The Duke of Sussex was alone as he climbed the steps of the cathedral – without his wife Meghan Markle, who stayed in California with their two children.
However, he was greeted inside by members of his dead mother’s family, who were warmly embraced by Harry. Filmed footage showed the Duke chatting live with them, clearly enjoying their presence, writes dailymail.co.uk.
The king could not meet Harry
Meanwhile, King Charles III, who was invited to attend a service in central London, hosted the first garden party of the season at Buckingham Palace.
The monarch was joined by Queen Camilla, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester for the first summer celebration. The only senior royals missing were the Prince and Princess of Wales. William was presenting awards in Windsor while Kate is still undergoing cancer treatment.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Prince Harry claimed the king was too busy to see his youngest son during his short visit to the UK. However, House sources said last night that no formal requests for a meeting had been made.
Despite documented tensions with the Windsors, Prince Harry has remained close to his mother’s family, particularly Lady Jane, over the years. Jane, the middle of three sisters, four years older than Diana, has long been considered his confidant.
She was asked to give a speech at Harry’s wedding to Meghan in 2018 and was one of the first members invited to meet their young son Archie – before Prince William.
Diana’s relatives came to support Harry
Throughout his memoirs, Spare, he paid “special thanks” to Lady Jane, her older sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and Earl Spencer, but made no mention of the dead Queen, King Charles III, or his own brother.
So it was no surprise that two of the siblings turned up at yesterday’s ceremony to support Diana’s youngest child. In addition to his aunt and uncle, Harry was surrounded by many high-ranking officials, politicians and close friends.
His lawyer David Sherbourne was in attendance, while ex-army officer Mark Dyer, who helped look after Harry after his mother’s death, was also in attendance
Akshata Murty, dressed in a military-style green coat with gold buttons, also joined the group, joined by Minister of State for Veterans Affairs Johnny Mercer. Other stars in the crowd included former Olympic triple jump champion Jonatan Edwards.
It is said that Harry’s request for a meeting was not received by Charles III
Huge crowds gathered outside St Paul’s Church to witness a rare appearance by the royal family on British soil, with some chanting “we love you Harry” as he got out of the car.
The Duke was warmly greeted by St. Paul’s Dean, the Reverend Andrew Tremlett, and escorted him to his place under the cathedral’s great dome. Once inside the cathedral, he spoke to the clergy and Earl Spencer before taking his seat.
The Duke of Sussex, who remains estranged from many family members after a string of attacks on the royal family in recent years, said on Tuesday he had been told his father had no time to see him this week while he was in the UK.
Charles III didn’t have time to see his son Prince Harry this afternoon as he attended the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the summer season.
The King had a busy day yesterday with meetings scheduled in the morning before the garden party. In the evening, he attended the weekly audience with the Prime Minister, followed by a meeting of the Privy Council.
The Duke of Sussex flew to London to attend the Invictus events and there were hopes he would catch a glimpse of the King. But Harry’s spokesman said the meeting would not take place due to the monarch’s “full schedule”.
However, representatives of the royal family told The Telegraph last night that no formal requests had been made to meet the king.
Thanked for the Invictus Games
During the ceremony Harry sat down next to his guardian Mark Dyer and exchanged a few words with his uncle Earl Spencer. The service opened with ‘Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven’ as a few miles away the King held his first Buckingham Palace garden party of the year.
Paul’s Dean told the gathering: “Tonight we have gathered to thank the almighty God for the work of the Invictus Games Foundation and to celebrate the tremendous achievements of the many participants from 23 countries in this anniversary year, the 10th year.”
“Thank you for the inspiring vision and compassion that shaped the foundation and, most importantly, for a decade of profound and transformative work.”
We mourn the pain, cost and humiliation caused by war and terror – we pray for a world where justice reigns and nations find the unity they so long for.
We remember with admiration the skill and determination of those who work to repair, rehabilitate and restore the lives of seriously ill or injured people: changing and saving lives.
Where Harry stayed is unknown
Michelle Turner, who is vice-captain of the UK Invictus Games team, also gave an emotional reading. She read a personal poem about how the Games helped her heal and affected her family.
At the end of the reading, she said with tears in her eyes, “Thank you Invictus for bringing me back to life.” The California-based royal greeted large crowds as he emerged from the cathedral on a clear evening in the capital.
He was heard asking two fans from New York what brought them to the UK. When they replied that they had arrived for a wedding, the prince jokingly asked her “there?”, referring to St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Duke joked with one enthusiastic royal fan who had two phones out to get the best picture of Harry.
“Why do you have two phones?” he laughed, “It makes no sense! Hundreds of people joined the crowd, which was heavily guarded by police officers.
There were shouts of “we love you Harry” as the prince walked around the town, and others shouted with excitement before Harry got into the Land Rover and drove off. It is not known where Harry stayed while in Britain, as he now has no official home after being asked to leave Frogmore Cottage.
Kate is still undergoing treatment for cancer
He is expected to stay in the UK until tomorrow before flying to Nigeria, where he will meet Meghan and take part in a quasi-royal tour that is expected to highlight the Invictus Games.
Harry spent Tuesday in the capital attending a summit to mark the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, which organize sporting events for wounded, ill or injured veterans or serving troops to help them recover.
He told delegates at the event, which was held at the headquarters of the Honorable Artillery Company on the outskirts of the City of London: “Sometimes … you look back and think, ‘Look what we’ve done.’
“But given the state of the world, there’s a lot more to do and I think there’s a lot of unknowns, but we’ve built a global community.” Harry is also not expected to meet his estranged brother Prince William, who held a ceremony at Windsor Castle yesterday.
William continues to juggle work and looking after his three children while his wife Kate undergoes preventive chemotherapy for cancer and recovers from major abdominal surgery in January.
William will fly to Cornwall today for further official engagements, with the King meeting with staff and families from 3 Royal Military Engineering Colleges in Surrey.
Charles III and Harry met after his father’s cancer diagnosis was made public
Monday will mark a rare joint visit between Charles III and William, with the King officially handing over William’s position as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps at Middle Wallop Air Force Base, where Harry previously trained to fly.
Harry arrived in the UK to celebrate the milestone of the Invictus Games with those who took part in the Paralympic-style event and to mark a decade of support for the participants.
Charles III and Harry last met shortly after the king announced his cancer diagnosis in February, and his son rushed from America to see his father.
It was the first time Harry had seen his father in person in 17 months and the two met half an hour before Charles III left London to recuperate at Sandringham after treatment.
But this time, Harry’s spokesman said: “In response to numerous inquiries and ongoing speculation as to whether the Duke will meet his father while in the UK this week, unfortunately this will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full schedule.”
The Duke is of course aware of his father’s busy schedule and various other priorities and hopes to meet him soon.
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