Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Invictus bombshells from rude gift to PDA and Trump dig

There have been smiles, laughter and tears shed between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games.

After months of solo work appearances and difficult moments for the couple – from the devastating LA wildfires to Donald Trump’s blistering remarks – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ famously inseperable bond is back in full force.

The couple have so far shown a very loved-up display in Vancouver, Canada, as they attend various events for the sporting tournament that champions injured servicemen and women.

The cause has been incredibly close to Harry’s heart since he founded the Games in London in 2014. This year marks the seventh edition and sees more than 500 athletes compete in 11 different events over nine days.

Meghan, 43, has shown that she couldn’t be prouder of her husband. The pair have enjoyed the show from the stands, danced away to pop hits and cosied up with champagne. A passionate on-stage kiss was shared by the affectionate duo, and the couple have also made a rare comments about their young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Here, we take a look at the couple’s highlights so far…

Harry’s ‘inappropriate’ gift

The Sussexes didn’t mask their feelings when presented with an ‘inappropriate’ gift from Team Australia. Harry was gifted a pair of Speedos – commonly known as budgie smugglers in Australia – and he couldn’t help but smile as he examined the tiny swimwear.

“So inappropriate! I love it. Thank you so much,” Harry jokingly said. The funny exchange was later shared in a video shared on wife Meghan’s Instagram Stories, with the Duchess writing: “And Team Australia, you’ve done it again!”

Meghan teased her Instagram followers further about the cheeky gift, writing: “Walking into a very important meeting” with a winking emoji before the big reveal.

The moment echoed a past Invictus encounter when an Australian athlete cheekily asked for Harry’s autograph on a pair of Speedos during the 2018 Games in Sydney. At the time, Harry joked he would sign them – provided the athlete wore them on his head. But, as per royal protocol, the prince ultimately had to decline given that the royals cannot sign personal items.

Golf cart backlash

One behind-the-scenes clip of Harry and Meghan on her newly reopened Instagram account has sparked backlash. The clip shows the couple smiling and waving at cheering crowds as they travel along on a golf buggy at Saturday’s opening ceremony, with footage showing them riding past disabled veterans.

Reacting to the clip, one person commented: “So Meghan and Harry, two able-bodied people, are driven on a golf cart past disabled veterans. Some of the veterans are [in a] wheelchair. They should have walked through the group, meeting, greeting and shaking hands. All with a camera following them. Unbelievable.”

Another wrote: “Disabled veterans made to stand waiting in a mile long cold concrete corridor whilst these two very able-bodied get golf carted in the opposite direction. Just when you think they can’t sink any lower.” And a third added: “Who so being honoured here? The veterans OR Harry and Meghan being honoured by the veterans!”

Donald Trump swipe

Hours after US President Donald Trump branded Meghan “terrible”, Harry appeared to deliver a veiled jab at the US president. At Vancouver’s BC Stadium during the opening event, Harry took the opportunity to denounce the lacklustre moral fibre he perceives in today’s society. Addressing the audience, he commented: “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.”

It came shortly after Trump dismissed the suggestion of deporting the Duke from the States following Harry’s revelations about his history with drugs in his autobiography. According to The New York Post, Trump brushed off the idea of kicking the Prince out of America on Saturday and said: “I don’t want to. I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”

Harry’s goofy impression

During the half-time interval at the final of a wheelchair basketball event on Sunday, Harry took part in ‘Moose Cam’, which encourages spectators to smile at the camera, poke out their tongues and waggle their hands by the side of their heads. As Harry duly obliged and his face appeared on a giant TV screen, there were big cheers from the crowd.

Meghan, meanwhile, resisted adopting the moose pose but roared with laughter as she looked at her husband, who was clearly enjoying himself on the giant screen. Other candid photos of the couple show them beaming from ear-to-ear and holding hands. In another snap, the Sussexes are seen cheek-to-cheek as Harry has his arm around his wife.

Smooch in the stands

The Sussexes were seen kissing and cuddling during the opening ceremony on Saturday night, and an intimate chat between them was revealed by a lip reader. The expert told The Sun: “For the first part of the clip, Harry says ‘Give us a kiss then’. Meghan gives him a kiss on the lips and says ‘All the best’.”

Harry then left his wife to deliver a speech to the crowd at the BC Place Stadium. “We gather here in Vancouver in a spirit of unity,” he said. “Beyond any differences, here at the Invictus Games, we are grounded in mutual respect, competing fiercely but believing in one another. Over the past decade, I’ve lost count of the times we’ve heard you tell us that the Invictus Games saved you. Respectfully, I disagree. Invictus didn’t save you. You saved yourself.”

Harry’s ‘dad dancing’

Harry was spotted ‘dad dancing’ at the Games on Saturday, and Meghan shared amusing footage on Instagram. The 40-year-old shook his hips and moved his feet during a breakfast meeting with competitors from the host nation. It came after Meghan warmly described participants as “family” in a speech about Harry’s devotion to Invictus Games.

She said: “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 is going to be spectacular. I need you to know that, I need you to know how much it means to him and how much each of you means to you.”

Meghan’s gushing praise

Harry was spotted getting emotional at the opening of the Games in Vancouver and a heartwarming exchange between the Duke and Duchess was revealed by a lip reader. Expert Jeremy Freeman said that before Harry left for the podium to do his speech, he assured Meghan, “OK, I’ll be back later”, to which a loving Meghan responded: “You’re amazing.”

Harry’s biggest cheerleader

A body language expert picked up on a ‘fitting, symbolic gesture’ made by Meghan during the opening ceremony on Saturday. Judi James told the Mirror: “When Meghan picked up two big blue pom-poms and danced with them above her head, it was a fitting, symbolic gesture as her body language at the games so far seems to very emphatically define her in the role of Harry’s cheerleader and number one fan. She has put herself in the role of vector here, pointing the audience and their affection in Harry’s direction.”

Judi went on: “As [Harry] sat looking bashful with his lips sucked in or threw a cheeky double thumbs-up during some banter from Chris Martin, Meghan performed mouth-puckered smiles of pride or ‘seal-clapped’ him to his face, a form of clapping with the hands pointing upward that registers praise and recognition. She also touched his face more than once. At one point, she leant an arm out to stroke the back of his neck, and then when he stood to go to the stage, she tenderly cupped his face in both of her hands and kissed him on the lips as though he was her hero.”

Rare insight on parenthood

Meghan made a rare reference to the couple’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, while introducing her husband on stage at the event. She said: “You will see him throughout this week, you will see him at the Games, you will see him probably curling with you, cheering you on. He wants to be there with you, he is in it with you. What you won’t have seen is all of the moments in the lead-up to these Games.”

Referring to their family, she went on: “All of the moments with, as you know, with families, the big rush in the morning and getting ready for school and packing the lunch boxes and making breakfast and my husband’s in all of that with us. And then he’ll be on his phone and Archie will say ‘Papa, why are you on your phone?’. He’s like ‘cos 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 is going to be spectacular. I need you to know that, I need you to know how much it means to him and how much each of you means to you.”

Harry’s heartbreaking chat with Archie

Harry told how he speaks to his son Archie about Princess Diana and has shown him iconic footage of her walking through minefields. The royal spoke about how he is keeping his mother’s memory alive by telling the five-year-old about her life and achievements, including raising international awareness about landmines in Angola.

Speaking at the Games on Sunday, Harry said: “Archie was asking about landmines, so I talked about how some of these guys were blown up. I found myself talking to him about mines when he was five years old. Interestingly it gave me a chance to talk about my mum, his grandma, which I didn’t even really consider. He wanted to see videos and photographs of his grandma Diana out doing her thing with landmines all those years ago.”

Diana died aged 36 in a car crash in Paris in August 1997. She triggered a worldwide conversation that saw a turning point in the fight against the lethal devices by walking through a minefield in Huambo, Angola, on January 15, 1997. Harry honoured her memory by walking through a minefield in Dirico, Angola, in September 2019.