Harry attends service of thanksgiving to celebrate anniversary of Invictus Games
The service was held at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Duke of Sussex has arrived at St Paul’s Cathedral for a service of thanksgiving to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games.
Harry joined a congregation of around a thousand inside the London landmark where he is due to give a bible reading.
Among the guests were Diana, Princess of Wales’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 Diana’s death.
The duke 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.
Headlines were made when it was confirmed by Harry’s spokesman on Tuesday he would not be meeting his father the King during his brief UK visit.
There was speculation Harry may have seen Charles but the spokesman said that the monarch’s “full programme” meant the get-together would not happen.
Harry spent Tuesday in the capital 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 service began with the hymn Praise My Soul The King Of Heaven as a few miles away the King hosted the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the year.
Harry had taken a seat next to his mentor Mark Dyer and exchanged a few words with his uncle Earl Spencer.
The Dean of St Paul’s told the congregation: “We gather this evening to offer grateful thanksgiving to Almighty God for the work of the Invictus Games Foundation, and in this their 10th anniversary year, we celebrate the tremendous achievements of the numerous competitors across 23 nations.
“We give thanks for the inspiring vision and compassion that formed the foundation and, chiefly, for the resultant decade of profound and transformational work.
“We lament the pain, cost and indignity of war and terror, and pray for a world where justice shall reign and where the nations will find their longed for unity.
“We recall, with admiration, the skill and determination of those who seek to repair, rehabilitate, and reclaim the lives of those living with serious illness or injury: changing and saving lives.”
