Harry attends St Paul’s with Diana’s relatives as King snubs event for garden party

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

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

The St Paul’s Cathedral service to recognise the Paralympic-style competition the royal founded began as a few miles away Charles met guests at the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the year.

The monarch and his son have not met during Harry‘s brief UK visit due to the King’s “full programme” said Harry‘s spokesman in a statement.

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

Among the guests for the service were Diana’s siblings Lady Jane Fellowes and Earl Spencer, and former army officer Mark Dyer, who acted as the duke’s mentor, playing the role of a supportive big brother figure for Harry after the princess’s death.

Crowds had gathered around crash barriers to see the duke’s car pull up, and there was a large number of journalists, photographers, and cameramen covering his every move.

Harry acknowledge them with a wave as he strode up St Paul’s steps and was warmly greeted warmly greeted by the Dean of St Paul’s, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett.

The Royal Family posted on their official Instagram page this evening as they welcomed back 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 service of thanksgiving to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games.

The Duke of Sussex was warmly greeted by the Dean of St Paul’s, the Very Reverend Andrew Tremlett, before being escorted to his seat under the cathedral’s great dome.

Crowds had gathered around crash barriers to see the duke’s car pull up, and there was 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 athlete, 31, received the recognition in honour of her sporting achievements and looked delighted as she spoke with the Prince, 41.

She was given the honour alongside other VIPs 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, with King Charles hosting a garden party at Buckingham Palace this afternoon.

Prince Harry, meanwhile, is giving a speech at a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.

King Charles and Prince Harry won’t meet up on Wednesday due to a timetable clash between a royal garden party and an Invictus Games event, it can be revealed.

Harry is in London this week, celebrating 10 years of the Invictus Games. He will host a St Paul’s cathedral thanksgiving ceremony on Wednesday evening.

The King, however, is understood to be hosting a garden party at Buckingham Palace at 4pm – where guests can enjoy some of the warmest weather of the year so far, meaning the pair are unable to meet.

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

According to reports, the honour would have likely passed to Prince Harry, 39 – a former Apache helicopter pilot who, unlike Prince William, personally served with 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 (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.