The Duke of Sussex has held private meetings at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the day after his High Court defeat. Harry carried on with his five-day run of solo engagements in the UK on Wednesday, but without the presence of the media.
No external press was permitted into the event in London, with plans for pool media coverage changing the day before, with the decision attributed to the heatwave. A public-facing moment was said to have been removed from the agenda at the heritage site because of the soaring temperatures and old buildings at the historic central London venue.
Continued Engagements and Media Restrictions
The duke is set to continue allowing pooled media to cover the rest of his events this week. The Duchess of Sussex had originally been due to attend the Royal Hospital Chelsea with Harry, but the plans were switched last week when it was decided Meghan, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet would not join the duke in London due to concerns over security.
Harry learned on Tuesday at the start of an Invictus Games appearance at Chatham House that he had lost his case over allegations of unlawful information gathering against the publisher of the Daily Mail. Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all of the claims directed at Associated Newspapers Limited by Harry and other household names, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John.
Reaction to Legal Defeat
The duke has been criticised for his reaction to losing the legal battle after he branded the ruling, in a joint statement with Lady Lawrence, a “complete and obvious whitewash”. David Yelland, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s When It Hits the Fan and former editor of The Sun, wrote on X: “The statement from Harry is incredible, he makes accusations against the Judge and has dragged Doreen Lawrence further into a PR disaster which is truly sad. I have often defended Harry, but the statement is a real error.”
Meetings at Royal Hospital Chelsea
Harry was met on arrival on Wednesday by Invictus Games Foundation trustee and chief executive of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, David Richmond, former competitor Josh Boggi, and Invictus’s deputy chief executive, Richard Smith. He attended a planning meeting with international team managers ahead of the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027 and joined a strategy session with former Invictus hosts and partners for the future of the Invictus Movement.
The duke, in an open-necked white shirt and dark jacket, was pictured looking relaxed and smiling as he chatted with guests. He was also shown in the middle of a group shot, taken in the shade next to a wall, amid the sunshine.
Accommodation and Other Royal Engagements
The King’s youngest son missed out on staying at Buckingham Palace after rejecting Charles’s accommodation offer for his family, then accepting too late for himself. The appropriate hospitality and staffing provision was said to be no longer available, with the Palace suggesting the duke’s longstanding legal case had complicated the matter and could compromise the King’s constitutional position.
Later on Wednesday, Harry will gather for a series of private planning events ahead of this year’s inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards. Meanwhile, the King was also in London, opening the headquarters of the British Transport Police and meeting officers who dealt with the Bedfordshire train crash. And Harry’s stepmother the Queen spent the day at Wimbledon, where she was spotted holding an electric fan to keep cool, as she cheered on British wildcard Arthur Fery, who won his quarter-final in straight sets.
