King Charles III faces a moral dilemma after Prince Harry announced he will take his biggest project to England in 2027, a British morning show has heard.
Harry announced on Tuesday that the eighth Invictus Games veterans event will be held in the city of Birmingham in July 2027, after the location beat out Washington D.C. which was also running for consideration.
Newsweek's chief royal correspondent Jack Royston told Sky News anchor Kay Burley on Wednesday that the decision to take the event back to the prince's home country will raise "difficult" and "controversial questions." It comes after the royal publicly exposed the rift with his family members in media projects since splitting from the monarchy and moving to California with Meghan Markle in 2020.
"Prince Harry has taken quite a surprising decision, he's going to have his 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham instead of Washington, D.C.," Royston said.
"He had the chance to do it right on his new home turf in the beating heart of American politics and American democracy and he's chosen Birmingham instead, which is really interesting.
"It throws up all kinds of really difficult controversial questions, like will King Charles go to the Invictus Games? The palace will probably be telling him 'you shouldn't be seen to be endorsing something that Harry's doing outside of the royal world.' But Harry will be saying 'You're my dad. You should be proud of me. This is my big moment, I'm doing a wonderful thing in Britain.' So there's all those questions."
Newsweek approached Buckingham Palace via email for comment.
Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014, after being inspired to create an international platform for wounded, sick and injured veterans to showcase their mental and physical rehabilitation following a visit to the Warrior Games in the U.S.
The first Invictus Games were held in London and several members of the royal family turned out to support Harry, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as Prince William and Princess Kate.
The event has subsequently been held in a number of world cities including Sydney, the Hague, Toronto, Dusseldorf and Orlando.
The 2025 games will be held in Whistler and Vancouver in Canada, incorporating winter sports into its roster of events for the first time. Since 2017, Meghan Markle has attended events at the games.
In Dusseldorf, Germany, last year, Meghan revealed that she hoped to make the event a family affair.
"We can't wait to one day be able to bring our kids also, so they can experience just how amazing this is," she told a group of veterans and their families.
It is too early to know whether Meghan intends on accompanying Harry to the Birmingham Games in two years, or if the couple will take their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with them to visit their British family members.
Harry is currently continuing his legal battle against the U.K. government over their decision to strip him of his full-time state-funded bodyguards in the country when he stepped down as a working royal.
Currently, the prince receives security in Britain on a case-by-case basis which is assessed by a governing body known as the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures.
In 2022, the prince's legal team said he did not feel safe taking his family to Britain under the current system. Harry has now taken his legal case to the Court of Appeals in London.
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.
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