Prince Harry joked that he was going to get Meghan to sing to 1,000 people at the Invictus Games welcome celebration in Whistler – after their close friend Michael Buble serenaded the crowd.
The Duke of Sussex thanked the crowd for showing their support before dragging his wife on stage as the couple opened the three days of events at the luxury ski resort after enjoying some beers together.
As the crowd cheered, Meghan, stylish in a white full-length coat, black top, and beanie hat, stood next to her husband who cheekily said: ‘Now she’s going to sing!’
Caught off guard, the Duchess shook her head laughing as the lively crowd whooped and clapped in a bid to persuade her to perform.
Moments earlier, Canadian pop star Buble had performed an impromptu version of his hit ‘Feeling Good’ after he was brought on to the stage to introduce Harry.
The Prince acknowledged the crowd, made up of those taking part in the games and holidaymakers, who were braving the cold having stood around in temperatures of -9.
Prior to opening the games in the popular ski resort, he could be seen stamping his feet to keep warm as he and Meghan waited in a restaurant.
In his speech he gave a shout out to the Mayor of Whistler who he acknowledged was a ‘ginger’. Addressing the crowd Harry asked ‘Are there any other gingers in the house?’
The opening ceremony concluded with a low fly past by two Canadian Airforce F/18 fighter jets.
Harry and Meghan will spend three days in Whistler watching competitors taking part in adaptive winter sports, including the skeleton and alpine skiing.
The Sussexes braved sub zero temperatures to meet the UK team taking part in the Skeleton event.
Wrapped up against temperatures of -11 they chatted with the competitors and their families by the side of the track.
Meghan wore a £1,000 white Mackage coat, Hattack Beanie and Sorrel boots during her walkabout in Whistler.Â
She knelt down to chat with brothers Benjamin and Sebastian Evans having recognised the pair from the 2023 Games held in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The Duchess also gave their mother Rachel a warm hug and happily posed for photos with the boys and their father Mike who was a member of the UK skeleton team.
Skeleton is one of the winter sports staged in the Invictus Games. A competitor sliding sport rides a small sled, known as a skeleton, bobsled down a frozen track while lying face down.
Speeds of up to 60mph can be reached.
Harry and Meghan stood and watched the event but after posing for photos with spectators left for the warmth of their SUV cars.
It comes after Meghan thanked the people of the Squamish Valley, as the Sussexes continued their tour of Canada.
In a post shared to her Instagram stories, Meghan uploaded several pictures and videos that showed people dancing in traditional Indigenous dress.
In one snap, the couple could be seen clapping in awe as a group holding instruments performed in front of them.
The mother-of-two then added overlaid text that read: ‘Thank you for welcoming us onto your sacred land.’
In another video shared to her stories, Meghan tagged The Chief Joe Mathias Centre in North Vancouver, BC, which is stated online as a centre which ‘serves as a community hub for cultural and educational events.’
It provides a space for gatherings, workshops, and programs that aim to celebrate and preserve Indigenous traditions and knowledge.
The pair had previously been in Vancouver for the seventh edition of the Invictus Games, which Harry founded in 2014 for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
But, on Sunday, the couple were slammed for riding in a golf buggy past disabled veterans at Invictus Games.  Â
The short video of the couple in a golf cart, which was shared to Meghan’s Instagram, caused a stir online with people calling the royal pair ‘desperate’ for driving past veterans, some who were wheelchair bound.Â
In the clip, which has been shared widely online, the ‘able bodied’ couple can been seen driving past cheering veterans, who chanted ‘Harry’ as they drove past.
One person 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?’
Someone else wrote: ‘Who so being honored here? The veterans OR Harry and Meghan being honored by the veterans!’
This year’s games, which to celebrity service men and women who put their lives on the line for their nations, will include winter sports for the first time ever.
Meghan’s attendance is understood to underscore her support for her husband and the mission of Invictus, a cause that is deeply personal to them both.
Her sole focus during these games will be to uplift her husband, the competitors and sharing their stories.
The Duke and Duchess spent three nights in the city of Vancouver before relocating to the ski resort of Whistler for the adaptive winter sports part of the games for wounded and disabled military veterans.Â
She has packed on the PDA as they tour Canada, watching the games from the stands in Vancouver with her husband, snuggling into him before leaning in for a passionate kiss.Â
The couple famously appeared in public together for the first time at the Toronto Invictus Games in 2017, pictured hand-in-hand at a wheelchair tennis event.
