King Charles said his schedule was too full to meet his son Harry while Prince William didn’t say anything at all, choosing to keep silent instead, royal author Tom Quinn said
Prince Harry meets member of the public as he departs The Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London (
Image: Getty Images for Invictus Games)
Prince William seems to act as if his younger brother Harry “no longer exists” and his silence is “deafening”, a royal expert has said.
The Duke of Sussex visited the UK this week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. Harry, 39, was joined for the service of thanksgiving by close relatives of his mother Diana, and a mentor who supported him after her death.
The St Paul’s Cathedral service to recognise the Paralympic-style competition the royal founded began as a few miles away King Charles met guests at the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the year. The monarch and his son have not met during Harry’s brief UK visit due to the King’s “full programme”, said the duke’s spokesman in a statement.
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Prince William didn’t say anything about his brother’s visit to the UK (
Image:
WireImage)
Harry travelled to London but didn’t meet his family (
Image:
Getty Images for Invictus Games)
And Harry did not even meet his brother William, who unlike his father, did not issue an excuse, pointed out royal author Tom Quinn. According to the expert, Harry’s visit did “nothing” to repair damaged royal relations as the duke appeared to be “publicly snubbed by his father and brother”.
Mr Quinn told The Mirror : “Harry’s visit to the UK has done nothing to repair royal relations – Harry has been very publicly snubbed by his father and brother. Despite being stricken with cancer King Charles says he is too busy to see his son; Harry’s brother doesn’t even bother to issue an excuse.
“He says nothing. It is as if Harry no longer exists. There’s been no obvious criticism from either side, but the silence from William is deafening.”
Among the guests for the Invictus service were Diana’s siblings Lady Jane Fellowes and Earl Spencer, and former army officer Mark Dyer, who acted as the duke’s mentor, playing the role of a supportive big brother figure for Harry after the princess’s death. Crowds gathered around crash barriers to see the duke’s car pull up, and there was a large number of journalists, photographers, and cameramen covering his every move.
Harry acknowledged them with a wave as he strode up St Paul’s steps and was warmly greeted warmly greeted by the Dean of St Paul’s, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett. Harry was inspired to found the global tournament after attending the Warrior Games in Colorado in 2013 and seeing how injured American military personnel thrived on the challenge of taking part in competitive sports that aided their recovery.
He went on to stage the inaugural games in London’s Olympic Park in 2014 and the tournament has been held across the globe from Orlando and Sydney to Dusseldorf in 2023, with the 2025 event being hosted in Vancouver and Whistler. The St Paul’s congregation of just over 1,000 people gave a standing ovation after ex-RAF servicewoman Michelle Turner, her husband John and daughter Maya each read verses of a poem that described their experiences following Mrs Turner’s medical discharge, after a tropical disease she caught while on deployment affected her heart.
Many assumed Harry would visit his father when he came to London this week (
Image:
Getty Images)
Mrs Turner, Team UK captain for the 2018 Games, told the guests: “Wounded, injured, sick, and now with no career: consumed by insecurities, the pain and the fear. Our lives were upside down, how could it be, that the little girl I was meant to protect, was now looking after me.”
At the end, after her voice broke with emotion as she said “Thank you Invictus for giving my life back”, the congregation stood and applauded. The Dean of St Paul’s echoed her words in his sermon when he said the Invictus Games Foundation, which organises the competition, was ” … not only changing lives through sport but quite literally by saving lives.”
Harry later joined some of the Invictus community for a private reception in the cathedral’s crypt. He was later reunited with his wife, Meghan Markle, at Heathrow, with the Duchess of Sussex landing on Thursday from Los Angeles and waiting for her husband in the VIP Windsor Suite of the airport.
Many people gathered to see Harry at St Paul’s Cathedral on May 8 (
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)DON’T MISS
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The Sussexes have now landed in Nigeria after travelling to Abuja on a British Airways flight. When they arrived in Abuja, other travellers were held back as they were escorted off the plane.
Nigerian officials met them at Abuja, where they were taken out of a side door onto the jetty and into a waiting minibus. In Nigeria, they will visit the country’s military headquarters and promote the Invictus Games during their trip.
Today, the couple will visit Lagos following their trip to the Nigerian Defence Headquarters. Nigerian officials said the couple’s trip will last until Monday, and a representative for the couple confirmed to The Mirror that members of the media will also be joining them on the visit.
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