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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Kieren Williams

Prince Harry 'raises family tension' after revealing he will attend Invictus Games

Prince Harry has reportedly raised tensions in the Royal Family after he announced he was attending the Invictus Games.

Resplendent in an orange hat, t-shirt and sunglasses, practising his Dutch, a short clip was released of the Duke of Sussex in which he confirmed he’d be at this year’s games.

But the announcement came just one day after he said he would not be attending Prince Philip’s memorial service at Westminster on March 29.

His lawyers said Prince Harry did not feel safe travelling to the UK after he was told he would no longer be afforded the “same degree” of personal protection when visiting from the US.

The Duke of Sussex had previously cited the tragic death of his mother and the treatment of his wife by the British press, as reasons why.

In the video Prince Harry brushed up on his Dutch ahead of The Invictus Games in The Hague (Invictus Games)

He offered to pay for the protection himself and is now locked in a legal battle with the Home Office.

However, after his Invictus announcement, a source told The Sun: "It was also hoped that the Queen would meet his daughter Lilibet for the first time and that would make it even more of a special occasion.

"Now none of that will go ahead - yet he is willing to travel to Holland for the Invictus Games, which is only 300-miles away.

“It will certainly raise eyebrows and most probably hurt feelings."

Prince Harry chats to Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony on June 15, 2013 (Getty Images)

The Royal Family has been going through a rough patch recently after Prince Andrew settled a civil sex abuse case by paying Virginia Giuffre £12million despite insisting he’d never met her.

A spokesperson added that Prince Harry hoped to visit the Queen “as soon as possible”.

Since moving to America, Prince Harry has only been back to the UK twice, once for his grandfather’s funeral and one a second occasion for the unveiling of Princess Diana’s memorial.

In the video by the Invictus Games Foundation, Prince Harry appears on a video call learning Dutch from four people.

He says: "One more time guys, please, you know I need to get this right, and I really want to get it right as well, so how do I say 'Good afternoon, you've done a great job' in Dutch?"

Prince Harry donned orange clothing in honour of the Invictus Games host country in the hilarious video (Invictus Games)

He is praised for his attempt at saying the sentence in Dutch, and then asks: "And what else, anything else I need to know?"

One of the people helping him says: "Can you say stroopwafel?"

And he replies: "Stroopwafel. Love those."

Harry asks the people on the call: "Do you think I'm ready?"

And he is told: "We think you're ready."

Speaking in Dutch, Harry says: "Thank you. See you soon in The Hague."

Prince Harry and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attend the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham Stadium (Getty Images)

Prince Harry is told to not forget his hat, at which point he dons an orange hat, orange sunglasses and unzips his jacket to reveal an orange T-shirt and stands up to show off orange trousers.

Pointing at the camera, Harry says: "Let's go. We're ready."

The tweet says: "Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, is getting ready for the Netherlands with some Dutch lessons.

"As we all prepare for The Games, our thoughts are with Team Ukraine, as well as their friends & family."

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