Meghan Markle made what has been perceived as a veiled dig at the Royal Family as she delivered a speech during the Invictus Games.
The ex-royal was speaking to introduce Prince Harry, who founded the event after being inspired by a visit to The Warrior Games in Colorado in 2013. Emphasising his huge commitment to Invictus, she described how harry was a very “hands-on” dad who was a key part of the morning school run.
Speaking in Vancouver, Canada, Meghan said: “With families, the big rush in the morning is getting ready for school and packing the lunch boxes and making breakfast and my husband’s in all of that with us. But then he’ll be on his phone and Archie will say: ‘Papa, why are you on your phone? He’s like, this is Invictus. I’m getting ready for Invictus.
“It means so much to him. You’re his family, just as we are his family.”
Some royal watchers are interpreting Meghan’s words as a dig at Harry’s estranged family. In their The Royals podcast, hosts Roya Nikkhah and Kate Mansey picked over the potential meaning of Meghan’s words.
Noting how many “kissy huggy” moments there had been between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Roya said: “She said to [the audience] in an off the cuff speech ‘He really cares about you guys. You’re his family – open brackets, never mind that bunch back in the UK!”
Touching on the much-discussed “professional separation” between Harry and Meghan in recent months, Kate said she had detected “what felt like a concerted show of togetherness” at the games.
The couple’s romance has been paralleled by the Invictus Games. The 2017 event in Toronto was also where Prince Harry was pictured with his then-girlfriend Meghan for the first time, and this latest tournament – the first time there has been a Winter Invictus Games – has seen them put in an impressive show of togetherness.
The Games, Roya says, have always been of vital importance to the Prince: “Harry’s always made a point of saying that the Invictus community and the military community are his families… where he feels most at home.
“You see that when you see him doing engagements with the military, whether that’s Invictus, or doing things like with charities like Scotty’s Little Soldiers, that’s where he feels most at ease.”
The nine-day sporting event ends on Sunday and involves more than 500 competitors from some 23 countries coming together in a spirit of mutual support and comradeship. Meghan is not expected to attend the closing ceremony, having jetted back top Montecito to be with her children.
A according to PR expert Edward Coram James, the CEO of Go Up, Meghan should have rethought going to the Invictus Games altogether.
He told the Mirror: “Meghan should leave the Invictus Games to Harry. It’s his project, and he’s more than capable of drumming up support and publicity for this incredible cause. Their joint brand has become tainted over the years — not through any fault of their own, but due to woeful PR.
“Meghan’s presence was always going to be a lose-lose situation — damned if she did, damned if she didn’t. But ultimately, it’s a distraction for many people.
“That said, from a PR standpoint, she handled it well. She was engaged but not overbearing, affectionate but not too performative. Still, she needs to recognise that no matter what she does, her critics will say she’s making it about herself.”
