Meghan Markle looks on as Prince Harry opens Invictus Games in front of crowd as he jokes about being ‘tired’
MEGHAN Markle looked on as her husband Prince Harry opened the Invictus Games in Canada last night.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, stood behind Harry wearing a brown dress as he gave a speech in Vancouver.
He jokingly asked the audience if anyone was tired and was greeted with shouts of "no".
Harry, 40, laughed and replied "well obviously team Canada is not tired, everybody else had to travel half way round the world to be here!".
The seventh edition of the games, established by Harry in 2014, has brought together more than 500 competitors from 23 nations.
It is the first time the games will include winter sports.
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Meghan's attendance is understood to underscore her support for her husband and the mission of Invictus, a cause that is deeply personal to them both.
Her focus at the games will be on uplifting her husband, the competitors and sharing their stories.
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.
In 2023, Meghan and Harry cheered on athletes among the crowds at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were sitting side-by-side clapping and also reacting to the game tensely as they watched the wheelchair basketball with Australia supporters.
While Meghan is understood to have several projects on the horizon, her family remains her top priority and she is determined to continue to stand together with Harry to support the causes they care about.
The couple visited Colombia for a four-day tour last August, with the trip focusing on tackling cyber-bullying and online digital violence as well as promoting women's leadership.
They also embarked on a three-day visit to Nigeria earlier in 2024 at the invitation of the West African nation's chief of defence staff.
British veterans and serving personnel who were injured during service departed for Canada earlier this week for the games.
The 62 competitors - all veterans and serving personnel who sustained life-changing injuries and illnesses while serving in the UK Armed Forces - left the country from Birmingham Airport on Thursday.
The games aim to "inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those who have served their country", the Royal British Legion said.
The games have previously been held in London in 2014, in Orlando in 2016, Toronto in 2017, Sydney in 2018, The Hague in 2022 and Dusseldorf in 2023.