King Charles arrives to host Buckingham Palace backyard occasion

Prince Harry waved to crowds as he arrived at St Paul’s Cathedral for a service to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games today – while two miles away King Charles hosted a garden party. 

The Duke of Sussex, who remains estranged from many family members, said yesterday that he had been told his father did not have time to see him this week while he is staying in the UK.

As he walked up the steps of St Paul’s, Charles joined other senior royals for the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the summer season, with His Majesty accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. 

The only working royals missing were the Prince and Princess of Wales – William had conducted an investiture in Windsor earlier in the day, while Kate is not undertaking public duties due to her health – along with the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra, who are both carrying out fewer engagements due to their increasing frailty.

Dignitaries at the Invictus Games service included Earl Spencer – Princess Diana‘s brother.

Charles has not been able to find time to see his son Harry this afternoon despite them being just two miles apart at different events in London.

Charles, who also had meetings this morning, will later attend his weekly audience with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this evening followed by a Privy Council meeting.

Harry has other Invictus events to attend today, following his attendance at a summit at the Honourable Artillery Company’s headquarters yesterday. As he left that, Harry was asked whether he was ‘happy to be home’, and simply replied: ‘Nice to see you.’

The Duke of Sussex has flown into London for the Invictus engagements and there were hopes that he would see the King. 

But a spokesman for Harry said yesterday that the monarch’s ‘full programme’ meant the get-together would not happen.

Harry is also not expected to see his estranged brother Prince William who held an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle this morning. 

William continues to balance work with looking after his three children while his wife Kate undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer and recovers from serious abdominal surgery in January.

Tomorrow, William will fly to Cornwall for further official engagements – and the King will meet staff and families of the 3 Royal School of Military Engineering in Surrey.

Then on Monday there will be a rare joint visit for Charles and William, as the King officially hands over the role of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to William at the Army Aviation Centre in Middle Wallop, where Harry previously learnt to fly.

Today, the King’s attendance at the garden party with other royals today was a clear sign of solidarity for Charles, 75, who has been given permission to carry out more forward-facing public duties by doctors amid his own ongoing cancer battle.

While the monarch continues to undergo treatment, each engagement is being carefully calibrated to balance his desire to meet as many members of the public as possible with his health.

Aides are particularly keen he is protected as much as possible from picking up any colds or bugs.

Although there are 8,000 guests present today, the event was deemed appropriate as it takes place outside on the palace lawn.

It is likely, however, that interactions will be carefully monitored, or the amount of time the King spends meeting and greeting the public slightly shortened.

Guests began to file in from 3pm in order to enjoy the tea tents and palace grounds amid glorious sunshine and balmy temperatures.

The King and the royal party arrived, as usual, at 4pm on the terrace from The Carnarvon Room.

They stood for the National Anthem, played by one of the two military bands present, before being escorted by the Yeoman of the Guard down to the lawn.

There was also a spontaneous round of applause for the King after the National Anthem had concluded.

While the bands continued to play a selection of music, the royal party then circulated among the guests through ‘lanes’ which are cordoned by top hatted ushers.

Each senior royal normally takes a different route and random presentations are made so that guests have an equal chance of speaking to a member of the royal family.

The meet and greets normally last around an hour as the party makes its way towards the Royal Tea Tent, close to the palace lake, to meet further guests and VIPs.

Camilla wore a dress by Fiona Clare, a hat by Philip Treacy and a heart-shaped diamond brooch which previously belonged to Queen Elizabeth II.

The first garden party was held by Queen Victoria in June 1868, who declared the afternoon ‘splendid and not too hot’… quantities of people on the lawn whom I had to recognise as I went along… it was very puzzling and bewildering’.

While garden parties historically took the place of presentation parties attended by debutantes, they have since evolved into a way of recognising and rewarding public service.

Sponsors such as Lord Lieutenants, Government departments, charities, the military and faith groups nominate guests who have served their organisations or communities to be send a coveted invitation.

The King undertook official engagements both yesterday morning, as well as this morning, at Buckingham Palace. 

He is also likely to have seen his medical team at some point, as well as undergoing his regular cancer treatment.

Harry has travelled to the UK to commemorate the Invictus Games milestone with those who have been involved with the paralympic-style tournament and mark the decade-long support competitors have received. 

During the service at St Paul’s today, Harry will give a reading and actor Damian Lewis will recite the Invictus poem.

Charles and Harry last met soon after the King announced his cancer diagnosis in February and his son rushed from America to see his father.

That was the first time Harry had seen his father in person for 17 months, and they had a half-hour meeting before Charles left London to recuperate at Sandringham following treatment.

But this time, a spokesman for Harry said: ‘In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.

‘The duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.’

Just hours after Harry’s statement, palace officials announced a new joint engagement for Charles and William.

It is one of dozens of official engagements being planned for the 75-year-old monarch in the coming months after his doctors gave him the all-clear to undertake more public work once again while continuing his cancer treatment.

Yesterday, Charles met the prime minister of the Republic of Fiji at Buckingham Palace, before retiring to Clarence House – three miles away from Harry’s event.

Harry now lives with his wife Meghan Markle and children Archie, who turned five on Monday, and Lilibet in a £12million mansion in Montecito, California.

The Duke and Charles’s relationship had been strained during the period the duke stepped down as a working royal and moved to America with his wife, but after the meeting in February Harry suggested the King’s cancer diagnosis could lead to a reconciliation with his father.

In a Good Morning America interview at the time, it was suggested a family illness could have a ‘reunifying effect’, and when Harry was asked ‘Is that possible in this case?’ he replied: ‘Yeah, I’m sure.’

Harry has travelled alone to Britain, apart from his personal security guards, after claiming he does not feel safe bringing his family to the UK amid a continuing row with the Home Office following its decision to strip him of his round-the-clock Metropolitan Police protection when he left Britain.

Yesterday, Harry was in London attending a summit that reflected on the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games which stages sporting events for wounded, sick or injured veterans or serving military to aid their recovery.

He told delegates at the event, held at the Honourable Artillery Company’s headquarters on the edge of the City of London: ‘Sometimes you… look back and go ‘Look at what we’ve done’.

‘But also given the state of the world, there is so much more to do and I think a lot of uncertainty – but what we’ve created is a global community.’

The duke, who was joined onstage by Sir Keith Mills, the former Invictus Games Foundation chairman, said whenever he was asked how long Invictus will last, his reply was ‘as long as it’s serving a purpose’.

He added: ‘The root cause of the problem is conflict and I can’t fix that.

‘So we will always be here to be able to spread the message, tell the stories, change the perspectives and help as many people as humanly possible, because Invictus transcends borders, transcends politics.’

Harry flew into the UK unobserved and his arrival was revealed when it emerged he was attending the panel discussion yesterday.

It is not known where Harry is staying while in Britain – where he now has no official home after being asked to leave Frogmore Cottage.

He is expected to stay in the UK until tomorrow before flying to Nigeria where he will meet up with Meghan for a quasi-royal tour that is also expected to highlight the Invictus Games.

Harry was inspired to found the global tournament after attending the Warrior Games in Colorado in 2013 and seeing how injured American military personnel thrived on the challenge of taking part in competitive sports that aided their recovery.

He went on to stage the inaugural games in London’s Olympic Park in 2014 and the tournament has been held across the globe from Orlando and Sydney to Dusseldorf in 2023, with the 2025 event being hosted in Vancouver and Whistler.

He also said that he would be spending yesterday evening having dinner with former Invictus Games Foundation trustee Guy Monson.

Harry tried to locate the Old Etonian in the audience at the event, asking: ‘Guy Monson, are you here? No? … Well, we’re having dinner at his place later.’

Mr Monson, 61, is chief investment officer of the £18billion investment fund Sarasin and Partners and a trustee of the Invictus Games Foundation.

The Prince said that Mr Monson had been with him at the first Invictus event ten years ago and ‘basically never left his seat’.

Johnny Mercer, minister for veterans’ affairs, attended one of the final sessions of the day yesterday and praised the work of the Invictus delegates in supporting competitors, adding: ‘The power of sport in recovery has been well known for a long time, but your determination to take it to the next level has been unmatched.

‘I cannot adequately express to you here today the sheer power of what you have done. You have reached into the darkest recesses of their lives when they have literally nowhere else to turn, and you have transformed their existence.

‘Yes, it is about sports, but then again, it’s not really. It’s about a common humanity. Man’s conduct to fellow man – you set the standard for humility, for courage, for determination, the absolute resolve never to quit.’