Meghan Markle and Prince Harry beam from crowd as they cheer on teams at Invictus Games opening ceremony
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle looked loved up as they beamed beside each other at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games.
The Duke and Duchess cheered and applauded from the stands as they watched the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, officially begin tonight.
The seventh edition of the games kicked off with a parade of nations, Germany, who hosted the 2023 event in Dusseldorf led in front.
Vancouver’s team were welcomed into BC Place with an almighty cheer from the 54,500 seater arena.
Giant inflatables of a whale and dolphin floated above the military veterans to represent the city’s Vancouver connection to the Pacific Ocean.
Meghan had been posting heartwarming behind the scene footage on her Instagram stories this evening as the Duke and Duchess met with the athletes.
The mum-of-two beamed as she was filmed taking photographs with the Ladies USA team.
Meanwhile, Harry performed a playful dance while participants waited lined up for more pictures.
Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Nelly Furtado and Katy Perry are all set to perform at the opening ceremony tonight.
The incredible event, which spans nine days, will see Invictus athletes compete at sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, and rugby, swimming, indoor rowing as well as some newly introduced sports.
These include Alpine and Nordic skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, skeleton and wheelchair curling.
This comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave speeches as they opened the Invictus Games ceremony in Vancouver, Canada, last night.
Meghan, 43, gave Harry, 40, a passionate kiss on stage after introducing her husband in an impromptu, but lengthy, address.
The mum-of-two hailed the Duke for his parenting skills with Archie, five and Llibet, three, while calling everyone involved with Invictus “family”.
But royal expert Hugo Vickers cast doubt over the former Suits actress’ sincerity.
“It was very much like a sort of Oscar ceremony, wasn’t it?,” He told The Sun.
“Megan suddenly leaps onto the stage and says she wasn’t intending to say anything, but she was so excited to be back in Canada that she decided to do so.
“I gather that her speech was very similar to the one she gave the last time.”
He added: “She was actually owning it wasn’t she. She was owning the games at that point, and she was telling us that this figure was about to appear on the stage.
“We all knew it was going to be Prince Harry, and then to give him a kiss and things.
“Yes, it showed in a united front. But you must remember she’s an actress, so I don’t know how seriously one can take that
“I think I think she definitely used it to assert her own position. I would have much preferred it if he had come on his own.
“There was a discussion the other day in which somebody was saying her place on these occasions is in the stands watching the games, and cheering people on rather than taking Center stage.
“What we wanted to hear was a welcome from Prince Harry to the participants and then to see lots of what the participants are getting up to.
“But once again, they have to keep producing things which get attention, and this was an opportunity which certainly was not missed.”
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.