MEGHAN’S STAR TURN AT GAMES
Girlfriend watches Harry open big Invictus event
PRINCE HARRY’S actress girlfriend looked on as he spoke about the harrowing flight back from Afghanistan that changed the “direction” of his life as he opened the third Invictus Games in Toronto.
Meghan Markle made her long-awaited first appearance at an official engagement attended by her royal partner at the ceremony yesterday.
But the couple were not sitting together. Instead, Ms Markle took a seat in the public section of the crowd at the Air Canada Centre, while Harry sat around four rows away in the VIP area.
In a speech during the opening ceremony, the Prince, who served as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, told how he felt compelled to honour the example set by servicemen and women after a harrowing flight back from Afghanistan.
“The true scale of this example was brought home to me when I left Afghanistan after my first deployment there in 2008,” he said.
“As I was waiting to board the plane, the coffin of a Danish soldier was loaded on by his friends.
“Once on the flight, I was confronted with three British soldiers, all in induced comas, with missing limbs, and wrapped in plastic.
“The way I viewed service and sacrifice changed forever.
“And the direction of my life changed with it.
“I knew that it was my responsibility to use the great platform that I have to help the world understand and be inspired by the spirit of those who wear the uniform.”
The Prince founded the Invictus Games, a paralympic-style competition for wounded, injured and sick former and stillserving servicemen and women, and staged the inaugural event in London in 2014.
The second tournament was held in Orlando, Florida in 2016, and the third in Toronto will see 550 competitors from 17 nations take part in 12 adaptive sports.
Competition has already began in the wheelchair tennis and athletics categories. Today’s action will see further wheelchair tennis, athletics and power lifting.
During the eight-day Games, Harry will visit training sessions and watch participants competing in all 12 sports, which also includes cycling and wheelchair basketball.
The high-profile closing ceremony on September 30 will feature performances by Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams and Kelly Clarkson.
Ahead of the opening event, there had been fervent speculation that it would be the first time the couple stepped out together.
But Ms Markle, who lives in the city, is reported to have been accompanied in the stadium by a friend, Markus Anderson, while members of the Prince’s protection squad stood guard.
At least one member of the crowd is said to have been stopped as they tried to take a photograph of the actress.
The Suits star, who wore a plum-coloured leather jacket and a burgundy pleated dress paired with a red velvet clutch bag, smiled and clapped as the 550 competitors from 17 nations filed in.
Harry, who rose to his feet as the UK team arrived in the stadium, sat next to US first lady Melania Trump, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.
Earlier on Saturday, Harry held separate bilateral meetings with Mrs Trump and Mr Trudeau.