Prince Harry has warned of a potentially disrespectful move with his UK trip hanging in the balance. Prince Harry was supposed to return to the UK for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, but it's now unclear whether that will happen due to reported security concerns. Harry recently lost his legal battle to get police security while visiting the UK.
In addition, the Invictus Games reception, which is set to be held at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, was mistakenly announced in advance, with the date and time appearing on the church's website. We spoke with Brittany Barger, Royal journalist and co-founder of Royal News, who said of the upcoming event, "I think he needs to go. I don't think his skipping this event will be well-received, and I don't think it's disrespectful to all soldiers."
Regarding security issues, Miss Barger doesn't see it as a problem, saying, "Not only will they not let anyone around the church, they'll just walk into the church."
Miss Barger sees Harry's attendance as crucial for both him and the soldiers who are supposed to be celebrating and supporting their recovery. "What he has created is amazing for these wounded warriors to be included and have their own kind of healing Olympic Games."
It was confirmed on Wednesday, March 27th, that Harry will return to the UK to appear at the event in person and deliver a speech. At this time, there has been no official update saying otherwise, but there have been reports of Harry giving his speech via video.
We asked Miss Barger about Harry's reliance on video messaging at events. She said, "There's no substitute for actually being there, shaking people's hands, talking to them face to face. I think video is better than nothing, but it doesn't replace actually being there."
According to Miss Barger, it is important for Harry to attend the upcoming Invictus Games event for several reasons. It's close to his heart, he has put a lot of work into it, and it will mean a lot to the soldiers. "I'm not going to penalize him for going. I'm not going to penalize him for promoting the Invictus Games. I think it's great that he created it, and these soldiers are getting this opportunity."
