Prince Harry Makes Surprise Appearance in San Diego to Root on U.S. Armed Forces at the Warrior Games

The Duke of Sussex made his first outing since testifying against Mirror Group Newspapers in a London courtroom last week

Prince Harry stepped out to support veterans for his first event since his historic testimony against a powerful British publisher.

On Monday, the U.S. Army Recovery Care Program revealed that the Duke of Sussex made a surprise appearance at the Warrior Games in San Diego. The Department of Defense launched the annual adaptive sports tournament for wounded, ill and injured active-duty service members and veterans in 2010.

The Warrior Games posted photos of the Duke of Sussex meeting athletes on Twitter. They wrote, "The final day of competition for #WarriorGames2023 was extra special with a visit from Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex. Prince Harry spent time with athletes and their families, and watched the Sitting Volleyball Finals as the 2023 Warrior Games came to a close."

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Prince Harry previously credited the Warrior Games as the inspiration for his Invictus Games competition, which will next be held in Düsseldorf, Germany in September.

He previously attended the 2013 Warrior Games in Colorado.

"It was such a great concept by America that it had to be stolen. But I wanted to bring it to a broader international audience," Prince Harry previously said about the Warrior Games being the influence for his international Invictus Games, which held its first competition in London in 2014.

Watching the Warrior Games "ignited something inside me," Harry — who served in the British Army for 10 years, including two tours of Afghanistan — said, as he saw “firsthand the power of sport in inspiring recovery and demonstrating life beyond disability.”

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Video from Monday's event showed the Duke of Sussex was all smiles while chatting with other spectators during the Army vs. Marine Corps bronze medal match, and he posed for a photo with the gold medal-winning United States Special Operations Command sitting volleyball team.

“When Prince Harry wants to sit with Team Army member Master Sgt Michael Haley and his parents at sitting volleyball!” the U.S. Army Recovery Care Program tweeted, posting a photo of Harry, 38, in the stands.

This year's Warrior Games kicked off on June 2 at Naval Air Station North Island, about a four-hour drive from Prince Harry’s home in Montecito where he lives with Meghan Markle and their young children — Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.

The Duke of Sussex’s surprise courtside appearance marks his first event since he took the stand in London to testify against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering last week. Prince Harry testified at the High Court of the Royal Courts of Justice in London on June 6 and 7 and made modern royal history as the first prominent member of the British royal family to give evidence in court in 130 years.

The Duke of Sussex is accusing MGN of alleged unlawful information gathering through phone voicemail hacking and other illegal means from 1996 to 2010. The publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Daily Express and more denies the allegations.

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Prince Harry argued that roughly 140 articles published during the period contain information obtained via unlawful methods, the BBC reported, with 33 of the stories being considered in court. King Charles’ younger son is one of more than 100 people suing the media group for alleged illegal activity between 1991 and 2022. The prince is one of four representative claimants selected for trial, and the seven-week trial, which began May 10, is about halfway through.

On June 6, his first day on the witness stand, Prince Harry said that "every single article has caused me distress” and argued that the tabloids have "blood on their hands" for the pain they've caused.

Reuters reports that a verdict is not expected until later this year.

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