Prince Harry goes solo at Invictus Games as Meghan rests up from busy schedule
PREGNANCY is “taking its toll” on Duchess of Sussex Meghan, her husband Prince Harry said yesterday as he arrived — solo — to present Invictus Games medals. But once she joined him later on he appeared more solicitous than normal.
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PREGNANCY is “taking its toll” on Duchess of Sussex Meghan, her husband Prince Harry said yesterday as he arrived — solo — to present Invictus Games medals.
While Meghan was not suffering morning sickness, she has become very tired on the royal couple’s first visit to Australia — with Kensington Palace yesterday announcing she would cut back on some engagements.
As Meghan took a break from the busy schedule to rest up at Admiralty House yesterday morning, Harry went it alone presenting medals to winners of the gruelling hand bike event.
Father-to-be Harry told some of the athletes that his wife was resting because “being pregnant takes its toll”.
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When she joined him later, Prince Harry appeared more solicitous than normal, lovingly rubbing her back.
“After a busy program, The Duke and Duchess have decided to cut back The Duchess’s schedule slightly for the next couple of days, ahead of the final week and a half of the tour,” a Palace spokesman said.
The Invictus Games yesterday took over The Domain for cycling events, including hand-biking for veterans who have suffered spinal injuries or amputations which mean they cannot ride a road bike.
Prince Harry presented the gold medal to Briton Michael Swain, an Afghanistan rifleman who lost his legs in an IED explosion, before posing for photographs and laughing with the winners.
He later waited outside The Pavilion restaurant for Meghan to join him, along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his daughters Abbey and Lily.
They were greeted by didgeridoo performer Russell Dawson before a luncheon with veterans and their families.
Meghan wore a black turtleneck jumper by Australian company Wolford and her favourite tight black jeans by Australian humanitarian company Outland Denim, along with a blazer by L’agency.
Among the crowd was the familiar face of powerlifter Tyronne Gawthorne, 36, who met Harry at last year’s Invictus Games in Toronto.
When Prince Harry asked him if he had any new tattoos, the former infantry soldier lifted up his shirt and showed them off.
“I told him it is a traditional Samoan tattoo,” Mr Gawthorne, a veteran of East Timor and Afghanistan who suffers PTSD, said.
The royal couple also stopped to chat to Orange Sky Laundry founders Lucas Matchett, 24, and Nicholas Marchesi, 24, who they met last week.
The duo, who run free laundry vans for the homeless, discussed how they hope to set up in the UK soon.
“I was just blown away with how down to earth they were. Meghan remembered us and our work and they were very supportive,” Mr Marchesi said.
The couple made many new friends at the event, including Angel the dog and children from the Kookaburra Kids Foundation, who gave the royals two plush kookaburras for their baby.
“Harry asked which of our parents are in the military so we put our hands up,” Lincoln, 8, who was with his brothers Lachlan, 10, and Charlie, 6, said. “I said our mum’s in the military. I don’t know what she does but she is a major.”
The royal couple also couldn’t resist sheepdog Angel, who accompanied owner Christinne Patton, 65.
“She got the royal pat,” Christinne, who needs Angel to alert her when she suffers a medical episode, said.
Also among the crowd was burns survivor Turia Pitt, transgender trailblazer Georgie Stone, members of the Endeavour Clontarf Academy from Caringbah and the Australian Air Force cadets.
The royal couple spent yesterday afternoon on Sydney Harbour watching Invictus Games sailing events.
At one point a boat pulled up alongside and a man was seen jumping onto the royal couple’s boat and giving them both a hug. He was believed to be an old friend from the US Invictus team.
The royals head to Queensland today to visit Fraser Island — but the Duchess will wait and see how she feels before deciding whether to take part in any official engagements.
She is still due to fly to Fiji and Tonga but it is expected to readjust her schedule.
Smuggling a Prince’s signature
IT seems Aussies will do anything to try to get a royal autograph — even wear a pair of budgie smugglers on their head.
In a lighthearted moment amid a medal presentation yesterday, Invictus Games athlete Benjamin Yeomans donned the swimwear at Prince Harry’s suggestion after asking him to sign them.
“He wanted me to put it on my head so I tried it on,” Mr Yeomans said, adding Harry politely declined to autograph the official team swimwear.
“He had a chuckle about it, he’s really down to earth,” Mr Yeomans said.
The 28-year-old, who served three years in Infantry Corps before he was medically discharged in 2014 with a traumatic brain injury, is competing in athletics and indoor rowing at the Games.
Fellow athlete Jarrod Kent, 34, who served in East Timor, said Prince Harry was just like “one of the boys”.
“He’s been there, he’s done it, he’s experienced everything that we’ve all been through as well,” Mr Kent said.
Australian Army veteran Jeff Wright, 50, who fought in East Timor, said it was important for veterans to meet with Prince Harry during the Invictus Games — which the royal established four years ago.