Prince Harry has sent a letter to tattoo artist Joshua Lord and thanked him for his “handling of the press” after their sketch together last year at New York tattoo parlour East Side Ink. The Duke of Sussex was spotted at the tattoo shop last September, which sparked speculation about the reasoning behind his visit.
In November, it was revealed that Harry’s visit was part of a skit to promote this year’s Invictus Games in Canada. Harry wrote to the tattoo parlour’s owner shortly after his visit and thanked him for his skilful dodging” of questions of the media.
The prince wrote: “Dear Josh, thank you so much for your generosity in offering us your space at East Side Ink for filming. It was incredibly kind, and I really enjoyed meeting you and learning more about the history of your shop.”
He continued: “I also appreciated your artful handling of press questions regarding my visit, it means a lot and I was rather impressed by your skilful dodging! Well done.
“They’ll be in for a shock when they see the final cut. Grateful for your partnership and support in service of the Invictus community. If you’d like to come to Vancouver in February, we’d love to have you!”
He personally signed the letter saying: “All the best, Harry.”
The tattoo artist shared a picture of the letter, along with new pictures of the Duke visiting the parlour last September. Harry was seen smiling while posing next to Mr Lord, rapper Jelly Roll, who featured in the skit, and two others who work at the tattoo parlour.
Mr Lord said in his caption: “My royal ‘Thank You’ letter naming me as the Skillful(sic) Dodger, which is a pretty good nickname, really.”
He also tagged the handle @sussexroyal, which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex no longer use since stepping down from the Royal Family.
In the sketch last year, Harry appeared to be given a tattoo by US music star Jelly Roll, as part of the build-up to the Invictus Games in Canada.
The country singer and rapper joked that Harry has agreed to be given his first tattoo.
Jelly Roll – who was announced as the first headliner at the closing ceremony of the event next year – told Harry: “We are giving you a tattoo about the Invictus Games.”
Harry then said he wanted to ask Jelly Roll “to do” the games, not to tattoo him, to which the singer said he would only play the games if Harry let him give him his first tattoo.
In the video, the duke agreed and asked the music star to tattoo his “lower back” or his “a**e”. Jelly Roll then suggested he tattooed Harry’s neck instead which he did and told him “I’ll see you in Vancouver!”