While King Charles and the rest of the royal family were waving from the Buckingham Palace balcony and watching the RAF fly overhead, Prince Harry was thousands of miles away in Texas — cap pulled low, dark polo shirt on, watching basketball history being made. The optics couldn't have been more pointed.
A Tale of Two Saturdays
On the same day that Charles, Camilla, Prince William, the Princess of Wales and their children gathered for Trooping the Colour — the grand ceremonial showcase of the British Army's finest regiments — the Duke of Sussex was settling into his courtside seat at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio for game five of the NBA Finals.
It marked four consecutive years that Harry has not participated in the official birthday celebrations for his father. As Vanity Fair put it, the distance between the Duke and the rest of the Windsors looks "as deep as it has ever been."
Back in London, future king Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight, watched their grandfather's parade from the first-floor window of the Duke of Wellington's former office overlooking the parade ground at Horse Guards. Thousands more lined The Mall to cheer the royal family's carriage procession from Buckingham Palace, with Charles and Camilla flanked by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
Invited Courtside by the NBA Commissioner Himself
Harry, 41, had already been in San Antonio for the Warrior Games — a competition for wounded, injured, or ill military personnel run by the US Government, taking place from 13–20 June — when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver personally invited him along to the match. He didn't need asking twice.
Seated next to Silver in the stands, Harry was also alongside US Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient JP Lane, a Warrior Games competitor whom Harry has credited as a key inspiration behind the founding of his own Invictus Games. It was a quietly meaningful pairing on a day loaded with symbolism.
"The message, it seems, is that Prince Harry's life is now firmly set on this side of the Atlantic, where the royal is making his own traditions even as his family in Britain follows their set and ancient routines." — Vanity Fair
The celebrity count in the arena was impressive. Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, and Spike Lee were all spotted cheering on the Knicks, as was Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney, who attended with her boyfriend Scooter Braun. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was not present, nor were the couple's children.
Knicks Make History as Harry Watches On
As it turned out, Harry had a front-row seat to one of American sport's biggest nights in years. The New York Knicks clinched their first NBA championship since 1973, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 94–90 in a tense, breathless final. Jalen Brunson was the hero of the hour, pouring in 45 points to seal the victory and send New York City into absolute pandemonium.
Harry arrived wearing nothing that suggested allegiance to either side — a neat touch from a man who has become well-practised in navigating divided loyalties.
For fans of royal watching, though, the significance of where he was — and where he wasn't — will not have gone unnoticed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been regulars on the American sporting circuit since their 2020 move to California, having attended an NBA All-Star Game as recently as February.
San Antonio on a Trooping the Colour Saturday is just the latest chapter in a life that is, by every measure, now rooted firmly on the other side of the Atlantic.
