Prince Harry arrives in UK without Meghan for Invictus ceremony – live

A royal expert has opened up about the ‘telling sign’ Prince Harry will be alone at his first public-facing event in some time.

The Duke of Sussex is set to give a thanksgiving speech at a ceremony celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games and it is believed he will not be joined by any members of the royal family.

He will also be without the support of his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, who remain in the US.

The games, which celebrates the sporting abilities of wounded, sick or injured veterans, was founded by the fifth in line to the throne back in 2015.

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said: “He’s here to celebrate the Invictus Games… and rightly so, it is a great achievement.

“But how telling it will be to see him there without a single member of the royal family present to salute his achievement. It will be a graphic illustration of what he has done to the family he still professes to love.”

A reconciliation between Prince Harry and Prince William is unlikely to happen in “the foreseeable future”, a royal expert has claimed.

The fifth in line to the throne returned to the UK from California today (7 May) for the first time since February to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.

He is expected to give a thanksgiving speech at a ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral in London, which organisers have said won’t be attended by other members of the royal family.

Former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole said: “After so much bad blood, it is very difficult indeed to see any sort of reconciliation between the Sussexes and the Royal Family happening [this] week – or for the foreseeable future.”

As reported by Page Six, none of the family are expected to attend the thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the sporting event founded by the Duke.

The Prince is reported to be spending the evening in a London hotel after attending other Invictus-related events today.

Meghan Markle was reportedly given a “rare honour” ahead of her and Prince Harry’s decision to step down as working royals in 2020.

BBC royal correspondent Micheal Cole said that before the Sussex’s relationship with the royals went “badly wrong”, the firm did everything they could to welcome the former actress into their family.

“It was a rare honour when the King offered to walk her down the aisle because her father, Thomas, is estranged from her, as are most members of her family,” he told Good Morning America. “That was a great honour, and the late Queen went out of her way to make a friend of Doria, her mother.

“It’s really hard to puzzle where it all went so badly wrong. She could not have been welcomed more into this country or the Royal Family.”

The Duke of Sussex, 39, is here to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, which he founded back in 2014. The event celebrates the sporting abilities of wounded, injured and sick service people.

The Prince’s arrival was announced by ITV News’s royal editor, Chris Ship, on Twitter (X) this afternoon.

Ship wrote: “[Harry] landed here ahead of his St Paul’s Cathedral service tomorrow to mark 10 years of the @WeAreInvictus which he founded in 2014. He’s doing some Invictus related events today.”

The revelation was made by Penny Mordaunt, the Lord President of the Privy Council, 51, who regularly meets with the King as part of her work.

Her comments come after the King returned to duty last Tuesday (1 May) after taking a step back following news of illness breaking in February.

“I think people won’t be surprised to know that he’s completely charming and always calm,” Mourdant told GB News.

“And he’s also got a really good sense of humour as well. But he’s always asking about how things are going, particularly issues that we’re dealing with in Parliament or about particular groups who he knows that are having a rough time.

“He’s always asking after those people, so he cares a great deal and he’s a delight to work with.

“He’s very good. And I know that he would have been so pleased to get back to public duties. He would have missed it tremendously.”

A new poll from The Independent has found that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are viewed as “strongly favourable” by just nine per cent of British people.

The poll found that Harry, 39, was seen in a favourable light by 29 per cent of respondents while just 25 per cent had a favourable opinion of the Duchess of Sussex, 42.

Prince William and Kate Middleton emerged as the UK’s favourite royals in the poll, with Kate, 42, beating William, 41, by a hair’s breadth.

The Princess was given a favourability rating of 62 per cent while her husband was seen as favourable by 61 per cent of respondents.

A further 36 per cent of people said they saw Kate as “strongly favourable” and 34 per cent of those surveyed put the future king into this category too.

The youngster turned five yesterday (6 May) and royal expert Tom Quinn speculated about the simple gift he would receive from the Monarch – a card and present.

“There has even been talk that he will send one of his own watercolour paintings to Archie as a present as Meghan loves homemade gifts and dislikes extravagant expensive presents,” Quinn told The Mirror.

Prince Archie is currently sixth in line to the throne after his father.

Mark Dolan said the Prince’s visit, which is to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, presents an opportunity for the family to “find a way back for Harry”.

The royal expert believes that the Prince’s strained relationship with his family could begin to be repaired if they make him a “guest of honour” on this week’s trip.

“In families as in friendships, I think you should have forgiveness. I think Harry should be staying at Buckingham Palace,” Dolan said.

“He should be a guest of honour. He should have more than a blink and you will miss it with his father, who let’s not forget is battling cancer.”

An investigation was launched by a think tank group after the Prince, 39, admitted to using a range of substances, some as recently as 2016.

His application is now being reviewed in private to ascertain whether or not he lied about his usage.

Following the private review, a decision will be taken about whether or not to make the documents public.

Harry wrote: “Psychedelics did me some good as well. I’d experimented with them over the years, for fun, but now I’d begun to use them therapeutically, medicinally. They didn’t simply allow me to escape reality for a while.”