Prince Harry was pictured talking to the general in charge of army training on Monday, sitting ringside to watch American veterans competing at the Warrior Games.
The 38-year-old traveled to San Diego for his first public appearance since his phone-hacking trial in the UK.
The Duke of Sussex was seen grinning and chattering as he cheered on servicemen and women competing in events similar to his own Invictus Games.
He was seen at one point gesturing across the arena as Gen. Gary Brito, the commanding general of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, looked on.
The royal also spoke animatedly to families, volunteers and staff — and apparently cracked jokes on those seated around him at the event in Southern California.
Harry was pictured in deep discussion with Master Sergeant Michael Haley, one of 40 wounded veterans and active duty members chosen to represent Team Army.
He later appeared relaxed as he posed with gold medal-winning veterans of the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
Teams from the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and SOCOM compete in sports including archery, cycling, golf, swimming, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby. Harry is a self-confessed rugby fanatic.
It is the first time Harry has been seen in public since returning from London, where he gave evidence at the High Court in the phone hacking trial of Mirror Group Newspapers. He was the first royal to testify in court in more than a century — and he returned to Montecito on Friday.
Harry’s own Invictus Games, which he organized in 2014, take place in Düsseldorf in September.
The event provides an opportunity for those who have suffered illness or injury during or as a result of their service to compete in sporting events against other nations.
But earlier this year organizers of the charity event were urged to distance themselves from Prince Harry after his “insensitive” Taliban revelations in Spare.
Renowned publicist Lynn Franks said the Duke of Sussex’s decision to share that he had killed 25 soldiers while serving in Afghanistan “made him look like a complete idiot”.
Harry’s claims, including that he viewed Taliban fighters as “chess pieces” during operations, drew the ire of the armed forces community, which accused the Duke of poor etiquette.
Ben McBean, a former Royal Marine and friend of the prince, said such comments were unwise. Others said Harry had put people at risk.
His appearance in San Diego came as the Department of Homeland Security has until today to respond to a legal request to release Harry’s US visa documents because it could show he lied about his drug use.
The claims were aired in the US District Court in Washington last week, 3,000 miles from the High Court in London, where he gave evidence hours earlier in the trial he brought against the publisher of the Daily Mirror.
The case relates to the Duke of Sussex’s US visa application in March 2020, which may show he marked ‘no’ to questions about drug use.
Harry has admitted to using cocaine, marijuana and hallucinogens in his bestseller ‘Spare’ and his Netflix TV series.
If Harry is found to have lied on his visa forms, he could be deported from the US.
The claims were made by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that is seeking the release of the documents by the Department of Homeland Security under the US Freedom of Information Act.
Samuel Dewey, the lead attorney for the Heritage Foundation, made the case it can take months.
The next stage will be the dispute over whether or not the documents themselves should be published.
Mr. Dewey criticized the “frankly frivolous anti-transparency stance” of President Joe Biden’s administration.
In court documents, the Heritage Foundation focused on two questions on the DS160 visa application form.
The first asks, “Have you ever been a drug addict or addict?”
The second asks, “Have you ever violated or conspired to violate a controlled substance law?”
The Heritage Foundation, one of Washington’s most influential conservative think tanks, argued that Harry’s admissions of drug use meant he should have voted yes.
The Freedom of Information (FoI) request was made by Niall Gardiner, Director of the Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Freedom Centre.
The US Department of Homeland Security initially rejected the FoI because, due to the private nature of the information, it required Harry’s permission, which he had not given.
Immigration experts said Harry’s confessions could result in any border agent being denied entry to the US.
During last Tuesday’s hour-long hearing, Judge Carl Nicholas gave the Department of Homeland Security a week to decide whether or not the case should be expedited.
A spokesman for Harry said they would not be commenting “at this time”.