Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Surprise Crowd at Vancouver Canucks Game — and Harry Takes the Ice!

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped out in Canada on Monday night when they made a surprise appearance at a Vancouver Canucks hockey game.

The Duke of Sussex ceremonially dropped the first puck as he took to the ice ahead of the game between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks. He and Meghan then joined the game from their respective boxes.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in Canada ahead of the next Invictus Games, to be held in Vancouver and Whistler in 2025. Harry, a former British Army captain, founded the international adaptive sports tournament for the wounded, injured and ill. staff and veterans in 2014.

Harry’s moment on the ice comes 21 years after his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, staged her own ceremonial puck drop (also at a Vancouver Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks game!). The late monarch visited Vancouver while on an 11-day tour of Canada in honor of what was then his Golden Jubilee.

Queen Elizabeth receives a ceremonial puck presented to her by former Edmonton Oilers and men’s Olympic hockey team general manager Wayne Gretzky on October 6, 2002 in Vancouver, Canada.

KIM STALLKNECHT/AFP via Getty

Canada is a special place for Meghan, 42, and Harry, 39, and the Invictus Games marked an important moment in the beginning of their relationship. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex famously made their debut as a couple at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, where Meghan lived while filming Suits (which she said was “wild” to see trending on Netflix Diversity‘Strength of Women Gala last week).

Not only are Vancouver and Whistler close to Harry and Meghan following their move to Montecito, California, but Vancouver is also a special place for their family. Before stepping back from their royal roles in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent their first holiday as a family of three in 2019 with son Prince Archie on Vancouver Island.

The couple received a particularly warm welcome at the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney, days after Kensington Palace announced she was pregnant with her Archa.

prince harry.

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Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE about the 2022 Invictus Games in The Hague (which were pulled from 2020 due to the pandemic), Prince Harry touched on the key role Invictus played in his journey with Meghan.

“Nowhere can you feel more embraced and supported than in the Invictus family,” Prince Harry said at the time. “The Toronto Games were our first official outing. We were dating at the time, so it was a lot to take in, but luckily, we were in the perfect community for it.

“Now, five years later, here we are in The Hague at the fifth Invictus Games, as parents of two children and living in the US,” he continued, referring to son Prince Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet, 2, who were born in 2021 after family relocations to the USA in 2020.

“I’ve always wanted to share these amazing moments with someone special, and having Meg by my side means everything,” Prince Harry told PEOPLE.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during the game on Monday.

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While it was previously announced that the 2023 Invictus Games would be held in Düsseldorf, Germany (and coincided with Prince Harry’s 39th birthday in September!), the Duke of Sussex revealed in The Hague (which was the subject Heart of Invictusnow streaming on Netflix) that the seventh Invictus tournament will be held in Canada.

Following cycles in London (2014), Orlando (2016), Toronto (2017) and Sydney (2018), as well as the Netherlands and Germany, the 2025 Canada competition will be the first time the Invictus Games have returned to a previous country host.

The Vancouver-Whistler Invictus Games will also be the first to include winter adaptive sports alongside some of the core sports from previous Invictus Games.

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“As Invictus continues to adapt and evolve, I am extremely excited to announce that the Invictus Games Foundation has selected Canada to host the first Winter Hybrid Games in 2025,” Prince Harry said in a statement announcing the news.

“The Invictus Games Vancouver-Whistler 2025 will offer a global platform to expand the range and profile of winter adaptive sports. With deep respect, I am pleased to share with you that the Canada Games will be held in partnership with First Nations, in the spirit of truth and reconciliation with indigenous communities,” he added about the plans.

Meghan Markle and Prine Harry at the 2023 Invictus Games in Germany.

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As for whether Archie and Lili will join? Only time will tell!

“We can’t wait to bring our children to experience how great this is,” Meghan said in a speech at the last Invictus Games in Germany.

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Source: HIS Education