King ‘to be invited to Harry's Invictus Games'
The Duke of Sussex will invite the Royal family to the 2027 Invictus Games in the hope that it will prove an ideal opportunity for reconciliation, it has been claimed.
Email invitations will reportedly be sent to Buckingham Palace this month, followed by formal invitations nearer the time.
It is hoped the timing will give the King maximum chance to slot the event, to be held in Birmingham in July that year, into his schedule.
Both the Royal guest list and the wording of the invitations are already said to have been approved by the Duke, with emails being sent to private secretaries at the Palace.
A source close to the Sussexes told The Mail on Sunday: 'Harry has agreed that Invictus should extend an invitation to his family. The Royals have always been hugely supportive of Invictus and proud of what Harry has achieved in that arena. This is one olive branch from him that might be reciprocated.'
A source told The Telegraph no invitations had been issued yet, and that invitations were a matter for the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 team, not the Duke.
On Sunday, Buckingham Palace sources declined to discuss the forthcoming olive branch, insisting diaries were not planned that far in advance.
However, The Telegraph understands that such a potential reconciliation has been discussed at the most senior level, with Palace aides aware that the event could prove a timely opportunity to mend bridges.
One sticking point will be the clash with the Queen's 80th birthday. The Games will open at Birmingham's NEC on July 12 2027 and conclude on July 17 – the Queen's birthday, for which celebration planning will already be under way.
The lack of Royal support for the Invictus Games has been a sticking point in recent years, with members of Team UK expressing bafflement that competitors did not get so much as 'a shout-out'.
One well-placed source told the Telegraph during the September 2023 event in Dusseldorf, Germany, it was felt there could have been more support for the hugely successful international event back home.
The Princess and Princess of Wales's Royal Foundation – then shared with the Duke – was integral to the establishment and funding of the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014. That year, the then-Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and Prince William all joined Harry at the opening ceremony in London.
In 2020, the foundation gave a grant of more than £500,000 to Invictus. At the time, a courtier was quoted as saying: 'Prince William and Catherine always supported Harry's efforts to establish Invictus. They are delighted that it has been a success.'
Palace sources have previously insisted that members of the Royal family never involve themselves in each others' professional endeavours.
The King is understood to have been invited to a service celebrating the 10th anniversary of the games at St Paul's Cathedral last May, but did not attend. However, with such an international event being hosted in the UK, it might appear churlish not to celebrate the achievements of the sick and wounded veterans taking part.
'I would like to get my father and brother back'
In May, the Duke insisted in a lengthy BBC interview after losing his legal battle with the Government over security that he wanted to reconcile with his family. But he admitted his father would not speak to him and that he did not know how much longer the King had to live.
'There's no point in continuing to fight any more,' he said. 'Life is precious. Forgiveness is 100 per cent a possibility, because I would like to get my father and brother back.'
The Duke described the long-running court case, during which he argued that he had been singled out for 'unjustified and inferior treatment' when he was denied the right to automatic police protection, as a 'good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up'.
It is not yet known whether the Duchess of Sussex or their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who by then would be eight and six, would join the Duke in the UK in 2027. If Meghan opts not to return, it would be the first Invictus Games she has missed since meeting Prince Harry.
However, the Duke is sure to recognise that it would prove the perfect opportunity to reunite his children with their grandfather, who they barely know.
During his legal battle, he said he did not feel able to bring his children to the UK, adding that he felt he could not put his wife 'in danger like that'. But with the UK hosting the event, it is thought there may be a way to ensure any Sussexes who attend are incorporated under the wider police protection umbrella.
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