Prince Harry's warm reaction from crowds in London on Wednesday while he attended a 10th-anniversary celebration for his Invictus Games veterans project at St Paul's Cathedral in London has gone viral.
Harry's brief visit to Britain saw him arrive on May 7, before attending a panel discussion focused on the founding of the Invictus Games in 2014. The prince developed the idea after attending the veterans Warrior Games in the U.S. a year earlier and expanded on its vision to provide injured, sick and wounded ex-armed forces members with an international platform to display their mental and physical rehabilitation through sport.
Harry's attendance at the 10th anniversary service of thanksgiving for the games at St Paul's on Wednesday afternoon was made as speculation surrounded his relationship with royal family members, principally his father, King Charles III.
On Tuesday an announcement was made by Harry's spokesperson confirming that despite speculation, the prince would not spend time with the king during his U.K. visit. A meeting, they said, "will not be possible due to His Majesty's full program."
At the time of Harry's Invictus service, Charles was hosting a garden party for 8,000 guests at Buckingham Palace alongside Queen Camilla and a number of senior royals.
Despite his popularity being reduced in Britain since his split from the monarchy with Meghan Markle in 2020 and the publication of his bombshell memoir three years later, Harry received a heartening response from well-wishers who turned out at St Paul's to witness the arrivals for the service.
Uploaded to TikTok by user theroyaldiary2, footage of the prince's arrival and the cheers he was met with has gone viral, gaining over 100,000 views in less than 24 hours.
@theroyaldiary2 I'm so happy for Prince Harry #fyp #fu #princeharry #invictus #london #britishroyalfamily #royalfamily #thriving #kingharry ♬ original sound - The Duchess
Captioned "I'm so happy for Prince Harry," and "This makes me so emotional, the reception he received was amazing," the footage shows Harry exiting a Land Rover at the steps of the cathedral before climbing them to be met by a member of the clergy.
The clip has received in excess of 5,000 likes and over 600 comments so far, many of which have praised the royal and the warmth he received from the crowd.
"We love you and your family 🙏," wrote one TikTok user.
"The People's Prince 💖💥," posted another, with a further comment reading: "We need to walk in his shoes before we judge him 🙏❤."
Harry was the only member of the royal family to attend the service but he did have relatives in the congregation.
Several members of Princess Diana's family were invited to the event. These included Charles, Earl Spencer (Diana's younger brother) and Lady Jane Fellowes (her elder sister).
It is not known if the king or members of the royal family were invited to the service.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan Markle and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
