Prince Harry’s Invictus Games kicks off in just a few days’ time in Canada – and it seems the Duchess of Sussex won’t be the only member of royalty paying a visit to the tournament
Prince Harry’s Invictus Games is just days away – and it seems he is in line for a royal reunion.
The 2025 sporting tournament for sick and injured serving and former military personnel is taking place in both Vancouver and Whistler in Canada – and the opening ceremony on Saturday is set to be a star-studded event with the likes of Coldplay and Katy Perry performing.
The Duke of Sussex is expected to be joined by his wife, Meghan Markle, but his frosty relationship with his royal relatives, especially his father, King Charles, and brother,Prince William, means they will not be on hand to support him.
He is, however, set to get some royal support – that’s because it has been confirmed that Prince Joachim of Denmark and his wife, Princess Marie, are set to be at the Games. Joachim is the younger brother of King Frederik of Denmark, with the Danish Royal House confirming his and Marie’s attendance at the Games.
Harry last crossed paths with Joachim in 2017, when the pair both visited a military training centre together in the Danish capital Copenhagen. At it seems that Joachim has also had family drama with his own royal relatives – similar to Harry.
In 2022, his mother the former Queen Margrethe decided that Joachim’s children woul be stripped of their prince and princess titles. This means his children Nikolai, Felix, Henrik and Athena are now count or countesses and no longer styled His/Her Royal Highness. Meanwhile, Joachim and Marie no longer live in Denmark and have relocated to Washington DC in the United States.
But despite no British royals looking set to be at the event in Canada, it could be a different story for the 2027 Games. Last year, it was revealed that Birmingham had won the bid to host the sporting competition for wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans in 2027.
It will be the second time that the Games will be held in the UK after the inaugural event took place in London in 2014. As founder of the Games, it is more than likely that Harry will travel to the UK for the event in 2027. And since he started dating Meghan in 2017 she too has joined him at every event, with their Invictus Games appearances some of their most high-profile as a couple.
However, as the Games will be in the UK in three years time, it raises the question if Meghan will attend. That’s because earlier this year, Harry lost a High Court battle over the loss of his UK police protection when he is in the country after quitting Britain for the United States.
During the legal hearing, Harry said in a statement he believes his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet cannot “feel at home” in the UK if it is “not possible to keep them safe” there. He also added: “The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home, as much as where they live at the moment in the United States.
“That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe when they are on UK soil. I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too.” Harry has been allowed to appeal against the decision, but if it does not go in his favour before the Games in 2027, both he and Meghan may have to make a big decision on whether she should attend.
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