The Duke of Sussex has been advised to distance himself from the sporting event ahead of its return to the UK in 2027.
Prince Harry has been urged to step down from the Invictus Games following claims that “public pressure” is being placed on King Charles to attend the 2027 event in Birmingham.
The Duke of Sussex has expressed his enthusiasm for the Games’ return to Britain, but royal commentator Richard Eden believes the growing controversy surrounding the event risks overshadowing its purpose.
Speaking on the latest episode of Palace Confidential, Eden and veteran royal correspondent Richard Kay discussed a recent column by their colleague Amanda Platell.
Platell argued that the King should reject his estranged son’s reported invitation after details emerged in the press well ahead of the event.
Eden suggested the invitation may have been shared with the media by Harry’s public relations team in an attempt to encourage the monarch to attend. He referred to previous comments from royal commentator Charlotte Griffiths, who claimed she had received favourable stories from advisers connected to the Sussexes.
According to Eden, the public discussion surrounding an event still around 11 months away is another example of pressure being placed on the royal family.
“Pressure is always put on the King and Queen,” he said.
“We saw this in the run-up to Harry and Meghan’s visit to Britain, didn’t we? We had three weeks of speculation, all about the security and whether they would bring the children.
“It all seems like public pressure, and it’s really not the way the royal family has traditionally operated.”
Eden argued that an invitation of this nature would normally be handled privately, with discussions taking place behind the scenes rather than through the media.
“You would expect an invitation like this to go out behind the scenes and that it would all be done in private,” he explained. “This kind of public pressure is awful, really.”
Defending Platell’s position, Eden added that the Invictus Games should not be drawn into the personal tensions between Harry and the royal family.
“The problem is you do not want to see the Invictus Games turned into some sort of personal football,” he said.
Eden then suggested that Harry should consider giving up his prominent role in the event to prevent further controversy.
“Personally, I would like to see Harry step down from it, to distance himself from Invictus,” he said. “It would get rid of that controversial element, and the Games would prosper as a result.”
Kay agreed that it was unusual for details of a possible royal engagement to emerge so far in advance, noting that royal diaries are generally arranged in six-month periods.
“It does feel like Harry is trying to bounce his father into something ahead of time,” Kay said.
He suggested Harry may believe that members of the King’s staff could stand in the way of the invitation, particularly those responsible for managing Charles’s schedule.
However, Kay also said the monarch would probably be interested in supporting the Games because of the royal family’s longstanding association with the Armed Forces.
“I am certain the King will want to go along anyway to support it,” he said. “One of the things the royal family likes to be identified with more than any other, I would argue, is their support for the Armed Forces.”
Kay acknowledged that founding Invictus remains one of Harry’s greatest achievements but warned that its reputation could suffer if the event appeared to be serving his personal interests.
“Invictus is a feather in Harry’s cap, without a doubt,” he said. “But if it is being used just to promote himself, that would grate a bit.”
The 2027 Invictus Games will take place in Birmingham from July 10 to 17. It will be the first time the international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans has been held in Britain since its inaugural Games in London in 2014.
