“‘YOU’RE THE MOST POLITE PHOTOGRAPHERS I’VE EVER MET.’ 📸👑 — PRINCE HARRY’S SURPRISE RED CARPET JOKE COMES JUST DAYS AFTER HIS EMOTIONAL ROYAL REUNION” Prince Harry surprised guests with a rare appearance at TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports, joking that the photographers were the “most polite” he had ever met. The event came only days after his long-awaited reunion with King Charles, Queen Camilla, Meghan Markle, and their children, while reports suggest his relationship with Prince William remains as strained as ever. Honored for his work founding the Invictus Games, Harry reflected on the life-changing power of sport—but it’s the timing of his appearance, following an emotional week of family reunions and ongoing royal tensions, that has everyone talking.

Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at TIME‘s 100 Most Influential People in Sports red carpet.

The Duke of Sussex, 41, attended the event on Thursday, July 16. While on the red carpet, he cheekily told the event photographers that they were the “most polite” photographers he has ever met.

His appearance came days after reuniting with his father, King Charles, and stepmother, Queen Camilla, at Highgrove House in the English countryside on July 10. The reunion also included Meghan Markle, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

Before Thursday’s event, TIME honored Harry for his work with the Invictus Games. The games are an adaptive sports contest for armed forces service personnel and veterans around the world. Harry, a veteran who served in the British Army for a decade, was inspired to create the games after attending the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Warrior Games in 2013.

The first Invictus Games took place in London in 2014 and were subsequently hosted in Orlando (2016), Toronto (2017), Sydney (2018), The Hague (2020, but delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic), Düsseldorf (2023), and Vancouver-Whistler (2025). The 2027 games will take place in Birmingham, England.

He told TIME he was inspired to create the games on an international scale, saying, “I thought, ‘Wow, look at the power of sport, look at how it is literally changing lives in front of my very eyes.’ ”

“It was so clear to me. Let’s invite as many countries as possible to make it international,” he continued. “Because clearly more countries need to benefit from this.”

The prince’s honor for his work on the Invictus Games comes days after marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 games, with an appearance in Birmingham. After his appearance and his week of attending charity events in the U.K., he was joined by the Duchess of Sussex and their children for a reunion with the King and Queen.

However, the visit began with reports of a public disagreement with Buckingham Palace over accommodations. After initially declining the offer to stay at a royal residence, Harry later sought to accept it—but palace officials maintained the deadline had passed. A source told PEOPLE that the drama surrounding the visit was “quite stressful.”

Although Harry reunited privately with his father in Gloucestershire, his brother, Prince William, was noticeably absent. William spent the day at his annual charity polo match in Windsor, joined by his wife Kate Middleton, who made a rare appearance after missing the event the previous two years while undergoing cancer treatment.

An insider told PEOPLE that the bond between the King’s sons is “so broken.” A source who knows both brothers added, “I thought it would have perhaps eased a little bit by now, to be honest. But there has been no movement, especially on William’s side. There is no contact.”

SOURCE: PEOPLE