Faulty reasoning signals

• Negativity Bias - 16.1%
• Post Hoc (False Cause) - 16%
• Ambiguity (Equivocation) - 15.7%

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Chief Royal Correspondent

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Prince Harry is marking one year to go before he brings his Invictus Games tournament to his homeland in 2027, ending the working phase of a visit repeatedly setback by arguments with the palace and fallout from a failed lawsuit.

The Duke of Sussex's visit to Britain began as an opportunity to rebuild bridges both with his family and with his country but faced several setbacks before he even arrived.

On Friday, the prince arrived at the National Exhibition Center, in Birmingham, where he played adaptive sports including pickleball, a game similar to Badminton but with table tennis-style rackets and a lower net, and wheelchair rugby.

The high profile “one year to go” event counts down to the 2027 Invictus Games, to be held in Birmingham from July 10 to July 17 next year.

Al Carns, who until last month was the U.K. Government's armed forces minister, told Newswee k Invictus was "a fantastic event."

"At the end of the day, Prince Harry, you strip away the titles, he's a veteran who served in Afghanistan with bravery and courage and never allow people to forget that. So having him here to champion the games is a fantastic thing. He's one of us at the end of the day."

Sam May, 32, from Birmingham, told Newsweek Harry was a "a good sport." She took part in the hybrid athletics as Harry cheered on, her second time meeting the prince after speaking to him at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, in Canada.

"It's nice to see him again and catchup. This is his, and he is the patron of the Invictus Games, he set this up. I think it's really positive to see it come back to the U.K. and be celebrated back on home soil."

In relation to Meghan missing the event, she said: "I'm sure she's celebrating from afar."

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Harry had planned to bring Meghan Markle and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, but was denied police protection, without which he believes it is unsafe for his family while in the U.K. There has still be no official confirmation of whether she will come to Britain and if so when.

Then Buckingham Palace withdrew an offer of accomodation, saying he missed the deadline to accept, and on Tuesday Harry lost a major lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail . Ending on a high would help the Sussexes move past the difficult headlines.

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Prince Harry's Dedication to Veterans

Prince Harry said in his speech to potential future Invictus Games competitors: "One year from today, the world will come here to the great City of Birmingham for the Invictus Games 2027.

"To bring the Games back to the UK – thirteen years after London 2014 – feels incredibly special. Not just because this is where the Invictus journey first began, but because Britain has always understood the importance of service, resilience, and standing together when it matters most.

"Today, we've had a glimpse of what's waiting for us next summer. We've seen determination. We've seen laughter. We've seen people trying something new, cheering each other on and proving once again that sport has an incredible way of bringing people together."

On Thursday, a special train named the “Spirit of Invictus” was launched and on Friday Harry took part in a series of sporting events in Birmingham to mark the countdown to the games, which he founded for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.

Initial plans released to the media ahead of the visit suggested Meghan would be there alongside Harry but she has pulled out of a series of engagements following the denial of police protection.

It has been confirmed to Newsweek that she will not be there in Birmingham, though the possibility remains she may bring their children to the U.K. at a later stage.

ITV News reported that discussions were ongoing about a possible meeting with King Charles III, which if it went ahead would be the first time the couple's children have had a chance to see their grandfather since 2022, when Archie was three and Lilibet, one.

British newspapers, including the Daily Mail , reported Harry may take his family to Princess Diana's ancestral home, Althorp, which is only around an hour away from Birmingham by car.

Prince Harry's Invictus Games Under Pressure

Invictus is Harry's flagship project but has been under pressure in recent months after a book by biographer Tom Bower suggested it was becoming "the Meghan Games."

In Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family , Bower used a wheelchair basketball match between the United States and Nigeria at the 2025 Invictus Games as a broader criticism of the competition and its eligibility rules.

Bower wrote: “While two men in the Nigerian team had lost a leg, none of the Americans were limbless. All were apparently suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”

He questioned whether competitors with PTSD and other non-visible injuries should be competing in wheelchair basketball and suggested the match illustrated what he saw as shortcomings in the Games’ format.

Newsweek put that particular criticism to Carns, who rejected Bower's depiction of the tournament.

"It's completely missing the point," he said. "This is about helping veterans believe in themselves again and heal. It's not about necessarily winning. It's about competing and being around other people, collectively healing as a group and making your life better. It's completely missing the point and he's way off the mark."

Carns said Invictus provides a mental health boost to competitors alongside the physical benefits. "You're competing not just against other people, you're competing against yourself. Perhaps your vision of what you can achieve has been diminished through injury or mental health issues and this helps people get back up build their confidence and realize that they're truly great."

Bower wrote that after their match: "The American team wheeled themselves off the court into a secluded area and effortlessly they all got up and walked away. None of them appeared to be physically injured."

Bower's criticism prompted a public response from the U.S. team in March. In comments provided to Newsweek , David G. Paschal, director of the Warrior Games and speaking for Team USA, said the American wheelchair basketball squad “actually had both visible and invisible impairments, including several competitors with below the knee amputations or lower limb function loss.”

"The Invictus Games are designed to ensure that wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans with a wide range of visible and invisible injuries can compete on an equal playing field," said.

He added that Team USA “fully supports” the inclusion of competitors with PTSD because “invisible wounds can be just as debilitating as visible ones,” and argued that “adaptive sporting events such as the Invictus Games save lives through community and purpose.”

Prince Harry's UK Visit Complications

The Duke has long argued that the loss of his automatic police protection when he stepped back from royal duties makes it difficult for him to bring his family to Britain, and recent discussions over what protection would be available during the visit reignited the issue.

Harry was told he would not be offered a police protection team hours after his team released his itinerary to the media under embargo on Friday, June 26.

He then spent the next week arranging private security, which Newsweek was told contributed to his late acceptance of accommodation. Harry initially rejected the palace's offer on Saturday before attempting to accept it later in the day by which time he was told it was too late.

Adding to the challenging backdrop, Harry recently lost his privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail , a defeat that generated significant headlines in the days before the Birmingham appearance.

Against that backdrop, Friday’s event gives Harry an opportunity to shift the conversation back to the cause most closely associated with his public life: the Invictus Games and the veterans they were created to serve.

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