Meghan Markle Joins Prince Harry at Invictus Games Opening Ceremony
Photo: Getty.
As had been long-rumored, Meghan Markle attended the opening ceremonies for the Invictus Games in Toronto on Saturday evening, helping kick off an event founded by her boyfriend, Prince Harry. But it wasn’t exactly an official royal coming-out; Markle was seated a full section away from Harry (18 seats, to be exact, because The Daily Mail counted them), and the only photographs that could captured the two together requred helpful arrows to point out which blur was which.
Markle, looking casual but chic in a dark purple leather jacket by Mackage worn over her shoulders and a maroon Aritzia dress, was seated next to Markus Anderson, the Toronto-based consultant for the Soho House who is believed to have introduced Harry and Meghan last year. Markle had no formal role in the ceremony, which kicked off seven days of events in which injured, wounded, or ill veterans will compete in sports like archery, golf, and wheelchair rugby. Prince Harry founded the games in 2014, inspired by his experience serving in Afghanistan.
Harry, who was seated in a VIP box alongside First Lady Melania Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and First Lady Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, took the stage of the Air Canada Centre, giving a speech that recounted why he started the games and how they have grown in three short years. “'More sports, more nations, more friends and families, more fans watching than ever before. We have the biggest crowd that Invictus has ever had,“ he said, per The Daily Mail. As Markle watched from the stands, he concluded, “You are all winners. You are Invictus. Let's get started.“
As he has for previous Invictus Games, Harry is expected to make several visits to different events throughout the week. Markle’s participation, however, is much less clear. Having gone very public with their relationship on the cover of Vanity Fair earlier this month, Markle has sparked even more intense rumors of an imminent royal engagement. But her low-key but supportive appearance at the Invictus Games seems to back up the more private approach she promised in her Vanity Fair cover story: “We’re in love. I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”
This story originally appeared on Vanity Fair.
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