Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, arrived alone at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London, on September 17, 2026, for the inaugural Invictus Spirit Gala Dinner and Awards — his first public appearance since moving his family back to the U.K.
The duke, 42, wore a black dinner suit and bow tie, his medals pinned beside the neck order of the Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, a knighthood Queen Elizabeth II gave him in 2015 for service to the sovereign. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, 45, was not there and has not been seen publicly since the family’s return to Britain.
Outside the college, Harry stopped for photographers and posed for selfies with guests before heading in. Speaking to PEOPLE at the gala, he said, “It’s good to be back on British soil.”
A Night Built Around Invictus
The evening put Harry back alongside the cause most closely tied to his name. He founded the Invictus Games in 2014 and has been central to the competition’s creation and growth over the last 12 years. The new awards were created to salute people whose grit, service and backing have helped shape Invictus around the world, and the Invictus Games Foundation said 14 nominees would be recognized in six categories, with the night also raising money for its year-round programs.
Nominations opened earlier in 2026, covering everything from personal resilience and community leadership to international and philanthropic contributions connected with serving personnel and veterans who are sick, injured or wounded. As the foundation’s founding patron, Harry took a seat on the judging panel as well, joining representatives from the organization and presenting partner ATCO.
Inside, Harry met members of the Irish Guards, whose colonel is the Princess of Wales, along with other regiments, and was introduced to Seamus, the regiment’s Irish wolfhound mascot. He was also spotted laughing with former rugby star James Haskell.
Meghan Remains Out of Public View
Meghan’s absence kept the couple’s new chapter in Britain unusually quiet. She has not attended a public event since the move, and people close to the pair say the first priority has been settling Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, into school and daily life in the U.K.
The family landed in Britain after six years based in California. The Sussexes are setting up a private, non-royal home in the U.K. for an extended stay while keeping their house in Montecito, California, and they are not returning to working royal duties.
On September 13, Meghan posted a 35-second Instagram video offering a look at the family’s new routine in the English countryside, showing Harry, Archie and Lilibet outdoors with the family’s dogs as the youngsters pedaled a bicycle, cast fishing lines and stomped about in the rain. The couple has been sharing glimpses of their private life on social media since the return, six years after they moved out of the U.K. and stepped away from royal life.
Two London Stops and a Memoir Question
The gala capped Harry’s first day of public engagements since the move, which took him to two London events. Earlier on September 17, he attended a gathering hosted by Save the Children, Imperial College London and Archewell Philanthropies on strengthening long-term care for children left with life-changing blast injuries in conflict.
He had been photographed in Britain before that, though not at a formal engagement. He passed most of the day at London’s Tower Bridge Studios, where he worked on a project that has not been disclosed, and cameras afterward caught him signing the studio’s celebrity wall.
The appearance also came amid an uproar in royal circles over Earl Charles Spencer, 62, the brother of the late Princess Diana. Spencer claimed in a bombshell memoir that King Charles greeted the news of his sister’s death with elation, comparing the monarch to a lottery winner. Spencer alleged that in the days afterward, Charles said: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough.” Harry brushed the controversy off with a smile and declined to answer a question about the memoir.
The Road to Birmingham 2027
His renewed Invictus work lands with the Games less than a year away from a homecoming in the nation that first hosted them. At the Invictus Games Birmingham 2027, organizers anticipate 550 competitors — serving personnel and veterans who have been wounded, injured or taken ill — representing 25 nations across 12 adaptive sports.
The build-up has not been entirely smooth. Uganda briefly pulled out of the 2027 Games after Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the military chief, said the country would not compete in an event it believed lacked King Charles’ approval. Uganda reversed course within days, following a conversation between Kainerugaba and Sir Clive Alderton, who serves as principal private secretary to the king and clarified that Charles had no objection to Uganda’s participation.
