Prince Harry didn’t visit a high-end tattoo shop in New York City in September to get inked up.
It was revealed Tuesday that the Duke of Sussex went to East Side Ink to recruit Jelly Roll to headline the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025.
The prince and the singer, 39, shared the news with a funny video where Harry gets a fake tattoo.
In the clip, Harry is sitting in a chair at the tattoo station and is greeted by Jelly Roll, who misunderstands Harry’s intentions for being there.
“I’m such a fan dude. I could not believe it when they called me and told me Prince Harry wanted to get a tattoo, and he wanted me to give him his first tattoo,” Jelly Roll tells Harry. “This is the coolest thing ever.”
A confused Harry responds, “No, no, no, why are you wearing a glove?”
“We’re giving you a tattoo about the Invictus Games,” Jelly Roll explains, as Harry clarifies he only came to the shop to ask the “Son of a Sinner” singer to perform at the first-ever Winter Invictus Games in February.
“There’s no tattoo in this. I can’t get a tattoo,” Harry says.
Jelly Roll suggests he gives Harry the tattoo on his neck, but Harry prefers getting the ink elsewhere.
“I’ll play the Invictus Games, you just let me give you your first tattoo,” Jelly Roll notes.
“Alright, screw it, let’s go,” Harry interjects. When the musician notes “we gotta go for the neck,” Harry jokes: “I was thinking the lower back or on my ass.”
“Nobody wants to see your ass, Harry. This is for the world,” Jelly Roll says.
The Grammy nominated artist is able to convince Harry to get the tattoo on his neck. He inks the prince, who is in pain during the process, and then is shocked to see the tattoo says “I am Jelly Roll.”
“You put your name on my neck?” Harry asks.
Jelly Roll then runs away from an upset Harry and yells, “I’ll see you in Vancouver. I appreciate you!”
The Invictus Games captioned the video, “The most 🤯 inking of a deal in Invictus Games history. Watch when Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex meets @jellyroll615 @eastsideinktattoo. Don’t miss this duo reuniting in Vancouver #IG25 Closing Ceremony Feb 16. Get 🎟️ before they sell out, via our bio!”
In late September, Harry and his security team were seen arriving at the tattoo shop on the Lower East Side.
Management for East Side Ink — where other celebs like Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson have gotten ink — was tight-lipped about Harry’s visit at the time.
“I can’t confirm or deny anything,” shop owner Josh Lord told the Post. “We treat all our customers as if they were royal, because to us they are. We always honor their privacy.”
Now, we know that Harry was there to film the announcement that Jelly Roll will perform at the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025.
The father of two launched the Invictus Games in 2014 as multisport Paralympic-style games for wounded or injured servicemen and veterans.
The 2025 Invictus Games, taking place from Feb. 6 to 17, will host winter sports for the first time, including alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
