Meghan Markle Has Officially Arrived in Germany for the Invictus Games There

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 12 September 2023

Not long after Meghan Markle was spotted in an In-N-Out drive thru in Montecito—driving her black Range Rover with a friend in the passenger seat—she headed to LAX to board a flight to Dusseldorf, Germany, with a connection at London’s Heathrow. (Wonder if she breezed through the Windsor Suite while she was there?) Her husband Prince Harry’s Invictus Games kicked off in Dusseldorf on Saturday and will run through this upcoming Saturday, September 16, with Harry’s thirty-ninth birthday falling the day before, with Meghan no doubt planning something special for the big day.

The Daily Mail reports that the couple’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, seem to be staying behind at home in California while their parents work, and that Meghan was dropped off at LAX in a white luxury BMW just before 6 p.m. local time. Meghan’s airport style, as ever, was chic: she wore ivory Valentino flats, a J. Crew V-necked long-sleeved top, black three-quarter-length trousers from Ulla Johnson, and Celine sunglasses on her head, while carrying a hat and a Goyard tote bag. “Looking content, well-rested, and completely relaxed, the Duchess of Sussex was seen smiling as she walked towards her plane,” The Mirror reports.

The outlet reports Meghan was due to land in London this morning, but “is unlikely to stop for long” before flying out to Dusseldorf to join her husband at his passion work, the Invictus Games, founded in 2014 as a multi-sport event for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and servicewomen, both serving and veterans. (To see the inspiring work of the Games, watch Netflix’s Heart of Invictus. This isn’t some kind of an ad or paid promotion. It’s just really, really powerful.) The Mirror reports that Meghan’s layover was only about 90 minutes, landing at 12:30 p.m. local time on a British Airways flight, and, upon her arrival in Dusseldorf, The Daily Mail reports that “Meghan will be whisked from the airport to the five-star Hyatt Hotel,” which Marie Claire reported on over the weekend.

The Mirror said that, of Meghan’s arrival in Dusseldorf, she was spotted wearing the same outfit as before, but this time “wearing dark sunglasses and a scarf.” The Mirror reports that she arrived at the hotel at 4:40 p.m. local time and that later tonight the couple will attend a private reception with Invictus Games competitors and their families. “It was organized for the competitors’ family and friends to be able to spend time together in a relaxed and informal atmosphere,” a source told the outlet.

While at the Games, “the Duchess will support Harry and the athletes at events before his big speech at the Closing Ceremony, where she may also address the crowd,” The Daily Mail reports. As Meghan flew in, The Mirror reports that “Meanwhile, this morning Harry has been out and about in Dusseldorf shaking hands and getting ready for another exciting day of watching the competition. And he’s no doubt full of excitement ahead of his wife’s arrival.”

The Mirror reports that “it’s thought she could have a big role in the Closing Ceremony of the 2023 event. Harry teased a new rivalry with his wife as he made a joke about her in his speech during the Opening Ceremony, which could have been an Easter egg regarding the Duchess’ role upon her arrival.” Despite some speculation to the contrary, it was always the plan for Meghan to look after Archie and Lili at home at the start of the Games and she “was always due to join Harry midway through the competition,” The Daily Express reports. The outlet also added that “Meghan is expected to briefly join her husband onstage and address the crowds” at Saturday’s Closing Ceremony.

The Invictus Games have played a part in Harry and Meghan’s love story: they publicly debuted their romance at the 2017 Games in Toronto, and, by the time of the 2018 games in Sydney, they were married and expecting their first child. Meghan was also present for the 2022 Games in The Hague, Netherlands, where she introduced her husband before he took to the stage, as is captured in Heart of Invictus. This is the sixth iteration of the Games, and the fourth since Harry and Meghan became a couple—and Meghan has been present at every one of them. The first two competitions were held in London in 2014 and Orlando in 2016, with the latter occurring one month before he met Meghan that summer.

TOPICS

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.