Prince Harry was “tattooed” on his neck by Jelly Roll. The British royal teamed up with the country music star in a “hilarious” video announcing Jelly Roll as the headliner for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 closing ceremony on February 16, 2025. The clip featured a comedic exchange where Jelly Roll seemingly gave the Duke of Sussex his first tattoo.
Highlights
- Prince Harry announces Jelly Roll as headliner for Invictus Games 2025.
- Comedic video shows Jelly Roll 'tattooing' Prince Harry's neck.
- Video filmed at East Side Ink in NYC during Harry's solo visit.
- Invictus Games 'Invictus I Am' logo references Henley's poem.
- Video sparks mixed reactions, from amusement to criticism.
Taking to its Instagram page on Tuesday (November 19), the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 shared a clip to Instagram showing Prince Harry and the 39-year-old singer meeting at East Side Ink, a tattoo parlor in New York City, USA.
The video may have been filmed during Prince Harry's solo trip to NYC in September when he was spotted at the tattoo parlor whose celebrity clients include Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Susan Sarandon, Ruby Rose, and Bruce Willis, People reported on Tuesday.
At the start of the clip, someone could be heard asking the duke: "Take a look around, can we get you anything?"
Prince Harry was “tattooed” on his neck by Jelly Roll
Image credits: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
To this, Harry was filmed replying: “No, I'm alright. Is he going to be here any time soon?"
As the 40-year-old dad-of-two sat in a tattoo chair, waiting, Jelly Roll arrived, greeting him: "Hey, hey! Tattoos! Speaking of! What's up! I'm such a fan, dude.
“Do you know I could not believe it when they called me and told me Prince Harry wanted to get a tattoo today?
“They wanted me to give him his first tattoo? This is the coolest thing ever!"
Realizing that Jelly Roll, instead of an actual tattoo artist, was wearing gloves and getting ready to ink him, Prince Harry was seemingly baffled.
Image credits: Invictus Games Foundation
Jelly Roll consequently explained: "We're giving you a tattoo about the Invictus Games,” but Harry countered: "No, I came here to ask you to do the Invictus Games.
“There's no tattoo in this. I can't get a tattoo!"
Upon negotiating, Jelly Roll said: "I'll play the Invictus Games, you just let me give you your first tattoo."
"Alright, screw it, let's go," the prince finally conceded, as Jelly Roll started up his tattoo gun.
The British royal teamed up with the country music star in a “hilarious” video announcing Jelly Roll as the headliner for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler
Image credits: Invictus Games Foundation
"We gotta go for the neck!" the Wild Ones hitmaker said before Harry shared: "I was thinking the lower back or on my a*s."
The funny exchange continued as Jelly Roll joked with Prince Harry about tattoo placement, dismissing Harry's preference for a discreet spot and opting for a bold design on his neck instead.
As Jelly Roll began the tattoo, the duke nervously questioned his expertise and expressed surprise at its size, quipping he should have gone with his original idea.
Jelly Roll reassured him, calling it a "commitment" and emphasizing the tattoo's significance.
Image credits: Invictus Games Foundation
The "Invictus I Am" logo embodies the message at the heart of the Invictus Games, inspired by William Ernest Henley’s iconic poem Invictus, which includes the phrase, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul," according to People.
The Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 is an international adaptive sporting competition for wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans.
The clip sparked amusement, as an Instagram user commented: “The way I screamed!!
“Jelly Roll!! We love him!!!!!!!!!! The Invictus Family is gonna have the time of their lives!!!”
The clip featured a comedic exchange where Jelly Roll seemingly gave the Duke of Sussex his first tattoo
Image credits: Invictus Games Foundation
A person wrote: “Prince Harry is THE best!”
Someone else penned: “Didn't know Prince could act..he did a good job.”
“Actually this was funny as hell,” a netizen shared. “Tattoo was a joke. Lol.”
A separate individual chimed in: “This is hilarious.”
Image credits: Invictus Games Foundation
Nevertheless, other viewers didn't find the clip as enjoyable, as a cybernaut argued: "He is trying hard to be cool, it's so cringe."
"This is stupid," a commentator noted.
An observer stated: "That better not be real. boy if he’s outcast now he’ll be more outcast when everybody in the royal family sees it."
Jelly Roll as a headliner for the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 on February 16, 2025, was announced on Tuesday.
Prince Harry and the 39-year-old singer met at East Side Ink, a tattoo parlor in New York City, USA
The Games were created by Prince Harry. It was his return from deployment in Afghanistan and watching the coffin of a Danish Soldier loaded aboard for repatriation, alongside three injured British soldiers, that inspired him, the Invictus Games Foundation explains.
“That moment had a profound impact on him and, following a visit to the US Warrior Games in 2013, he was inspired to create the international Invictus Games to celebrate the unconquered human spirit, and shine a spotlight on these men and women who served,” as per the Foundation.
Prince Harry served in the British Army from 2005 to 2015, rising to the rank of Captain.
He underwent officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst at age 21, before being deployed to Afghanistan twice—first in 2007-2008 as a forward air controller and later in 2012-2013 as an Apache helicopter pilot.
The clip further ignited divided reactions
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