Meghan Markle has broken her silence in Canada, after facing a fierce backlash for her behaviour while visiting the nation over the weekend.
Meghan 43, and her husband Prince Harry, 40 headed to Squamish Valley on Monday, a town north of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada, after spending the past two days cheering on participants at the Invictus Games.
In a post shared to Instagram, Meghan uploaded several pictures and videos that celebrated Indigenous people, including one which saw some First Nations participants dancing in traditional Indigenous dress, while another featured the couple applauding musicians performing for them.
Writing in an accompanying text overlay, Meghan added: “Thank you for welcoming us onto your sacred land.”
Shortly after the first story, Meghan also went on to post another video, this time tagging The Chief Joe Mathias Centre in North Vancouver, BC, a community hub for cultural and educational events that aims to celebrate and preserve Indigenous traditions and knowledge.
Yet while the post was undoubtedly sincere, it came just one day on from the Duchess experiencing a severe backlash online, after she and Harry were criticised for riding in a golf cart past a number of disabled veterans at the Invictus Games.
The offending video had been posted to Meghan’s social media account as a first hand look at her trip to the Games, which were first founded by Prince Harry back in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
Yet many members of the public took issue with the clip, with several calling the royal pair “desperate” for driving past veterans, including some in wheelchairs.
One person didn’t mince their words as they wrote: “So Meghan and Harry, two able bodied people, are driven on a golf cart past disabled veterans. Some of the veterans are wheelchair bound. They should have walked through the group, meeting, greeting and shaking hands. All with a camera following them. Unbelievable.”
Another said: “They drive along being taped by the cart behind them… with people being encouraged to yell out for them. When does this madness stop?”
A third critic then added: “Who so being honoured here? The veterans OR Harry and Meghan being honoured by the veterans!”
Despite the backlash, Harry and Meghan remain unfazed by the criticism, with the couple continuing to pile on the public displays of affection while enjoying their tour of Canada, Meghan’s former home. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent three nights in Vancouver before heading to the ski resort of Whistler, where the adaptive winter sports events will be taking place.
