Prince Harry says King Charles ‘too busy’ to meet as he arrives in UK without Meghan for Invictus ceremony – live updates

The heir to the throne, 41, will be given the honour on Monday (13 May), Buckingham Palace has announced.

According to reports, the honour may have passed to Prince Harry, 39, a former Apache helicopter pilot who served with the Army Air Corps in Afghanistan, 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 (7 May).

A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex 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.”

Prince Harry has not been in the country since February when he met with the King for a flying visit following the monarch’s cancer diagnosis.

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

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

The Queen opened a new school library as she told excited pupils reading will open doors and make a “huge difference” for them in life.

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

The royal’s proud history of contributions to literacy initiatives was honoured through the opening of the library and part of the Coronation Libraries Project.

The representative for the Duke of Sussex, 39, said that a reunion will not be possible because of the Monarch’s busy schedule following his return to duty last 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,” they said.

Harry and the King last saw each other for a reported 45 minutes in February following news of Charles’s cancer diagnosis breaking.

In February, King Charles shared he had been diagnosed with cancer following treatment for a benign enlarged prostate.

The Princess, 35, gave the first update on her mother since January when it was announced that the Duchess of York, 64, had skin cancer following the removal of several moles.

At the time, the Duchess was said to be “undergoing further investigations to ensure that it has been caught in the early stages.”

The Duke of Sussex joked about his plans during his trip to the UK as his spokesperson confirmed he would not be reuniting with King Charles III during his visit.

Harry is in the UK celebrating the 10th anniversary of his Paralympic-style tournament for wounded veterans and serving military.

He joked during an Invictus summit event he would be spending the evening having dinner with former Invictus Games Foundation trustee Guy Monson.

The Duke of Sussex has paid tribute to the Invictus Games family’s “commitment, enthusiasm and belief” as he returned to the UK to celebrate 10 years of the sporting event.

Harry has been the driving force behind the Paralympics-style tournament he launched in 2014 to support the rehabilitation of wounded or sick service personnel or veterans, and he joined an Invictus conference looking back over the past decade.

The duke was last in the country to visit the King after his cancer diagnosis, and there is speculation father and son could meet this week.

Harry arrived at the Honourable Artillery Company’s headquarters on the edge of the City of London for the one-day summit, called the Invictus Games Foundation Conversation, ahead of attending Wednesday’s St Paul’s Cathedral ceremony also marking the 10th anniversary.

Writing in the foreword for the summit, Harry said: “It has been an honour to watch the Invictus Games Foundation grow over the years; what began as a vision to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans, has flourished into an international organisation built on hope, strength, and unity.”

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, followed by Orlando in 2016, Toronto in 2017 and Sydney 2018.

Organisers said after 2020, Invictus will be staged every two years, but The Hague Games planned for that year was delayed by the pandemic until 2022, followed by Dusseldorf 2023, while Vancouver Whistler is planned for 2025.

The duke wrote: “As we look ahead to the first winter hybrid Games at Vancouver Whistler 2025 next year, we are eager to celebrate the Invictus Spirit once again – exemplified in every single competitor, staff, friend and family member – your commitment, enthusiasm and belief, have been the driving force behind our continued success.”

He added: “Together, we have created a legacy that transcends sports; a community that embraces compassion, respect, and the unyielding belief in the power of the human spirit. As we celebrate this milestone, let us recommit to the Invictus mission.”

The King, 75, subtly let royal fans know that he is feeling good by wearing a pink T-rex tie – reportedly a gift from one of his grandchildren – on his visit to a cancer treatment centre in London.

According to commentators, it is likely a gift from Prince Louis, six, who reportedly has a penchant for dinosaurs.

An intricately stitched roll more than 70ft (21.4 metres) long, created for the King’s coronation, contains just one mistake, it’s been revealed – a missing dot over an “i”.

Calligrapher Stephanie von Werthern-Gill said she worked for 56 days non-stop writing the roll after the coronation almost a year ago, on 6 May.