Prince Harry won't attend Prince Philip's memorial but will attend another public event in Europe

Prince Harry revealed that he will not attend his grandfather’s memorial service. The following day he announced he would be in Holland for the Invictus Games.

Prince Harry will attend the Invictus Games but won’t attend Prince Philip’s memorial service due to security reasons
© Chris Jackson/Getty
Prince Harry will attend the Invictus Games but won’t attend Prince Philip’s memorial service due to security reasons

Over the weekend, Prince Harry’s lawyer revealed that Harry would not be returning to the UK to attend Prince Philip’s memorial service on March 29. However, the following day, the Prince announced that he would be attending the Invictus Games in Holland.

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Prince Harry isn’t attending the memorial service

Prince Harry has decided to not fly back to the UK with his family of four to attend the memorial service for his late grandfather, Prince Philip. The reason Prince Harry is not attending is due to his ongoing legal battle with the British Government to grant his access to private police protection.

A spokesperson for Prince Harry said he ‘hopes to visit the Queen as soon as possible.’

Since stepping down as Senior Royal, Prince Harry has moved to the US and obtained American citizenship. As a result, he is no longer eligible for British police protection whilst visiting.

As a result, Prince Harry has only returned to the UK twice in two years, once for Prince Philip’s funeral and a second time for the unveiling of Princess Diana’s commemorative statue. Both times Prince Harry was unaccompanied by his wife, Meghan Markle.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the 2018 Invictus Games Karwai Tang/Getty

Prince Harry will be attending the Invictus Games

The day after announcing he wouldn’t be at Prince Philip’s memorial service, Prince Harry announced that he would be attending the Invictus Games.

This year the Invictus Games will be held in Hague, Holland from April 16 to April 22. The Invictus Games’ Twitter account posted a video of Prince Harry learning some Dutch sentences that he would need whilst there.

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Prince Harry founded the Invictus Games

The Invictus Games is an annual sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The goal of the games is to promote recovery and rehabilitation through sports.

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Prince Harry at the 2016 Invictus Games Chris Jackson/Getty

The Invictus Games were founded by Prince Harry in 2014 after he attended the Warrior Games in the US and realised the impact sport had on mental and physical recovery.

Prince Harry joins forces with royal family to pay homage to Prince Philip Prince Harry joins forces with royal family to pay homage to Prince Philip