How Jill Biden And Prince Harry's Long-Standing Alliance Began
Prince Harry made waves in early 2023 when his bombshell-packed memoir "Spare" hit bookstore shelves, selling a whopping 1.43 million copies in its first day and setting a Guinness World Record as the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time. First Lady Jill Biden was among the many to read the book cover to cover, per Daily Mail, which may seem like an unusual reading list choice for a woman who's busy leading White House initiatives and squeezing in time for her job as a community college teacher.
However, when you realize that Biden and the Duke of Sussex have a long-standing friendship, it makes sense that she would carve out time to learn about the royal's personal life, explained in his own words. According to People, the pair first met in 2013, when Joe Biden hadn't yet become president and Harry hadn't yet made his royal exit. The prince was visiting the U.S. and attended an event to honor American and British wounded service members — a cause that both the first lady and Harry are deeply passionate about.
Since then, the two have continued to forge a strong alliance, creating an unlikely — but totally sweet — friendship.
Jill and Harry bonded over their support for wounded service members
A year after their first meeting, Jill Biden and Prince Harry rubbed shoulders again at the first Invictus Games, an athletic competition involving wounded, injured, and sick service members and veterans. Harry founded the games which took place in London that year, with teams competing from around the world. "These games really show the spirit of the military and how they persevere and their resilience," Biden said in a White House statement.
Besides supporting the Duke of Sussex and the Invictus Games project — the First Lady has attended the event multiple times over the years — Biden also teamed up with the royal in 2015 when visiting wounded service members in the U.S., alongside then-First Lady Michelle Obama. The three can be seen in a video, standing side by side while learning about the services provided at the USO Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir.
The two have publicly praised each other
If the connection between Jill Biden and Prince Harry seemed only circumstantial in the beginning, they proved that their friendship was the real deal by 2021 when they co-hosted the Warrior Games together. The event took place virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, per Daily Mail, but even through a screen, the Duke of Sussex expressed his adoration for his friend in the White House.
"Thank you for your service and your continued support over all these years," he told Biden. "It's been fantastic to see you in action in various parts of the world giving everything that you've got to so many people to not just those who wear the uniform but to the families as well. A lot of them wouldn't be here without you so, so thank you." The first lady also praised Harry, saying, "You live by a simple principle — served together recovered together," continuing that "It's a philosophy, not limited by the flag you wear."
In May 2023, the two appeared in the same room when Biden, accompanied by her granddaughter Finnegan, attended King Charles III's coronation. Ahead of the big ceremony, media outlets such as the Mirror took note that the duke would have an "American ally" at the event, at a time when he was reportedly at odds with many members of the royal family. However, it's unclear if Biden and Harry had a chance to interact during the highly organized celebration.