Prince Harry raised eyebrows when he was seen popping into a New York tattoo parlour soon after celebrating his 40th birthday.
Back in September, the Duke of Sussex caused quite a stir as he was spotted slipping into East Side Ink, a favoured hotspot for celebrities located on the Lower East Side that’s often thronged with minders and even police officers.
His excursion to the renowned tattoo shop unfolded amidst his engagements connected to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, sparking whispers of him commemorating the milestone with new ink.
However, the true purpose behind Prince Harry’s mysterious visit has now been disclosed in a stunningly sensational promotional short for his Invictus Games. In this attention-grabbing footage, we see Harry apparently wincing under the pinch of a startling neck tattoo administered by American music icon Jelly Roll.
Throughout the playfully scripted sequence, the well-known figure—officially revealed as the opening act for the event’s grand finale next year—quips about bestowing Harry with his inaugural tattoo, reports the Mirror.
According to Jelly Roll in the video, “Do you know, I could not believe it when they called me and told me Prince Harry wanted to get a tattoo today and he wanted me to give him his first tattoo? ” Nevertheless, a baffled and unprepared Harry queries, “No, no, no, why are you wearing a glove? ” To which Jelly Roll laughingly responds, “We are giving you a tattoo about the Invictus Games.”
Harry clarifies that his intention was to invite Jelly Roll to “to do” the games—not to tattoo him. The response from Jelly Roll?
A cheeky bargain: he’ll perform at the games but only if Prince Harry consents to receive his inaugural tattoo from him.
Jokingly agreeing to get inked, the Duke requested music icon Jelly Roll, famous for his tattoos, to add a design on his “lower back” or his “a**”. However, the musician instead suggested Harry’s neck as the canvas.
“Trust me, man, you wouldn’t want nobody else doing this,” Jelly Roll told the Royal before marking him with ‘I am Jelly Roll’. He left the duke with a parting message: “I’ll see you in Vancouver!”
Arriving alone to initiate the proceedings for the upcoming event set for Vancouver and Whistler this February, Harry, who served as a British Army captain, inaugurated the Invictus Games in 2014, which is an international sporting event for injured military members and veterans.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex began the official countdown to the 2025 winter games this February in Whistler, where new winter sports will be introduced, such as Nordic skiing and wheelchair curling.
During his recent visit to Vancouver, Harry didn’t just attend the Canadian football’s Grey Cup final; he also engaged with youngsters at Seaforth Armoury and launched the Invictus Games schools programme.
Only yesterday, the duke returned to Seaforth Armoury to deliver an inspiring speech about bravery for the school programme launch and even shared friendly hugs with children there, participating in a sitting volleyball match too.
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