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When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle land in the Netherlands for the Invictus Games — taking place April 16 to 22 — they’ll be under intense public scrutiny.
The couple faced less-than-glowing headlines for their failure to fly to Prince Philip’s memorial service in London last month, which Harry’s frail grandmother, 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth, managed to attend.
“They need a win,” said one highly placed royal source. “They are never going to get a win with some people in England, probably the majority, but their appearance at the Invictus Games may reignite the pocket of support they have among a certain young demographic in the UK.”
The Sussexes will be in The Hague by the end of the week to celebrate the games — Harry’s passion project, which has been pushed back since 2020 because of the pandemic.
While their children, Archie, 2, and 10-month-old Lilibet won’t be with them, it will be the first time the couple has been in Europe together since they quit the royal family in 2020.
Markle will stay a few days before flying home to California, leaving Harry to finish out the event.
He launched the Invictus Games in 2014 after attending the Warrior Games, a competition for wounded servicemen in the US.
“He saw how the power of sport could help physically, psychologically and socially,” according to the Invictus website.
Although they no longer use their HRH titles and will not be staying in the royal palace in Amsterdam, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will — despite reports to the contrary — be greeted by the Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. Page Six is told the Dutch royals will be taking part in the opening ceremony, alongside a list of dignitaries.
Harry skipped his grandfather’s memorial after arguing with the British government over security amid his concerns that his wife and children are not safe in his homeland.
Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection at Scotland Yard, told the Press Association Wednesday that the idea that Harry is unable to come to the UK due to safety concerns is “sheer unadulterated nonsense,” adding that he is “‘not an expert in security.”
Speaking about the likely security arrangements in The Hague, Mr Davies said: “The truth is, I have no doubt that he will be protected, whether he takes his own team or whether the Dutch authorities give him some kind of VIP status. The truth is, if there’s a risk both countries — ours and the Netherlands — have sophisticated systems of determining risk.
“This country has determined he is no longer at risk.”
The Sussexes have their own security team, but Dutch royal biographer Moniek Bloks believes they will ask the Queen’s distant cousin King Willem for armed security. “Since members of the Dutch royal family will be attending both the opening and closing ceremony, they might be able to ‘hitch a ride’ with them on those days,” she said.
A Sussex rep said they never comment on security.
For Harry, the Invictus Games have become even more meaningful after he was stripped of all his military titles, when he quit the royal family in 2020.
He served 10 years in the British Army and saw active service on the frontline in Afghanistan.
But he has now lost his honorary Navy and RAF ranks and returned his title of Captain General Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant, RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command to the queen.
“Harry’s never talked publicly about losing these titles, but it has weighed very heavily on him,” said another palace source familiar with the Sussexes’ departure from the UK. “You only have to look at the tears in his eyes when he last wore his dress uniform as Captain General of the Royal Marines at the Royal Albert Hall just before they left the UK to see how upset he was … The Invictus Games is his way of maintaining his links with something very dear to his heart.”
True to form, the couple will be followed by a Netflix camera crew who are making the series “Heart of Invictus,” following wounded warriors from around the world.
“You can’t leave out the Sussex sponsors,” said the royal source.
The big question now is whether Harry will fly from the Netherlands to London to visit his grandmother for her 96th birthday on April 21.
“That will say everything,” said the royal source, “I actually think Harry may have overshadowed Philip’s memorial, but let’s see if he has it in him to go and see his grandmother.”
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