The Duke of Sussex tried his hand at pickleball, a new Invictus Games sport, during demonstration matches held at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre (NEC) on Friday.
The event marked one year until the tournament, for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel, begins.
Notably absent was the Duchess of Sussex, who had been expected to attend but did not travel to the UK with Prince Harry earlier this week, citing security concerns.
However, Meghan is widely anticipated to arrive in the coming days with the couple’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
This has sparked rumours of a potential meeting between King Charles and his US-based grandchildren.
The last time that Charles saw Archie and Lilibet was in June 2022, when the family travelled to London for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Meghan’s spokesperson declined to comment on the reports regarding the family’s visit this week.
Helen Helliwell, chief executive officer of Invictus Games Birmingham 2027, opened the event on Friday with the words: “Invictus has always been more than a week of games.”
She added: “It transforms lives not only for competitors but for their families.”
Harry was joined by This Morning and Great British Bake Off host Alison Hammond, who is from Birmingham, and TV presenter Ade Adepitan, who won a bronze with the GB basketball team at the 2004 Paralympics.
The duke joined a partner on court to compete against another pair in pickleball, which will make an appearance when the games are staged in Birmingham in 2027.
Harry has faced a protracted legal battle with the Home Office over the security arrangements for him and his family when in the UK after his level of protection changed when he stepped down as a working royal in 2020.
It was reported last week that Harry was denied police protection for his family during their UK visit.
The duke was also expected to stay at Buckingham Palace, but those plans changed at the last minute when, he said, the palace rescinded the invitation.
This week, Harry has also visited the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where he told nurses that they are “changing daily lives” and spoke about the financial difficulties facing the NHS.
