Prince Harry is set to return to the UK in May for Invictus Games service as government launches £26m bid to host event in Birmingham in 2027

Prince Harry is set to return to the UK in May for an Invictus Games service as the Government has launched a £26million bid to host the event in Birmingham in 2027.

The Duke of Sussex is set to be back on British soil in May to attend a service at London‘s St Paul’s Cathedral for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, just weeks after making a 24-hour visit following his father’s cancer diagnosis.

Harry, 39, launched the games back in March 2014 at the Copper Box arena in London and could see them being hosted in the UK again after the Government launched a £26million bid to host the event.

A source claimed that Harry ‘is comfortable coming back for British-based Invictus Games’, according to the Express, indicating that the Duke of Sussex would also attend after making several appearances at last year’s games in Germany.

The source added: ‘We understand that the Games have always had the support of the rest of the Royal Family.’

Prince Harry is set to return to the UK in May for an Invictus Games service as the Government has launched a £26million bid to host the event in Birmingham in 2027

Prince Harry was emotional as he gave the closing speech at the Invictus Games 2023

The Duke of Sussex, watches the wheelchair rugby finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany, last year

Rt Hon Johnny Mercer, the minister for veteran’s affairs, has been campaigning to host the Games here again and shared the ‘fantastic news’ about the Government-backed bid today.

Mercer, who was flown to Birmingham for treatment after he was injured in Afghanistan, said he wants ‘this to be the best country in the world, to be a veteran, I want us to become global leaders in recovery from conflict’. 

He added: ‘There’s no greater institution in this country that’s done that than the Invictus Games. 

‘I want to work hard now to put in a really world class bid to bring these games back to the UK, and have a festival of recovery around that event. 

‘I want us to lead the world when it comes to veteran’s care and this gives us a really good hook going forward to make sure that’s the case.’

He previously told the Times: ‘It feels like the right time and the right place. The biggest power of recovery has always been in sport, has always been in Invictus and the Duke of Sussex led the way when he set these Games up ten years ago.

‘It feels like a natural rounding of the circle to come back to the UK and we’re going to do everything we can to win the bid.’

Where the games will be hosted in 2027 will be announced by Prince Harry later this year. The anniversary event in May he is set to attend is not linked to the UK bid for the games.

One supporter for the Birmingham bid told the Times that ‘this could provide a timeline for a way in which the duke and the rest of the royal family might find a way to come together in support of a worthwhile cause.’ 

Veteran and Team UK member at the Invictus Games, Richard Potter, said about the importance of the games: ‘I think you can’t underestimate how important the games have been for my journey. 

‘And at the risk of getting emotional, I won’t say too much, but, you know, I started this journey in a very dark place, and here I am.’

Last month Harry was in Canada for the Vancouver Whistler 2025’s One Year to Go celebrations, which aimed to raise awareness of the 2025 Invictus Games, which will take place between February 8 and February 16 next year.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer watch the sitting volleyball final at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany, on September 15

Rt Hon Johnny Mercer (pictured), the minister for veteran’s affairs, has been campaigning to host the Games here again and shared the ‘fantastic news’ about the Government-backed bid today

While in Canada, the Duke of Sussex spoke to Good Morning America reporter Will Reeve about King Charles’s shock cancer diagnosis, his life with his family in California as well as his thoughts on becoming an American citizen.

The Duke of Sussex revealed he was ‘grateful’ to have seen his father Charles III in person during a brief 24-hour visit in the UK and hopes the diagnosis can have a ‘reunifying effect’ on the Royal Family.

Reeve, the son of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve who was paralysed in 1995, said: ‘I’ve also found in my own life that sort of an illness in the family can have a galvanising or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case?’

Harry replied: ‘Absolutely. Yeah, I’m sure. Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, again, the strength of the family unit coming together. 

‘I think any illness, any sickness brings families together. I see it time and time again, and that makes me very happy.’ 

Asked how he had ‘processed the fact that there’s so much happening back with your family and where you come from’, Harry said: ‘I have my own family, as we all do, right? My family and my life in California is as it is.’

The Duke of Sussex during the interview in Whistler with ABC correspondent Will Reeve

Prince Harry was spotted alongside American TV presenter Will Reeve in Whistler on February 14

Meghan was wrapped up warm, sporting a navy beanie as she smiled at Harry

But the Duke of Sussex already promised he would be back in Britain soon as he said: ‘I have got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK. I will stop in and see my family as much as I can.’ 

During his short visit in the UK last month following the King’s shocking cancer diagnosis, which was discovered by doctors when the monarch was being treated for an enlarged prostate, but his specific diagnosis is unknown.

Harry flew into London on a 10-hour commercial British Airways flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow on February 6 and arrived at the royal residence at 2.42pm.

He then spent around 45 minutes chatting with his father – which is thought to be their first formal meeting in 15 months – before the King and Camilla were driven to Buckingham Palace where a helicopter was waiting to take them back to Sandringham in Norfolk.

The Duke is not believed to have seen his brother William or sister-in-law Kate Middleton, who is recovering from her abdominal surgery and on extended leave.