The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have never missed an Invictus Games since they first became a couple in 2017 – and were pictured hand-in-hand at the wheelchair basketball

Meghan and Harry watch the Land Rover Driving Challenge at the 2022 Invictus Games

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have got a date in their diary that will give them a massive headache due to their self-imposed exile in California – the Invictus Games in Birmingham.

Earlier this year, Harry lost a long-running legal battle over his demand that the British taxpayer foot the bill for top-level security for his wife and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

In the wake of the court defeat, he said he couldn’t imagine a situation whereby his family would be safe to visit the UK. This is despite him apparently feeling confident enough to wander about London, ringing on doorbells and randomly looking for old friends – as he did on a recent trip home.

However, Meghan has accompanied her husband to all the recent Invictus Games and the biannual sporting competition for injured service personnel is a key part of the Sussex brand. One royal observer said: “The Invictus Games have so far been unmissable for Harry and Meghan.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were both in Vancouver for the most recent Games in February 2025, signalling an end to their period of ‘professional separation’, and they presented an equally united front in Düsseldorf in 2023.

In 2022, Meghan brought Harry to tears with her speech at the opening ceremony of the Covid-postponed 2020 Games in The Hague, where she paid tribute to him as a “loving father” and service veteran.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry interact with the crowd during day four of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 (Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
They were also at the 2018 Games in Sydney, just five months after their wedding and when Meghan was pregnant with their first child. And in 2017, the couple famously appeared in public together for the first time at the Toronto Invictus Games, when they pictured hand in hand at a wheelchair tennis event.

The Birmingham Games will run from July 10-17, 2027 and will be based entirely at the city’s NEC apart from the swimming, which will be held at Sandwell Aquatics Centre. Competitors will take part in nine core sports, with three new additions – e-sports, pickleball, and laser run.

“We are thrilled to officially announce the confirmed dates for Invictus Games Birmingham 2027,” said Helen Helliwell, CEO of Birmingham 2027. “These Games will shine a light on Birmingham’s incredible community spirit and the West Midlands’ strong commitment to supporting the recovery and rehabilitation of our Armed Forces community.”

Their first public appearance as a couple at the Invictus Games 2017 (Image: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)
Back in February, Harry marked his address at the opening ceremony in Vancouver by saying: “Bring on Invictus Birmingham 2027. You have permission to party!”

Rob Owen, CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation, said: “Birmingham is a unique and vibrant city and it’s wonderful to have the dates set. This will be the eighth Invictus Games and the return of the Games to the UK, in a city that has been a focal point of healing for so many members of the wounded, injured or sick service and veteran community.”

It will be the first UK Invictus since the inaugural Games in London in 2014, with the next event going to Orlando in 2016 where Harry assembled a star-studded line-up of special guests including then-First Lady Michelle Obama and Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman.