Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Prince Harry back in London ahead of royal baby's birth

Share this:

Prince Harry travelled back to London to carry out an engagement dear to his heart on Sunday. As patron of the London Marathon Charitable Trust, Harry was tasked with meeting and congratulating runners who had completed the 26-mile race.

His return to the UK from Australia came at an important time for the royal family, with his sister-in-law the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, due to give birth to her second royal baby any day now.

While most of the senior royals see their schedules take them to different parts of the country, or even the world, Harry found himself carrying out his royal duties in London, where Kate will give birth, while The Queen and Kate's husband Prince William also undertook engagements in the capital over the weekend.

prince harry1 © Photo: Getty Images

Prince Harry awarded Paula Radcliffe with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the London Marathon

Harry had the honour of awarding athlete Paula Radcliffe, who has won the London Marathon three times before, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Paula finished the course in two hours 36 minutes 55 seconds, just a couple of years after she sustained a serious foot injury.

"It was just amazing the whole way round," Paula told the BBC. "I went off way too fast but from then on it got more and more emotional."

"Down the last mile I thought 'I don't care about the time', I just wanted to thank as many people as I could," she added. "There was a big sign at Embankment saying 'We will miss you' but it won't be as much as I will miss [my supporters]."

prince harry2 © Photo: Getty Images

Prince Charles and his son Harry were in Turkey to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign

Harry, who previously joked that his toddler nephew Prince George should compete in the race, also presented trophies to Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa, who respectively triumphed in the elite men and women's categories.

The Prince also had the chance to meet St. John's Ambulance volunteers who were involved with the administration of the race, as well as winners of the IPC Athletics World Championships, which incorporated wheelchair races.

prince harry3 © Photo: Getty Images

The Queen and Prince William marked the anniversary in London, where Kate is due to give birth

While Harry was attending the London Marathon on Sunday, his brother Prince William and the Queen took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Saturday, to commemorate ANZAC Day and the Centenary of the Gallipoli Campaign.

Harry and his father Prince Charles had travelled to Turkey on Thursday to mark the ceremony at the Gallipoli Peninsula. The pair were joined by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as well as other world dignitaries.

The senior members of the royal family are, however, back in London in anticipation of the second royal baby's birth. Kate and Prince William are due to welcome their little Prince or Princess, who will become the fourth-in-line to the throne, at the exclusive Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in London.

More Royalty

See more