Harry and Meghan arrive in Canada to launch Invictus Games as it’s revealed they did NOT consult palace before rebrand
The couple are facing a backlash over their new website’s name
HARRY and Meghan have arrived in Canada to launch the Invictus Games – with the duke reportedly set to give an emotional speech.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are marking one year to go until the 2025 Invictus Games in Whistler, British Columbia.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017Credit: Getty – Contributor
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Harry pictured with his son Archie on Vancouver Island in Canada
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He and Meghan moved into a £11million mansion there after quitting as royalCredit: Goff Photos
This lunchtime the couple will take part in a photo call at the Rockies ski resort.
They are also expected to try their hand at some of the winter sports set to be included for the first time at next year’s games.
On Friday, Harry and Meghan are expected to attend a wheelchair curling demonstration in nearby Vancouver.
It comes amid the couple’s latest rebrand, after ditching Archewell.com and replacing it with Sussex.com – in a bid to share “personal” updates with fans.
The couple did not consult the royals before launching the rebrand, The Sun understands.
Harry is expected to tell crowds in a speech how much the country means to the royal duo, according to The Telegraph.
He fell in love with the “pace of life” on Vancouver Island when he and Meghan moved into a £11million mansion there after quitting as royals.
Harry wrote in his memoir Spare that Vancouver Island offered him a “taste of freedom”.
It also inspired them to make a more permanent escape from public life.
He wrote: “What if life could be like that … all the time? What if we could spend at least part of each year somewhere far away, still doing work for the Queen, but beyond the reach of the press?
“If we could just find a place the press didn’t know about, we said, Canada might be the answer.
“Meg got in touch with a Vancouver friend, who connected us with an estate agent, and we started looking at houses.”
Meanwhile Meghan lived in Toronto for six years while filming TV series Suits.
Harry founded the Invictus Games in 2014 for international wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans.
Here are some less known facts about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
The Vancouver Whistler games – which are due to take place between February 8 and 16 next year- are to be the first winter sporting event in Invictus history.
Events will include alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton, wheelchair curling, indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, swimming, wheelchair basketball, and wheelchair rugby.
The 2025 event will be held in British Columbia, Canada, and will see up to 550 competitors from around 25 nations take part in the sporting challenges.
This week, Meghan and Harry could take part in activities at the Participating Nations Winter Training Camp.
They are expected to also meet with members of the Invictus community, including team managers, coaches, and competitors.
It hasn’t been confirmed whether they will bring their two kids, Archie, four, and Lilibet, two, to Canada.
It comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched a new website.
Harry and Meghan’s previous site, Archewell, now automatically redirects to “Sussex.com”.
The bitter fallout from Megxit
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced on January 8, 2020, they would be stepping down as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family.
On January 18 it was announced that Harry and Meghan would “no longer be working members of Britain’s Royal Family”, and would not use their “Royal Highness” titles.
A Palace spokeswoman said the couple would no longer receive public money and that they would repay the £2.4million cost of refurbishing their cottage — Frogmore — in Windsor, Berks.
The following day, Harry said in a heartfelt speech: “Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the Commonwealth, and my military associations without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.”
The Duke of Sussex said he had found the “love and happiness I had hoped for all my life” with Meghan.
A picture of the couple dominates the main web page, overlaid with the text: “The Office of Prince Harry & Meghan, The Duke & Duchess of Sussex”.
In the “About” section, the website states: “The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy.
“This includes: The Archewell Foundation, Archewell Productions, patronages, ventures, and organisations which receive the support of the couple, individually and/or together.”
In pages focusing on each of them, Harry is highlighted as a “humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate, and environmental campaigner”.
Meghan is described as a “feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity” who has been named “one of the most influential women in the world” across a series of rankings.
Archewell had replaced Harry and Meghan’s previous Sussex Royal brand after they quit royal duties.
It comes as Meghan plans to launch a new podcast – months after her £18million deal with Spotify fell through.
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Meghan has released a new picture to accompany her upcoming podcast
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Prince Harry and Meghan at the 2023 Invictus GamesCredit: Reuters
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It comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched a new website
