Mystery over Meghan Markle’s role at Invictus Games as the Duchess of Sussex disappears from media schedule
Mystery over Meghan Markle’s role at Invictus Games as the Duchess of Sussex disappears from the media schedule despite reports she would ‘take to the stage’ at the closing ceremony in Dusseldorf
Mystery surrounds what role, if any, the Duchess of Sussex will play in her husband’s upcoming Invictus Games after she disappeared from the media schedule.
The official guide to the games in Germany, which begin this weekend, suggested Meghan would ‘take to the stage’ for the closing ceremony to host a segment about the competitors.
But there is no mention of the duchess’s role in a separate listing on the website. The ‘detailed schedule’ suggests presenter Hadnet Tesfai will replace her.
The now-deleted passage said the duchess would ‘take to the stage to host the intimate and moving glimpse into the extraordinary journeys of the Invictus Games competitors’. Sources last night claimed the information was uploaded in error.
Prince Harry, 38, who founded the paralympic-style competition for injured military personnel and veterans, will give a welcome speech at the opening ceremony this Saturday in Dusseldorf.
Meghan, 42, who has children Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, with Harry, will join him at the eight-day event later in the week.
Mystery surrounds what role, if any, the Duchess of Sussex will play in her husband’s upcoming Invictus Games
Prince Harry and Meghan attend the Invictus Games opening ceremony in Sydney last year
The duchess made only brief appearances in Harry’s five-part Heart of Invictus documentary, filmed during last year’s Games at the Hague and released on Netflix last month.
Last year, Meghan took to the stage to pay tribute to the competitors and their families, before introducing her husband. The duchess later made a surprise solo visit to a charity supporting girls and non-binary children.
Harry’s arrival at Dusseldorf town hall on Saturday is set to coincide with a demonstration, confirmed by a police spokesman, by activists who claim the German military will use the competition to target students and recruit them to the armed forces.
Organiser Lukas Baumer told the Rheinische Post that the Invictus Games contribute to ‘the constant normalisation of war’ and are ‘a big advertising tour for the Bundeswehr’ – the German military, who are co-hosting the competition with the City of Dusseldorf.
A spokesman for the Invictus Games said one of its ‘aims is to stimulate social discourse on the topics of the military and foreign missions’ and insisted ‘there are – at no time – elements of recruitment for the Bundeswehr’.
The couple share a laugh while watching a wheelchair tennis match in 2022
Meghan Markle arrives on the yellow carpet ahead of the Invictus Games in 2022
