Meghan Markle Will Attend Prince Harry's Invictus Games in the Netherlands, Spokesperson Confirms
It's her first time back in Europe since the Sussexes gave up their royal duties.
Although Prince Harry has visited the U.K. since he and Meghan Markle left their royal duties, the Duchess of Sussex has not left the American continent since March 2020.
The duchess will make her first trip back to Europe alongside the duke for the Invictus Games in the Netherlands, which are scheduled for April 16-22. A spokesperson for the Sussexes told Vanity Fair that Markle would be present for "the first couple of days" of the event.
The Duke of Sussex founded the Invictus Games in 2014. They consist of a series of sports competitions à la Olympics, in which wounded, injured and sick servicemen from 20 countries compete. This year's Games will take place in The Hague, Netherlands. They were scheduled for 2020 but delayed because of the pandemic.
Also new this year is the Games' partnership with BetterUp, the mental health startup for which Prince Harry serves as chief impact officer. "At its heart, the Invictus Games is about empowering every single person around the world. It’s a worldwide display of resilience, determination, and community for which each of us can draw inspiration," the royal said in a press statement.
"I couldn’t think of a better new partner for the Invictus Games Foundation than the mental fitness platform BetterUp. The mind is like a muscle: it needs to be honed, trained, rehabbed, and coached.
"The men and women I served with understand this, the Invictus community knows this, and now the world is beginning to see it too. I’m honoured to bring the work we do at BetterUp to Invictus and look forward to expanding the support systems that service members and veterans depend on to achieve remarkable feats."
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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.