One royal expert has accused Prince Harry of "masquerading as a working royal" after his recent visit to Ukraine. After his two-day visit to London, Harry, 40, travelled to Ukraine to visit the Superhumans Center - an orthopaedic clinic in Lviv that treats and rehabilitates wounded military personnel and civilians - to see the services provided in a country in the midst of war.

The visit has prompted a new question on Harry's status as a former working royal. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from royal duties in early 2020, after trying to carve out a role that would see them being financially independent while also carrying out official duties for the Crown. The King's youngest son has since been living in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3. Speaking to The Sun about Harry's visit to war-torn Ukraine, royal expert Hugo Vickers said: "You could argue that he's not a working royal... and he doesn't have any military appointments anymore... he shouldn't be doing sort of quasi royal visits."

However, Mr Vickers acknowledged Harry's past as a soldier who undertook two tours in Afghanistan in the space of 10 years, arguing visits like the one to Ukraine are a good use of his time.

Mr Vickers added: "I prefer to see him doing those sort of things than wandering around in the background of Meghan's cooking programme to give it sort of validity."

Explaining further, he added: "He's sort of almost masquerading as a working royal. He can't have it both ways."

Mr Vickers also added that his decision to undertake visits that resemble royal visits could pose questions over a potential royal return. He added, "I suppose one of the questions people will be asking is also, is this like a step towards coming back [as a working royal] at some point in the future?"

During his unannounced visit on Thursday, the Duke of Sussex - who has previously spoken of his support for Ukraine - was accompanied by a contingent from the Invictus Games Foundation, the organisation he launched in 2014. This included four veterans who experienced similar rehabilitation experiences.

For the two days prior to his visit to Ukraine, Harry had been in the UK to attend the Court of Appeal hearing into his security arrangements in the UK.

Harry became the second member of the Royal Family to have visited Ukraine. The Duchess of Edinburgh travelled to the country following Russia’s unlawful invasion of its neighbouring country in 2022.