Harry recreates Queen’s ceremonial first puck drop in Vancouver

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a shock go to to a NHL hockey recreation final night time the place the Duke of Sussex dropped the primary puck – identical to the Queen did twenty years in the past – after which the couple danced to Simple Minds because the targets flew in.

The California-based couple watched the Vancouver Canucks beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 from a VIP field on the Rogers Arena, at one level watching the motion whereas cuddling and later leaping within the air to cheer a purpose.

When the Canucks gained the match, Harry leapt up and Meghan put down her wine glass so they may each dance to rejoice the victory as Simple Minds’ hit Don’t You Forget About Me.

Also with them was Markus Anderson, a good friend of Meghan’s from Toronto once they she was filming Suits who helped organise her first date with Harry in London. 

Harry’s ceremonial puck drop got here 21 years after the late Queen did the identical when the identical groups performed every in 2002. She was on an 11-day tour in Canada in honour of her Golden Jubilee.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in Canada for work to advertise the subsequent Invictus Games, which shall be held in Vancouver and Whistler in February 2025.

Their go to got here per week after a whistleblower informed MailOnline that the Games is in ‘turmoil’ after two of its most senior executives had been ‘dismissed for no obvious purpose’ with simply over a yr to go.

Meghan has lengthy been related to the Soho House properties because of her long-standing friendship with Markus Anderson, the approach to life membership chain’s Chief Membership Officer.

Mr Anderson was additionally on the Canucks recreation final night time, at one level standing with the Duchess of Sussex to cheer the workforce.

It was Anderson who organized a personal room at Soho House in London for the Montecito-based couple’s first date, whereas Meghan threw a low-key hen night time forward of her 2018 marriage ceremony at Soho Farmhouse in Chipping Norton, UK.

Originally, he invited her to hitch Soho House when she was nonetheless a TV cleaning soap actress in Toronto, and it was Markus who facilitated all of Harry and Meghan’s early dates in London and Oxfordshire.

Markus is superb buddies with New York-based dressmaker Misha Nonoo, who is claimed to have launched Meghan and Harry to one another.

Both Markus and Misha hung out with the royal newlyweds, staying for prolonged stretches with them within the UK, earlier than Megxit.

Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, made the ceremonial puck drop at a 2002 match, additionally between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks, throughout her two-week Golden Jubilee tour of Canada.

It was the primary NHL recreation the Queen had attended since 1951 when, nonetheless a princess, she and Prince Philip watched the Montreal Canadiens tackle the New York Rangers.

The Sussexes’ sporting outing comes a couple of days after Meghan’s shock arrival on the Variety Power Of Women occasion in Los Angeles to rejoice the accomplishments of ladies in leisure.

The former Suits actress mentioned she was ‘thrilled’ to have returned to the leisure trade with Archewell Productions and is ‘actually proud’ of the initiatives they’ve has created thus far, together with docu-series Harry & Meghan and Heart Of Invictus.

She additionally teased future initiatives, saying: ‘We have so many thrilling issues on the slate… I am unable to wait till we will announce them, however I’m simply actually pleased with what we’re creating. My husband is loving it too which is de facto enjoyable.’

Experts informed MailOnline that they imagine the flurry of A-list appearances is a PR ‘tactic’ to pitch for profitable work and create a brand new buzz round Meghan, and her husband. 

The Invictus Games shall be held in Vancouver and Whistler in February 2025 and can function winter sports activities for the primary time. 

MailOnline solely revealed final week that CEO Peter Lawless, a lawyer and arguably Canada’s most revered Olympic and Paralympic administrator, left his job abruptly.

An insider has claimed that Mr Lawless, who was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Medal by Harry’s grandmother the Queen in 2012, was fired and morale amongst workers is now ‘at an all time low’. An Invictus Games spokesman declined to touch upon whether or not he was sacked, as a substitute saying he had been ‘transitioned out’ and was ‘not an worker’ however will stay an envoy.

Also leaving the Vancouver-Whistler workforce is Bill Cooper, who was within the function of Chief Commercial Officer for ten months till he left in October. He has thanked colleagues for his or her help after a number of praised his ‘grace’ and accused Invictus 2025 of constructing an enormous mistake by eliminating him.

One Games volunteer mentioned that workers are ‘involved that these current strikes will once more overshadow this unbelievable occasion for our veterans’. They additionally raised issues that the Sussexes’ safety and different prices could put a pressure on Games funds if Invictus 2025 has to choose up the invoice.

It got here simply two months after Harry and Meghan turned on the appeal at a reception thrown by the Canadian delegation to advertise the 2025 Invictus Games.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, chatted with members of the committee that shall be organising the video games to be held in Vancouver – a metropolis they know effectively having fled there in 2019 after quitting royal life.

Meghan has shut buddies within the metropolis and holds nice affection for Canada having lived in Toronto whereas she was filming the collection ‘Suits’.

The couple are very aware of Vancouver having briefly moved there in 2019 once they cut up from the royal household.

They stayed on Vancouver Island at a £14m house in North Saanich, British Columbia, following their resolution to step again from being working members of the royal household.

The cut up was termed ‘Megxit’ and the couple stayed in Canada a number of months earlier than relocating to Montecito in California. Meghan chatted with most of the rivals who’ve taken half within the occasions in Dusseldorf.

And for the first-time adaptive winter sports activities together with alpine snowboarding, Nordic snowboarding and curling shall be included within the programme of weeklong occasions and staged within the resort of Whistler.

It just isn’t but clear if Invictus 2025 is in search of a brand new CEO and Chief Commercial Officer.