Prince Harry honours late Queen Elizabeth after he receives royal welcome

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were welcomed with open arms in Vancouver as the first day of the Invictus Games kicked off.

Just after Harry wrapped his opening speech, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at the Canucks’ Rogers Arena home.

Prince Harry seemingly gave a nod to his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth as he dropped the ceremonial first puck before the match.

He was also joined by two members of the Canadian Invictus team, Lee Jarratt and Andre Crocker, and Canucks Sports & Entertainment Chairman Francesco Aquilini.

The match is said to be the most watched game of the season.

Back in 2002, Queen Elizabeth II performed the same feat at a Vancouver Canucks match in during her two-week Golden Jubilee tour of Canada.

The Vancouver Canucks honoured the Sussexes with a special video tribute as they welcomed the couple with big words of praise.

Harry was introduced as the “founder of Invictus Games Foundation” and then one who turned the Games into a “reality”.

The video was captioned as, “Celebrating the start of the @InvictusGames2025!”

It read, “Today we welcomed Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, joined by Invictus Games competitors, to @RogersArena ahead of the games taking place in Vancouver and Whistler over the next 8 days!”

Meghan also took to her Instagram account to share the update about the moment. The Duchess of Sussex also received a warm welcome alongside her husband.