The Ministry of Defence has
made the decision to halt Help for Heroes longstanding relationship with the
Games, reports The Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey.
Help For Heroes had taken an
important role in the selection, training, and development of Team UK, along
with the Royal British Legion. But the MOD has now decided that the RBL will be
solely responsible for those taking part.
The veterans’ charity has been
involved with Invictus ever since Harry founded it back in 2014.
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Prince Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014
It’s thought the decision was
made by the MOD before last month’s Invictus Games at The Hague, which was
attended by Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. However, the announcement was
delayed to avoid overshadowing the competition.
Lis Skeet, the services
director of Help For Heroes, confirmed: “Help For Heroes is incredibly
proud to have trained, supported and delivered Team UK for the past five
Invictus Games.
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Harry and Meghan at the Games in The Hague last month
“However, following
extensive discussions, it has been decided by the MoD that the Royal British
Legion will lead the end-to-end delivery of Team UK to the Invictus Games for
the next five years and will also be the main funder of the programme.
“Unfortunately,
therefore, we will no longer be directly involved in Invictus Team UK.”
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Help For Heroes will no longer be directly involved with Invictus Team UK
She added: “We want to emphasize
that this was not a decision we made ourselves. We know the Games continue to
play a unique role in shining a light on the abilities of wounded veterans. The
MoD considered proposals from the Invictus UK partnership and has chosen this
route moving forwards.
“Our focus now is on
helping more people across the UK, within their communities, as part of keeping
our promise to be here for wounded veterans for as long as they need us. Of
course, we will continue to cheer Team UK on and look forward to seeing what
the Invictus Games achieves in the future.”
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Harry and Meghan will return to the UK for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations
It comes as Harry and Meghan
prepare to return to the UK to take part in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
celebrations.
A spokeswoman for the couple
confirmed: “Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are
excited and honoured to attend The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this
June with their children.”
It will be the first time
Harry and Meghan have brought their family to the UK since leaving for the US
in 2020. The Duke previously said he had wanted to return to his home country
but felt it wasn’t safe to due to his lack of security.
