Prince Harry Meets Jelly Roll, Who Gives the Royal His First 'Tattoo'

In what seems as unlikely of a pairing if there ever was one, Prince Harry met Jelly Roll in a New York City tattoo shop. But the recorded encounter, in which the Duke of Sussex was inked by the heavily-tattooed country singer, was nothing more than a stunt to promote the upcoming 2025 Invictus Games, which will take place in Vancouver, Canada early next year.

In the short clip, Harry can be seen sitting in a chair in the tattoo parlor, asking an employee, “Is he going to be here any time soon?” “Oh, yes. He should be here very promptly,” the employee responded. “I hear he’s always on time.”

“Hey, hey, tattoos! Speaking of, what’s up man?” Jelly Roll said, making his grand appearance, telling the royal that he’s “such a fan” while shaking his hand. “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?” he said to Harry, who seemed less than stoked about the idea.

View the original article to see embedded media.

“We’re giving you a tattoo about the Invictus Games,” Jelly Roll informed the prince, who clarified: “Uh, no. I can here to ask you to do the Invictus Games. There’s no tattoo in this. I can’t get a tattoo.”

However, after a brief negotiation, Harry conceded, as long as Jelly Roll would perform at the event, which he founded in 2014 in partnership with the Ministry of Defense. The international sporting event, named for the Latin word for “unconquered,” sees wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women competing in a variety of games.

After declining a request to tattoo his lower back or “bum,” where “no one would see it,” Jelly Roll got to work inking the Invictus Games logo on Harry’s neck. “Dude, it’s enormous,” the 40-year-old said, admiring the finished product in a mirror, to which Jelly Roll countered, “The Invictus Games are enormous!”

“What does that say at the bottom?” Harry then noticed. “Is that your name? Does that say Jelly Roll? You put your name on my neck?!”

But while the tattoo was clearly fake, the invitation to perform wasn’t. At the end of the video, it was announced that Jelly Roll would be making an appearance at the closing ceremony of the games on Feb. 16, 2025—tattooed prince or not.