return to the United Kingdom in May to celebrate a milestone anniversary of the Invictus Games, the biennial sports competition he founded a decade ago.
It was announced on Sunday that the Duke of Sussex will give a reading at a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on May 8 to commemorate the Invictus Games and 10 years since its founding.
The prince last returned to his home country in February, when his father King Charles’ cancer diagnosis was announced.
Harry spoke about that diagnosis a month later, telling ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he “got on a plane and went to see her as quickly as I could.”
“I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and see them and spend time with them, I’m grateful for that,” he said.
It was not immediately clear whether the prince would meet his relatives during his visit next month.
The Duke and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, relocated to the United States in 2020. In the years since, Harry, 39, has made several temporary trips to the UK, 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 join her husband at the Invictus celebration. But it could be challenging for the mother of two as the event was held in St Paul’s Falls, two days after Prince Archie’s fifth birthday on May 6.
Buckingham Palace announced that Charles, who is still undergoing treatment, is set to return to public-facing duties on Tuesday. His medical team was said to be “reasonably pleased” with his progress and “remained positive” about his recovery.
His diary will be carefully managed, with decisions regarding which events he will consider being taken closer to the time, in consultation with his doctors. The king will not run a full summer program, but he will welcome Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako for a state visit in June, the palace said.
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Prince Harry speaks to wheelchair basketball players during the launch of the Invictus Games at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London in March 2014.
The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry following his deployment to Afghanistan. According to the foundation’s website, their goal is to aid in the recovery of wounded, injured and ill service personnel and veterans.
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The next Invictus Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada in February 2025. More than 500 competitors from over 20 countries will compete in adaptive sports such as indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball.
Winter sports will also be played for the first time at the Vancouver Whistler Games, including alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing and biathlon, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
The Games will be held in partnership with First Nations “in the spirit of integrity 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 will travel to Nigeria in May.
In a press release, the Nigerian Defense Headquarters expressed its “honour and pleasure” at the visit of the Duke and Duchess.
“During their stay in the country, they will meet with service members and host a number of cultural activities,” the press release said.
According to the press release, the possibility of Nigeria hosting the Invictus Games in the future will also be discussed.
on his podcast archetypeMarkle has previously said that she is “43 percent Nigerian.”
