Prince Harry and Meghan Markle let their hair down as they sipped beers at an Invictus Games welcome party in Whistler.
And cheeky Harry had the crowd laughing along with him when he joked that his wife would serenade them all with a song. The Sussexes were in high spirits before Harry stepped out on stage to open three days of sporting events at the luxury ski resort.
He thanked the attendees for their support before calling for Meghan to join him. As she stood beside her husband, Harry quipped: “And now she’s going to sing!” Clearly caught off guard, Meghan shook her head while laughing as the crowd cheered and clapped.
Just a short time earlier, Canadian pop star Michael Buble had performed an impromptu version of his hit ‘Feeling Good’ after he was brought on to the stage to introduce Harry. Michael told the crowd: “I know how difficult something like this is, so I wanted to make sure I did this right. Without the incredible effort of this young man, none of this would have happened, so please welcome my friend, Prince Harry.”
Harry and Meghan are now spending three days in Whistler to watch the Invictus competitors taking part in a number of adaptive winter sports, including the skeleton and alpine skiing.
The couple braved -11C to meet the UK team taking part in the Skeleton event, chatting with competitors and their families by the side of the track. Meghan wore a £1,000 white Mackage coat, Hattack Beanie and Sorrel boots during her walkabout in Whistler.
She knelt down to chat with brothers Benjamin, 12, and six-year-old Sebastian Evans having recognised the pair from the 2023 Games held in Dusseldorf, Germany. The Duchess also gave their mother Rachel a warm hug and happily posed for photos with the boys and their father Mike, who was a member of the UK skeleton team.
The boys’ mum, Rachel, told the Mirror : “The boys were talking to Meghan about how they went on a tube ride (snow tubing) and got stuck. They met her before at the last Games in Düsseldorf.” The family, from Lincoln, cheered on Mike at the event, the latest in a string of competitions since the Games began on Saturday.
The 2024 Invictus Games began this week with a star-studded opening ceremony on Saturday, held in Vancouver’s 40,000-capacity BC Place Stadium. At the event, Harry gave an impassioned speech where he called for competitors to overcome a “moment of difficulty and division in many parts of the world“. His words were viewed by many as a veiled dig at Donald Trump as the president made scathing remarks about Harry’s wife just hours before Invictus kicked off.
Addressing the 40,000-strong audience, the Duke said: “At this moment, when there is no shortage of crises, no absence of uncertainty, no lack of weak moral character in the world, the values you embody, the way you carry yourselves – not only at the Invictus Games, but each and every day – your courage, your resilience, your humanity, illuminate a path forward for us all.”
On the same day, Trump dismissed the suggestion of deporting Harry from the States following his revelations about his history with drugs in his autobiography, savagely claiming that Harry already has “enough problems with his wife”.
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