Prince Harry attends first public event since returning to UK
The Duke of Sussex was pictured at the Invictus Spirit Awards in south-east London on Thursday evening
The Duke of Sussex has been spotted for the first time in public since landing back in the UK, as he arrived at the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards.
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He attended the ceremony on Thursday evening, which was held at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, south-east London.
Adorned with his military medals and dressed in black tie, Harry was pictured by the press shortly after arriving, before taking selfies with wounded veterans.
Harry’s first public engagement since his return to the UK comes after a war of words between the King and Earl Charles Spencer, the brother of Princess Diana.
Thursday evening’s ceremony was held to raise funds for the Invictus Games Foundation, which Harry is the founding patron of. The foundation provides support to wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.
The event featured a number of star attendees, with it opened by James Corden, alongside a performance from singer Jess Glynne later in the night.
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It comes after heated claims from Earl Spencer’s new memoir were published, in which the King is said to have told Diana’s brother in 1997, at the time of her death, that “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”.
A palace spokesman said: “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”
The appearance comes after it was revealed that Harry and Meghan made the decision to move their children to a new school following security concerns.
Harry and Meghan’s children, Prince Archie, seven, and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, had been at the school for a short while, after the family’s relocation from the US three weeks ago.
Heavy traffic and the lengthy journey to the school were primary factors in the decision to move schools, with driving in convoy being difficult as a result, Hello! magazine reported.
The children’s school move comes as reports emerge that both Harry and Meghan will receive an official risk assessment as they return to the UK.
In January 2020, Harry and Meghan announced they would step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while still supporting Queen Elizabeth II. They also planned to share their time between the UK and North America.
But the late Queen determined at the Sandringham Summit, which was convened to address the ‘Megxit’ crisis, that the couple could not be half in and half out.
The King recently said the agreement still remains.