Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, with the Invictus Foundation, after spending four days in the UK and reuniting with his father, King Charles
Following a week of engagements in the U.K. — and a reunion with his father King Charles — Prince Harry made a surprise stop before heading home to California.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, spent Friday, Sept. 12, on an unannounced visit to Ukraine, his second of this year. It was to show his support for wounded, sick and injured armed forces members following the more than three-year war there.
He spent the day in the capital Kyiv with his Invictus Games Foundation, which runs his Paralympic-style competition for veterans and armed forces members, after being invited by the Ukraine government. The U.K. newspaper, The Guardian, was the first to report the news. Harry told the outlet, “I had to check with my wife [Meghan Markle] and the British government to make sure it was OK. Then the official invitation came.”
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In an interview with The Guardian, after taking a train into the country, Harry said, “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.”
He added: “We can continue to humanize the people involved in this war and what they are going through. We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitized to what has been going on.”
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In a video shared by Ukrainian Railways on Instagram, Harry was seen stepping off a train dubbed the “Superroyal – Express” in Kyiv and greeting those waiting for this arrival.
“In Ukraine, besides everything else, the Prince intends to tell in detail new initiatives for the support and rehabilitation of [those] injured,” the translated caption read in part.
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Ukraine has been a member of the Invictus Games since 2017. But the contest doesn’t just help the wounded and sick with new challenges, it is also committed to longterm recovery for those caught in conflict.
In April, Harry visited Lviv, in the west of the country, to see The Superhumans Center — where patients receive free prosthetics, surgery, and psychological support.
He mets its founder Olga Rudnieva a couple of months ago in the U.S, and she was the one to initially invite him to return to the country.
“I bumped into Olga in New York. It was a chance meeting and I asked her what I could do to help. She said ‘the biggest impact you have is coming to Kyiv.’ ” Harry told The Guardian.
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“In Lviv, you don’t see much of the war. It is so far west. This is the first time we will see the real destruction of the war,” he added to the outlet.
Later on Sept. 12, he is said to be set to meet the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko.
Prince Harry’s appearances in the U.K. this week included the 2025 WellChild Awards on Monday, a visit to Nottingham’s Community Recording Studio — where he announced a personal donation of $1.5 million to the charity Children in Need — on Tuesday and time at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies on Wednesday.
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But a highlight of the visit was a long-awaited reunion with his estranged father, King Charles.
Harry met with his father at Clarence House, the King’s home in London, in the early evening hours of Wednesday, Sept. 10. He was inside for around 55 minutes before departing for an evening engagement.
It was the first in-person meeting between the father and son in 19 months, following hints earlier this year that reconciliation could be on the horizon. Prince Harry’s new aides and one of the King’s key staffers met for the first time in July, a move that was viewed by some insiders as an olive branch that could pave the way for better relations.
“It was a good first step,” an insider told PEOPLE at the time. “It is always better to be talking.”
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Following their reunion this week, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King had a private tea at Clarence House with Prince Harry and said no further details would be shared.
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex echoed the same, reiterating that father and son met for tea and that there would be no further comment.