Prince Harry attends St Paul's with Diana's relatives as King snubs event for garden party: live updates

The Duke of Sussex celebrated the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games with family, friends and veterans, while the king hosted a garden party.

Harry was joined at the thanksgiving service by close family members of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales and a mentor who supported him after her death, along with hundreds of members of the “Invictus family.”

The service at St Paul's Cathedral to recognize the Paralympic-style competition that the royals founded began when, a few miles away, Charles joined guests at the first garden party of the year at Buckingham Palace.

The monarch and his son did not meet during Harry's brief visit to the United Kingdom due to the King's “full schedule,” Harry's spokesman said in a statement.

There have been reports of trust issues, but the statement had a conciliatory tone and mentioned that the duke hoped to “see you soon”.

Among those invited to the service were Diana's brothers Lady Jane Fellowes and Earl Spencer, and former army officer Mark Dyer, who acted as a mentor to the duke, playing the role of supportive older brother to Harry after Diana's death. the princess.

The crowd had gathered around the protective barriers to watch the duke's car arrive, and there were a large number of journalists, photographers and cameramen covering his every move.

Harry acknowledged them with a gesture as he ascended the steps of St Paul's and was warmly welcomed by the Dean of St Paul's, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett.

The Royal Family posted on their official Instagram page tonight how they welcomed garden parties, while notably snubbing Prince Harry on his solo trip to the UK.

On Wednesday afternoon, the King and Queen were joined by the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester at the first garden party of the season.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Sussex is at St Paul's Cathedral for a thanksgiving service to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games.

The Duke of Sussex was warmly welcomed by the Dean of St Paul's, the Reverend Andrew Tremlett, before being escorted to his seat under the cathedral's grand dome.

The crowd had gathered around the protective barriers to watch the duke's car arrive, and there were a large number of journalists, photographers and cameramen covering his every move.

Prince Harry waved as he arrived to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at St Paul's Cathedral in central London.

The 31-year-old athlete received the recognition in honor of her sporting achievements and was delighted while speaking with the 41-year-old Prince.

He was awarded the honor along with other personalities, including celebrated film director Ridley Scott, who was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire.

Today is a busy day for the royal family as King Charles will host a garden party at Buckingham Palace this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry will give a speech at a thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral in London to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.

It can be revealed that King Charles and Prince Harry will not meet on Wednesday due to a scheduling conflict between a royal garden party and an Invictus Games event.

Harry is in London this week, celebrating 10 years of the Invictus Games. On Wednesday afternoon he will host a thanksgiving ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral.

However, it is understood that the King will host a garden party at Buckingham Palace at 4pm, where guests will be able to enjoy the warmest weather of the year so far – meaning the couple will not be able to meet.

The heir to the throne, 41, will receive the honor on Monday (May 13), Buckingham Palace announced.

According to reports, the honor would likely have passed to Prince Harry, 39, a former Apache helicopter pilot who, unlike Prince William, personally served in the Army Air Corps in Afghanistan.

However, this was not possible after he stepped down as a working royal in 2020.

Like Harry, William is also a trained pilot and previously worked as a search and rescue and air ambulance pilot.

The news comes after a spokesperson for Prince Harry revealed that the King, 75, does not have time to see him on his current visit to the UK after he landed back on British soil yesterday (May 7).

A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said: “In response to numerous inquiries and continued speculation as to whether or not the Duke will meet his father while in the UK this week, unfortunately it will not be possible due to Her Majesty's full schedule.

“The Duke, of course, understands his father's diary of engagements and other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”

Prince Harry has not been in the country since February, when he met the king for a quick visit following the monarch's cancer diagnosis.

He is due to give a speech on Wednesday (May 8) to mark the anniversary of the games he founded in 2014 at a thanksgiving ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral.

His arrival was announced by royal editor Chris Ship on Twitter (X), who revealed that Harry will also be attending some Invictus-related events today.

The Queen opened a new school library and told excited pupils that reading will open doors and make a “huge difference” to their lives.

Camilla told children at Moreland Primary School in Islington, London, “the more books you read, the more you learn.”

The royals' proud history of contributions to literacy initiatives was honored through the opening of the library and part of the Coronation Libraries Project.