The Duke and Duchess of Sussex cheered and clapped as the United Kingdom’s team walked onto the stage for the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games.
Harry and Meghan arrived in Vancouver on Saturday for the seventh edition of the games that were established by Prince Harry in 2014.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Nelly Furtado and Katy Perry are all due to perform at the opening event.
The president of Boeing International (which is presenting the games), Brendan Nelson, told the ceremony audience: “Prince Harry has given duty, courage, hope and love a name. Invictus.”
As Mr Nelson told Prince Harry, “we are proud of you”, the Duchess of Sussex clapped and smiled at her husband, touching his face affectionately.
On her Instagram story earlier on Saturday, she shared a video as she posed alongside her husband for a picture with Team USA. She also posted a video where she hugged a woman in a Team Canada kit.
Meghan’s attendance is understood to underscore her support for her husband and the mission of Invictus, which brings together more than 500 competitors from 23 nations.
It is the first time the games will include winter sports.
British veterans and serving personnel who were injured during service departed for Canada earlier this week to take part in the games. The 62 competitors are all veterans and serving personnel who sustained life-changing injuries or illnesses during their time in the UK Armed Forces.
Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf. Pic: PA
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend an event at the 2023 Invictus Games. Pic: Reuters
The games were last held in Dusseldorf in 2023. Invictus 2027 will be held in Birmingham, returning to the UK for the first time since its inception, when the first games were held in London.
The games were inspired after Prince Harry took a trip to the Warrior Games in 2013, where he saw how sport could aid injured service personnel in their recoveries.
At the time, Harry worked in partnership with his then charity The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, to deliver the games alongside the Ministry of Defence. The first games, held in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, brought together 400 competitors from 13 nations around the world
The Olympic Cauldron at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver is lit in celebration, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada. The games will take place across Vancouver and Whistler. Picture date: Saturday February 8, 20
The name of the games, Invictus, means ‘unconquered’.
For Meghan and Harry, it has been the backdrop to some key moments in their lives. The couple famously appeared in public together for the first time at the Toronto Invictus Games in 2017, pictured hand in hand at a wheelchair tennis event.
Meghan and Prince Harry, pictured at the 2017 Invictus Games. Pic: PA
It was the first public outing for the couple. Pic: PA
They attended the 2018 Invictus Games just five days after announcing they were expecting their first child.
Then, just days after their son Archie was born, Prince Harry travelled to the Netherlands to promote the 2020 Invictus Games, which had been due to take place at the Hague.
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands presents Prince Harry with an outfit for his newborn son at the launch of the 2020 Invictus Games. Pic: AP
These games were later delayed to 2022 due to the COVID pandemic, but during this initial visit he was gifted an Invictus-themed onesie by Princess Margriet.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the 2018 games just days after announcing Meghan’s pregnancy. Pic: PA
Meghan has a number of upcoming projects, including a Netflix series With Love, Meghan, which will now be released on 4 March, after being delayed due to the wildfires in LA.
