MEGHAN Markle’s speech at the Invictus Games was like an “Oscar ceremony” as the “actress put on a united front” with hubby Prince Harry.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave speeches as they opened the Invictus Games ceremony in Vancouver, Canada, last night.
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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”.
The royal couple also put on a loved-up display as the games kicked off tonight.
Meghan had been posting heartwarming behind the scenes footage on her Instagram stories before the event.
The pair met with the athletes and Harry performed a playful dance while participants waited lined up for pictures.
In the stands, the mum-of-two waved blue pom-poms and grinned from ear-to-ear as she sat beside her hubby.
Harry appeared equally joyful as he stepped out in a suave suit with navy tie.
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.
“Meghan 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.”
He added: “Whatever they do is criticized. But there’s always this feeling that somehow they’re putting themselves in front of the cameras, and certainly that’s what happened at the opening of the Invictus Games.”
The royal expert also revealed he had hoped the focus would be on the brave and admirable Invictus Games participants.
He said: “It was one of Prince Harry’s great achievements that he did the Invictus Games, and it always seems to me very strange that he who is so good at persuading other people they’re not victims, and to look on the bright side of life, seems to have turned himself into a kind of victim, because he’s always sort of whinging about his lot in life.”
Meghan Markle’s impromptu speech
In a clip of the opening night shared on X by an attendee, Meghan introduced her hubby Harry.
She honoured him and also gushed about her return to Canada just hours after they landed.
Meghan said: “I was not planning on speaking tonight. We just arrived a couple of hours ago and I touched Canadian soil and I went, ‘feels like home.’
“We are so excited and we also recognise most of you are probably so exhausted from how much travel you’ve done, how much adrenaline you have pumping, how excited you are for what is going to be one of the most outstanding, memorable, unforgettable, and connected weeks probably for you and your families.
“We are just thrilled to be here and I would be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to introduce someone who means a lot to me and I know means quite a lot to all of you.
“You will see him throughout this week. You will see him at the games, you will see him probably curling with you and cheering you on at wheelchair basketball.”
She also revealed how Harry has juggled organising the Invictus Games while fathering Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Meghan continued: “With families…the big rush in the morning and getting ready for school and packing the lunchboxes and making breakfast and my husband is in all of that with all of us.
“And then he’ll be on his phone, and Archie will be like, ‘Papa, why are you on your phone?’ and he says, ‘Because it’s Invictus, I’m getting ready for Invictus.’
“It means so much to him. You are his family just as we are his family.
“And I hope you recognise how much of his heart he has poured into every single beat that has gotten all of you to this week, that’s going to be spectacular.
“I need you to know that, how much it means to him and how much each of you mean to him.
“It is my entire pleasure and complete honour to introduce to the stage my husband, the father of our very sweet, excited children who are cheering you on from California, Prince Harry, founder of the Invictus Games, the Duke of Sussex.”
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.
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.
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