By Ruth Styles In Vancouver and Mark Duell In London
15:00 14 Feb 2024, updated 19:16 14 Feb 2024
- The couple had launched their new Sussex.com website only 24 hours earlier
Prince Harry has been seen for the first time since arriving in Canada with Meghan Markle as they attend countdown events ahead of the next Invictus Games.
The couple – who only 24 hours previously launched their Sussex.com website – arrived in Vancouver by private jet to begin a three-day visit tied to the 2025 event.
Harry was pictured on the ground at Vancouver International Airport wearing a green coat and blue jeans after arriving on the Bombardier Challenger 605 yesterday.
The Sussexes are attending the ‘Vancouver Whistler 2025 One Year to Go’ from today until Friday, with Harry expected to reflect on how special Canada is to them both.
Their arrival came on the same day that Meghan announced she had signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media after she and Harry parted ways with Spotify .
Exclusive photos showed Harry landing in the City of Glass following a two-hour flight from Santa Barbara – the closest airport to their £12million home in Montecito.
The plane left Santa Barbara yesterday at 9.30am local time (5.30pm UK time) before arriving at Vancouver at 12.04pm local (8.04pm UK) and stayed there for 39 minutes.
The jet – whose owner is unknown – then took off again to Victoria on Vancouver Island at 12.43pm local (8.43pm UK) where it landed at 1.01pm local (9.01pm UK). The hop to the island took about 15 minutes and covered a distance of 34 nautical miles.
Meghan, 42, and Harry, 39, famously stayed at a mansion named Mille Fleurs on Vancouver Island, in the town of North Saanich, in the immediate aftermath of Megxit in January 2020 before relocating to California as the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Their current visit comes after the Duke and Duchess became embroiled in a series of controversies which included the launch of their new website, with sources now saying the couple did not consult palace officials about using their Sussex titles.
Another was over Harry’s flying visit to London last week to see King Charles following his cancer diagnosis.
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.
The 39-year-old then spent the night in a hotel before catching a Delta flight back to LA – about 24 hours after arriving.
It was claimed last week that Harry ‘would have gladly accepted’ a reunion with his brother, William, but opted instead to stay in his hotel.
It is believed that 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 then popped up next in Las Vegas 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 stay on to see the Kansas City Chief’s beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
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.
One said: ‘They are going to have real trouble with the use of Sussex. It is a royal title and if there is any hint of commercialism about this it will be shut down. It’s just staggering they cannot see how gauche it is.’
Meanwhile, The Daily Mirror reported that the couple did not consult palace officials before launching the new site.
The Sun newspaper also said that Harry faced claims that the crest used was out of date, after he became son of the monarch last year.
The crest’s coronet features five points for grandson, when it should use three for son.
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.
The Sussexes’ three-day trip is to promote the winter Games while meeting competitors from the US, Canada, France, Ukraine and Nigeria, among others, at a training camp in the resort.
The trip includes two days meeting competitors in ski resort Whistler and another engagement in Vancouver on Friday,
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.’
Since officially leaving the Royal Family and moving to California in 2020, the Duke and Duchess have pursued a number of different avenues to bring in revenue.
The couple also teamed up with Netflix to produce the docu-series called Harry And Meghan, with the streaming giant reportedly paying the pair $100 million for the six-episode series.
