Meghan urged to ‘pace herself ’ on hectic Royal tour
THE pregnant Duchess of Sussex was back supporting competitors in the Invictus Games after being urged by her husband to pace herself during their gruelling 16-day Pacific tour.
Meghan had pulled out of an arranged meeting with participants to rest after Saturday’s opening ceremony overran by nearly two hours, leaving the Duke to present the medals alone yesterday morning.
But she later re-joined Harry as the couple took to the water to support those taking part in the sailing final in Sydney Harbour.
The pair braved the choppy seas and took a small rib boat out to a 40ft Hanse 400 yacht, where they laughed and smiled while watching the racing, standing up at times for a better view of the action.
Harry was seen helping Meghan onto the yacht to watch the race, which saw host country Australia take first place.
The Sussexes are currently partway through a 16-day tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, with 76 events on their schedule.
The mother-to-be opted to rest following a late night on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, after an electrical storm delayed the launch event for the Games.
A royal source said the duchess was “not sick, just tired” and was still keen to take part in everything.
The source added: “We have to make sure she is well paced and not overdoing it. She had a very late night last night. She wants to do everything, but Prince Harry is encouraging her to pace herself.”
The baby news was announced on the eve of the duke and duchess’s first official visit outside the UK and Ireland.
The source added: “We want to make sure she gets enough rest at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day.
“If it has been a very late night due to unforeseen circumstances, we have to adjust for that.”
The couple will next travel to Fraser Island, off the coast of Queensland, with today’s planned engagements including a visit to Lake McKenzie and a walkabout on the Kingfisher Bay.
At yesterday’s Invictus events, Harry shared a laugh with one Australian athlete who appeared to ask him to sign a pair of swimming trunks – also known as “budgie smugglers” in local terminology.
Later, Harry actually donned a pair of the trunks, but over his jeans.
They were given to him by disabled sports presenter Dylan Alcott and two members of the Australian Invictus team at Admiralty House.
Mr Alcott, who is a triple Paralympic gold medallist in wheelchair tennis and wheelchair basketball, said: “He said: ‘Shall I put them on?’. We said: ‘One hundred per cent’. So he put them on. Good on him.”
Harry, who presented medals to competitors in the road bike time trial, also spoke to Paul Guest, who has an Invictus tattoo on his face.
Mr Guest, who is 54 and from Essex, said he used to use his tattoos as a means of hiding away, but they were a topic of conversation when he met the duke.
The former serviceman, who toured Northern Ireland as a mine warfare specialist, said: “I used them so people would leave me alone and that I felt safe.
“They’ve enabled me to handle people more, they’ve got something to approach me about. They don’t talk to me about my disability, they talk to me about my tattoos.
“It’s nice to see that Harry remembers me and he remembers the chats we’ve had. It’s not like it’s something he says and then walks off and forgets about it.
“He remembers. He remembered my wife, he asked her how she’s doing, so he keeps it all inside of him.”
Meghan joined Harry for later engagements yesterday, with the couple attending a reception at the Pavilion Restaurant in the Domain for Invictus competitors, their families and friends hosted by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.