Laughing together while sipping cold German beer on Prince Harry’s birthday as a smiling Meghan Markle watches on, Tory Minister Johnny Mercer has clearly built up a good rapport with the Duke of Sussex and his wife.
Mr Mercer, Britain’s Minister of State for Veterans’ Affairs, admits watching the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf alongside the royal couple in September last year inspired him to bid to bring the event and its royal founder back to Britain.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Mercer called Invictus a ‘festival of recovery’ and said that Birmingham’s history of caring for injured veterans – including himself – makes it the perfect host city in three years’ time.
But the former Army officer and Tory MP for Plymouth Moor View has denied that any deal was done with Harry while they were together in Dusseldorf – in fact he claims they didn’t discuss the bid at all or the £26million guaranteed by the British taxpayer.
Birmingham is currently the only bid for Invictus 2027 with Harry and the Invictus Games bosses making the final decision later this year. It it wins, it will mean the Paralympics-style event will return to the UK for the first time since 2014.
Mr Mercer refused to discuss anything he had spoken to the Sussexes in Germany, insisting it would ‘not be appropriate’, but he did say that Britain and its veterans owe a great debt to the Duke of Sussex.
‘He [Harry] has done so much to improve veteran care in this country. The nation should be extremely grateful for the work he has done and the work of the Invictus Games’ Foundation’, he said.
Johnny Mercer sips beer in unison with Harry as Meghan claps at Invictus in Dusseldorf last year
Harry and Johnny cheer during the sitting volleyball final – but the Tory minister denies that any deal over a British bid for Birmingham 2027 was done there, or discussed at all
Mr Mercer, who was flown to Birmingham for treatment after he was injured in Afghanistan, said he wants the UK ‘to be the best country in the world to be a veteran’.
Birmingham is currently the only bidder for the 2027 Invictus Games with a decision due later this year.
But with no rival on the horizon, it seems that the Birmingham bid seems certain to succeed.
Mr Mercer says he is ‘proud’ that the Government has guaranteed the £26million cost of Birmingham 2027 – and dismissed criticism of putting up taxpayers’ money for Invictus at a time when Defence Secretary Grant Shapps is among
The exact cost of hosting an Invictus Games is a closely guarded secret but there are estimates that Dusseldorf cost around £24million and The Hague around £22million.
Around a quarter, £7million, is spent on security for the Games as well as accommodation and associated events.
Mr Mercer again insisted it wasn’t appropriate for him to discuss who would pay for Meghan and Harry’s security while in the UK.
But a Government insider told MailOnline that when the UK has held other major events such as the G7 summit, VIPs must cover their own costs ‘outside the ring of steel’ around venues.
This would be the starting point for Harry and Meghan if they attend the Birmingham Games, the source said, although they admitted this might not stop the couple demanding the British state pay if they want them in the UK.
At The Hague Invictus Games it is understood that the Dutch royal family and the Dutch state covered the Sussexes’ security costs while they were in the country.
In Germany the federal government said it was a ‘private’ event meaning that Harry and Meghan had to pay for their own security when not at the venues.
Mr Mercer said that a detailed breakdown of the cost of the Games to taxpayers is not possible at the stage – but claims that the £26million cost will be offset with cash from sponsors, with that fundraising work already underway.
There has been some anger that ministers have promised £26million to pay for Invictus when the Armed Forces is crying out for more funding.
Lord West of Spithead, who is a former Royal Navy Admiral, told MailOnline last week: ‘I am absolutely amazed that the government have not increased defence spending in this budget. It is extraordinary.
But Mr Mercer dismissed the criticism.
He said: ‘I really don’t see it. In my time in Government we have seen funding rise from £38billion to £50billion in real terms. I don’t see the comparison’.
Mr Mercer said that the West Midlands is the ideal place for Invictus.
‘The story of Birmingham is an inspirational one. The city has unique links to veterans. It has the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, and it is city where many injured soldiers have been flown into’, he said.
‘Invictus is a festival of recovery and Birmingham is a perfect place for that to be showcased in the UK and around the world’.
The Duke of Sussex is set to be back on British soil in May to attend a service at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, just weeks after making a 24-hour visit following his father’s cancer diagnosis.
Harry, 39, launched the games back in March 2014 at the Copper Box arena in London and could see them being hosted in the UK again after the Government launched a £26million bid to host the event.
A source claimed that Harry ‘is comfortable coming back for British-based Invictus Games’, according to the Express, indicating that the Duke of Sussex would also attend after making several appearances at last year’s games in Germany.
The insider added: ‘We understand that the Games have always had the support of the rest of the Royal Family.’
Prince Harry is set to return to the UK in May for an Invictus Games service as the Government has launched a £26million bid to host the event in Birmingham in 2027
Prince Harry was emotional as he gave the closing speech at the Invictus Games 2023
Where the games will be hosted in 2027 will be announced by Prince Harry later this year. The anniversary event in May he is set to attend is not linked to the UK bid for the games.
Veteran and Team UK member at the Invictus Games, Richard Potter, said about the importance of the games: ‘I think you can’t underestimate how important the games have been for my journey.
‘And at the risk of getting emotional, I won’t say too much, but, you know, I started this journey in a very dark place, and here I am.’
Last month Harry was in Canada for the Vancouver Whistler 2025’s One Year to Go celebrations, which aimed to raise awareness of the 2025 Invictus Games, which will take place between February 8 and February 16 next year.
While in Canada, the Duke of Sussex spoke to Good Morning America reporter Will Reeve about King Charles’s shock cancer diagnosis, his life with his family in California as well as his thoughts on becoming an American citizen.
The Duke of Sussex revealed he was ‘grateful’ to have seen his father Charles III in person during a brief 24-hour visit in the UK and hopes the diagnosis can have a ‘reunifying effect’ on the Royal Family.
Reeve, the son of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve who was paralysed in 1995, said: ‘I’ve also found in my own life that sort of an illness in the family can have a galvanising or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case?’
The Duke of Sussex during the interview in Whistler with ABC correspondent Will Reeve
Meghan was wrapped up warm, sporting a navy beanie as she smiled at Harry
Harry replied: ‘Absolutely. Yeah, I’m sure. Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis, again, the strength of the family unit coming together.
‘I think any illness, any sickness brings families together. I see it time and time again, and that makes me very happy.’
Asked how he had ‘processed the fact that there’s so much happening back with your family and where you come from’, Harry said: ‘I have my own family, as we all do, right? My family and my life in California is as it is.’
But the Duke of Sussex already promised he would be back in Britain soon as he said: ‘I have got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK. I will stop in and see my family as much as I can.’
During his short visit to the UK following the King’s shocking cancer diagnosis, which was discovered by doctors when the monarch was being treated for an enlarged prostate, but his specific diagnosis is unknown.
Harry flew into London on a 10-hour commercial British Airways flight from Los Angeles to Heathrow on February 6 and arrived at the royal residence at 2.42pm.
He then spent around 45 minutes chatting with his father – which is thought to be their first formal meeting in 15 months – before the King and Camilla were driven to Buckingham Palace where a helicopter was waiting to take them back to Sandringham in Norfolk.
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