The Duke of Sussex arrived at the inaugural Invictus Spirit awards looking like a working royal in all but name.
He waved to the small crowd of students who had spontaneously gathered due to the sea of cameras – the location of the event was kept secret for security reasons.
I observed him reunite with various Invictus staff and former competitors, and even saw him pose for the news photographers.
Previously, he claimed every camera flash took him “straight back” to the death of his mother, Princess Diana, and made his “blood boil”.
Nonetheless, he followed the path towards the Old Royal Naval College, wearing a number of medals, including his Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order star, awarded by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, “for personal service to the sovereign”.
Prince Harry dodged a question from a journalist about his uncle’s controversial memoir and instead focused on the lineup of serving soldiers, arranged to greet him.
The Band of the Irish Guards, whose Royal Colonel is The Princess of Wales, warmly greeted Prince Harry.
Their Irish Wolfhound, Seamus, even received a pat from him.
I was at Aldershot Barracks in March, covering Prince Harry’s sister-in-law attending the St Patrick’s Day Parade.
She, unlike Harry, was honoured with a Royal Salute.
Meanwhile, one of the guardsmen saluted Prince Harry – who himself served two tours of Afghanistan.
The presence of other regiments suggested some sort of Ministry of Defence approval had been granted.
That’s despite the Lord Chamberlain’s recent letter to senior defence personnel that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain “private citizens”.
It is understood The King fully supports Prince Harry in his Invictus Games mission; instructing his Principal Private Secretary to encourage Uganda to take part after a military chief cancelled the country’s participation – thought to be because of confusion caused by the Lord Chamberlain’s letter.
Meanwhile, uniformed Metropolitan Police officers supported Prince Harry’s private bodyguards to secure the venue in Greenwich.
Although they were unarmed, they blocked the public from entering the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College and patrolled the perimeter of the building while the awards were taking place.
Although Prince Harry does not have the level of protection he’s demanding (armed close protection officers and a police escort), it appears taxpayers funded a limited amount of protection last night for the fifth in line to the throne.
After the awards on Thursday, an Invictus spokesperson said: “Together, we have raised more than £1.6million at the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards presented by ATCO.
“The money will help create more opportunities for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans around the world to recover through sport.
“A huge thank you to everyone who came, donated, and helped make the evening possible.”