Royal tour Day 5: Prince Harry and Meghan at Invictus Games opening ceremony
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex are enjoying the festivities at the Invictus Games opening ceremony, being held at the Sydney Opera House forecourt. This engagement follows a reception hosted by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
NSW
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VIPS and high-ranking dignitaries joined the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at a reception tonight hosted by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at the Sydney Opera House.
With torrential rain delaying their entrance by 20 minutes, the Royal couple arrived at Bennelong restaurant about 6.50pm with Meghan wearing a navy Stella McCartney dress which she had worn previously at the Queen’s Birthday Celebrations at Royal Albert Hall in April.
She topped the elegant outfit with a navy overcoat coat from a UK fashion line designed by Gillian Anderson, the star of The X Files.
With Prince Harry firmly by her side, the Duchess mingled with guests which included Gretel Packer, the billionaire daughter of the late media tycoon Kerry Packer.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and ministers from both state and federal governments were also in attendance along with former Prime Minister John Howard and his wife Janette.
Retired Australian cycling champion Anna Meares said she was “cheeky” by showing the Prince a newspaper cut out featuring a picture of him with his head in his hands. The shot was taken after Ms Meares had just beaten her British rival Victoria Pendleton to win gold at the London Games in 2012.
“He had a good laugh,” the Invictus Ambassador said.
“When I met her Royal Highness, Meghan, I said it’s a real pleasure to meet you but I’m here to take the mickey out of your husband.
“She said ‘by all means’.”
Former swim star Ian Thorpe acted as master of ceremonies at the reception, held before the official opening ceremony of the Invictus Games on the Opera House forecourt.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist, a guest at the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2011, gave guests a quick briefing on Royal protocol before the guests of honour arrived.
“If their Highnesses approach you, please don’t be scared,” he said.
Top Australian chef Peter Gilmore and his team created a special NSW-themed feast, showcasing local produce and wines.
In her welcoming address to guests before Prince Harry and Meghan arrived, Ms Berejiklian apologised for the rain.
“I am feeling incredibly guilty because of the weather … I know it’s not my fault,” she said.
“When I had the honour of meeting the Duke and Duchess, their Royal Highnesses, at Admiralty House the first thing he said to me was ‘Premier thank you for the sunshine’ because last June he was drenched when we had the launch event.”
The Premier also recounted the time she heard Prince Harry’s moving speech in June last year and how he was inspired to create the Invictus Games for wounded services personnel.
The Premier said Sydney would “embrace” the Invictus spirit for the duration of the Games, which will close next Saturday night at Quodos Bank Arena.
“It’s a responsibility that we embrace with pride,” she said.
The Royal couple, who announced earlier this week they are expecting their first child, had spent a busy day in Sydney, starting before 10am at the Anzac Memorial at Hyde Park and followed by an Invictus event on Cockatoo Island.
PRACTICE RUN
THE Duke of Sussex took to the Sydney Opera House forecourt stage to practise his speech ahead of tonight’s Invictus Games opening ceremony — with only his wife Meghan in the audience.
Kensington Palace took to Twitter and Instagram showing the Duke of Sussex on the stage, with Megan listening avidly from the front row.
“Almost time for @InvictusSydney … The Duke of Sussex makes his final speech preparations ahead of tonight’s Opening Ceremony. #IG2018 #RoyalVisitAustralia,” Kensington Palace stated.
The royal couple arrived at the Sydney Opera House at 7pm, ahead of the opening ceremony’s official start of 7.30pm.
The forecourt was earlier evacuated due to wild thunderstorms sweeping across Sydney.
FIRST INVICTUS GAME EVENT
WHILE the French edged out the Aussies to claim the first gold medal of the Invictus Games, Ballina boy Danyan Jones, 13, took on Prince Harry in a friendly remote control car competition at Cockatoo Island.
“Harry was good at remote control cars, but I was better — obviously,” Danyan said.
Danyan’s dad, Jamie Tanner, 35, was an Australian infantryman who served in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan before being medically discharged two years ago.
Mr Tanner will battle through musculoskeletal injuries, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and adjustment disorder to represent Australia in the wheelchair tennis and rugby at the Invictus Games.
But Danyan was the first in the Jones family to receive an Invictus medal from Prince Harry after a remote control competition against two other kids from the Netherlands and UK.
The Royals were at Cockatoo Island to watch the first event of the competition, the Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge, and briefly joined in with the kids to try their hand at the obstacle course.
Meghan, who was dressed down in Mother denim jeans paired with an Altuzarra jacket over her Invictus Games polo shirt, worried she’d send the remote control car into the Sydney Harbour.
“My heart stopped beating when they told me Prince Harry was going to present the medal,” Danyan said.
“Meghan was funny. She was saying ‘I’ll have a go but I’ll crash it over the fence and put it in the water’.
“Harry took the controls and had a great sense of humour about it, too.
“One of the kids’ car collided with Harry’s and knocked them both over, then the kid ran out and only turned his own car up the right way. Harry said ‘thanks for picking my car up, mate’ and everyone laughed.”
In the main event, the Australian team claimed silver to the cheers of the home crowd.
Australia was represented by retired sniper Craig McGrath, 45, whose body was riddled with shrapnel from a hidden bomb in Afghanistan in 2012, and Scott Reynolds, 39, who specialised in mine warfare and deployed to Iraq in 2003.
Aussies McGrath and Reynolds were both behind the wheel of Jaguar’s first fully electric car, the I-PACE, in a driving challenge that would make the most confident parallel parker sweat.
Three courses put both drivers through their paces, requiring them to park in a series of marked squares the exact dimensions of the car, drive through two feet of water while squeezing through tight slalom gates, and speed through a randomly generated course indicated by flashing lights.
The Australian competitors trained at an Australian Federal Police driver training compound in the lead-up to the games, where they learned to handle a car at high speeds through technical turns, in both drive and reverse.
The Australian team was represented by retired sniper Craig McGrath, 45, whose body was riddled with shrapnel from a hidden bomb in Afghanistan in 2012, and Scott Reynolds, 39, who specialised in mine warfare and deployed to Iraq in 2003.
Meghan was dressed down in Mother denim jeans, an Altuzarra jacket and an official Invictus Games polo shirt.