Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have arrived for their first public appearance as a couple since King Charles’s cancer diagnosis was announced last week.
The couple are in the picturesque ski resort of Whistler, in British Columbia, Canada, for a two-day program to highlight next year’s winter Invictus Games which are taking place in the city.
Meghan was glamorous in skinny white jeans and a sweater topped with a beige quilted coat while Harry was dressed down in jeans and a black anorak as he arrived for a training session with athletes planning to take part in the 2025 games.
The pair made their way out of the gondola on Whistler’s Blackcomb Mountain shortly after 2.30pm and were introduced to three groups of adaptive skiers: one Alpine sit-ski, one standing ski and one group of visually impaired athletes.
Meghan looked glamorous in skinny white jeans and a sweater topped with a beige quilted coat while Harry was dressed down in jeans and a black anorak
Meghan, 42, was clearly enjoying herself despite the temperatures which hovered around the freezing point
The couple arrived in Canada on Tuesday and are due to stay until Friday when they will fly back to their home in California
A filming crew was spotted joining the Sussexes as they arrived for a day of sit-skiing
Alex Cairns, a sit-skier from Canada, was the first to meet the Sussexes and gave a demonstration of the sport – arriving at the base of the slope to cheers from Harry.
The Whistler games will be the first time that Invictus has featured winter sports.
The couple arrived in Canada on Tuesday and were pictured by DailyMail.com touching down in Vancouver just after noon Pacific time following a two-hour flight from Santa Barbara – the closest airport to their home in Montecito.
A convoy of cars collected the famous duo and whisked them away to Whistler where they are due to be on Wednesday and Thursday before they return to Vancouver for an event in the City of Glass on Friday.
The pair are then expected to travel home to California on Friday afternoon to be reunited with their children Archie, five, and Lilibet, two.
Meghan and Harry’s appearance at Whistler comes amid controversy over the Sussexes’ relaunched website
Meghan’s updated bio on the site played up her credentials as a philanthropist but made only one mention of her acting past and none of the Royal family.
On Wednesday, Meghan put out a statement defending the graphic design company that created the couple’s new website
On the site, Harry’s 358-word biography emphasizing his environmental credentials – despite his penchant for using private jets
Critics said the website is an attempt to monetize the couple’s royal connections
Their trip to Canada comes as the couple are embroiled in a series of controversies – one over their new Sussex.com website and another over Harry’s flying visit to London last week to see King Charles following his cancer diagnosis.
On Wednesday Meghan, 42, was forced to put out a statement defending the graphic design company that created the couple’s new website while Harry has faced criticism over the short amount of time he spent in the UK.
Harry’s dash to Britain began with an overnight British Airways flight from LAX that touched down in London just after 2pm on February 6.
Once there, he was taken to Clarence House for a meeting with his cancer-stricken father that lasted just 30 minutes and didn’t include his stepmother Queen Camilla.
Harry was all smiles as he was assisted in his sit-skiing
The forthcoming Whistler games will be the first time that Invictus has featured winter sports
The Sussexes were arm in arm as they were brought toward the slopes
The plane stayed in Vancouver for 39 minutes before taking off again for Victoria where it landed at 12:47 pm
Their current visit includes two days meeting competitors in ski resort Whistler and another engagement in Vancouver on Friday
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in September 2023. The photograph now appears on the Home page of sussex.com
The 39-year-old then spent the night in a hotel before catching a Delta flight back to LA – less than 24 hours after arriving.
It was claimed last week that Prince Harry ‘would have gladly accepted’ a reunion with his brother, William, but opted instead to stay in his hotel.
It’s believed William, 41, is remaining focused on tending to his wife, Kate, who is recovering from her abdominal surgery and is taking extended leave from public duties until after Easter
Harry popped up next in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday where he was a presenter at the NFL Honors Awards – a televised gala held at Sin City’s vast Resorts World hotel.
Presenting the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award to the Pittsburgh Steeler’s Cameron Heyward, he cracked a joke about rugby – telling the crowd: ‘I really love how you stole rugby from us and made it your own.
‘Instead of passing it backwards, just pass it forwards. Why not wear pads and helmets? Of course.
‘Have an offense and a defense – that makes sense. Why not take a breather every 15 seconds? And you know what? Instead of a 10-month season, let’s make it 18 weeks. Genius.’
Despite his chipper demeanor onstage, Harry was later pictured looking glum in the hotel’s underground parking lot and didn’t stick around to see the Kansas City Chief’s beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
The couple replaced their Archewell webpage with a site called Sussex.com that includes their biographies and lists their recent activities.
Their ‘About’ page reads: ‘The Office of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy’
On Monday came the couple’s relaunched website with Harry’s 358-word biography emphasizing his environmental credentials – despite his penchant for using private jets.
Meghan’s longer bio played up her credentials as a philanthropist but made only one mention of her acting past and none of the Royal family.
Critics said the website is an attempt to monetize the couple’s royal connections leading to a new round of calls for the duo to have their titles removed, including from Meghan’s biographer Tom Bower.
Their ‘About’ page reads: ‘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 organizations which receive the support of the couple, individually and/or together.’
The new-look Sussex.com also made much of Harry’s Invictus Games initiative which returns next year with a snow sports edition in Whistler.
During the trip, the couple will meet competitors from the US, Canada, France, Ukraine and Nigeria, among others, at a training camp in the resort.
