Prince Harry plants a kiss on Meghan Markle's cheek at the Closing Ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry plants a kiss on Meghan Markle's cheek at the Closing Ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto. Photo / Getty Images
Meghan Markle gets cosy with Harry in VIP box at Invictus Games closing ceremony.
Prince Harry brought his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, to see the closing ceremony of his Invictus Games tonight - but hid her in a darkened box in the hope of avoiding attention.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are seen at the Closing Ceremony of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017. Photo / Getty Images
The 36-year-old actress arrived with her best friend, Canadian stylist Jessica Mulroney, wearing a white coat over a black outfit and the two women took their places in a discreet box to the side of the stage. Meghan's closest male friend, Markus Anderson, who introduced her to Harry last year, was by her side, said the
Miss Markle - who was wearing a $68 pair of Everlane jeans, a $178 Badgley Mischka jacket and Jimmy Choo shoes - was also accompanied by her mother, Doria Ragland, a therapist and yoga teacher from LA.
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Meghan's mother Doria Ragland. Photo / Getty Images
The fact that her mother had flown in from the US to spend time with her daughter and Harry emphasis the seriousness of the romance.
Harry then briefly joined his girlfriend and her friends in the box.
Meghan's mother, Doria, could be seen dancing enthusiastically as one of the closing ceremony's headline acts, Bruce Springsteen, played his hit
Dancing In The Dark
.
Bruce Springsteen and Prince Harry onstage at the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games 2017. Photo / Getty Images
He was followed by Canadian rocker Bryan Adams who thrashed out some of his biggest sellers including
Summer of '69
.
Harry could be seen kissing his girlfriend tenderly on the cheek before leaving her in their box to go down to the stage and give his closing speech.
The prince started off by thanking the people of Toronto for their incredible hospitality and singled out British triple amputee Mark Ormrod for his spirit and bravery in competing for the first time.
He described the injured servicemen and women who had competed in the Invictus Games as role models for children to look up to.
Harry received a standing ovation as he looked at the competitors and praised their determination, saying that many would be at the "summit of a mountain many of you thought too hard to climb".
Harry urged the audience to take home to "spirit of Invictus" and make a change, big or small, in their own lives.
As he spoke, Meghan and her mother could be seen clapping enthusiastically as they stood together in their box.
Prince Harry shakes hands with flag bearer Ulfat Al-Zwiri of Jordan. Photo / Getty Images
It is the third time that Miss Markle, 36, star of legal drama Suits, has appeared in public as the same time as her boyfriend in the last week, despite trying to keep their romance under wraps for the last 14 months.
She slipped into the opening ceremony of the games last Saturday with her close friend, Markus Anderson, although the pair sat 18 seats apart from the Queen's grandson.
But on Monday they turned up together to a wheelchair tennis match in full view of the general public and photographers and seemed apparently unconcerned about the attention. Tonight, however, she seemed to be playing a cat and mouse game with photographers.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Invictus Games Toronto 2017. Photo / Getty Images
It came just hours after Prince Harry was hugged by a little boy on behalf of his father as he took part in an impromptu photocall with the families of Invictus Games competitors.
Majka Popiel, six, ran over to the royal at the end of the event in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto and clung to his knees on Saturday.
Majka's father, Mik Popiel, has been competing in the cycling events as part of the Canadian team.
The soldier, who spent 22 years in the army, suffers from PTSD and other injuries. Asked why he hugged the prince, Majka said: "I like him and wanted to say thanks for everything he has done for my dad.
"I felt very proud watching him."
His mother, Aggy Popiel, who was there with her other son, Antonio, seven, and mother Deidre, said: "At times we all need a goal and I am very sporty, so when Mik has struggled I have been there to push him."
Mrs Popiel, from Trenton, added: "The atmosphere here has been unbelievable. What it has meant in terms of the recovery of the competitors is incalculable. Harry should be very proud.
"It has been wonderful for the children to see the competitors. It made made seeing these kind of injuries very normalising, which is great."
Her mother Deidre, added: "I am lost in admiration for Harry and William and Kate. What Harry has done with Invictus and what they have all done for the issue of mental health has been amazing.
"PTSD is the injury that you can't see - and can be equally damaging. What they have done for mental health issues should be applauded."
Joe Biden, Jill Biden and Prince Harry congratulate the competitors at the Wheelchair Basketball Finals during the Invictus Games 2017. Photo / Getty Images
Earlier on Saturday, former US Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden joined Prince Harry to celebrate the end of his third annual Invictus Games.
The 33-year-old royal - who founded the competition in 2014 for injured servicemen and women - sat with the Bidens to watch the wheelchair basketball finals on Saturday at Mattamy Athletics Centre in Toronto, Canada.
The three seemed to be enjoying themselves as they smiled, clapped and cheered in the stands watching the USA play Denmark.
Upon the US winning the gold medal, Joe Biden was selected to present the honor, placing the medal around the neck of Anthony McDaniel and then giving him a congratulatory hug.
It was the second time the Bidens made an appearance at the Invictus Games, swinging by on Friday with former US President Barack Obama for another round of wheelchair basketball.
Earlier Prince Harry vowed to continue the inspirational Invictus Games, saying: "The sky's the limit."
The royal was once again without his girlfriend, Meghan Markle as he watched the wheelchair basketball finals. although she is expected to make an appearance later on Saturday
Shortly before going in to watch the play, the prince spoke to Dome, the host broadcaster for the games, alongside Team Canada competitor Mike Trauner.
Asked about how long he thought the competition he founded would continue for, he said: "Look, I think I've said many, many times before that Invictus has got a shelf life because as other people have said the conveyor belt of wounded coming back from war has ceased to a certain a certain extent especially for these 70 nations.
"But for us at the Invictus Foundation it happens every year: you think we've made a decision and then you come to the games and boom!
"And it's like, you know what we have a social responsibility to continue this for a long as it's needed. Which is what I've always said.
Prince Harry congratulates the US team at the Wheelchair Basketball Finals during the Invictus Games 2017 at Mattamy Athletic Centre. Photo / Getty Images
"We'll have to wait and see. The world needs Invictus, these guys need Invictus, I need Invictus, we all need our fix. We all need to be inspired, we all need to be encouraged and reminded of what duty and service is all about.
"It would be silly of us to close it out."
The royal said that he envisaged the "shape and form" of the game changing somewhat - this year 550 competitors from 17 countries have taken part in 12 different adaptive sports ranging from swimming to indoor rowing - but insisted that the "future looks bright".
"We're not talking about two and a half, three thousand competitors. It will be a gradual increase if we can.
"But at the same time it's impossible to say no and it's impossible to try and wrap something up that's having a massive impact on changing lives."
Vice Captain of the UK Team, Dr Jen Warren, told Mail Online of the impact the games had had on her life.
Mother-of-one and working anaesthetist Dr Warren lost the use of her legs in a skiing accident but has competed in sports as diverse as swimming, athletics and cycling.
She said: "Calling this a Paralympic event is just scratching the surface. There is so much more to this than that. The way this builds people is phenomenal.
"My pregnancy wiped six years of rehab off me because of the toll it took. My injuries were in my pelvis and he pressure of the pregnancy affected me.
"That's why it is so important that Invictus helps everyone, not only the recently injured.
Even those who have been injured a while ago can get lumps and bumps along the road.
"Words cannot begin to describe what this has done for me as a person. I was the one who was frightened of their shadow. Last year I was frightened of everything. Look at me now!'
She added: "I work very hard, in my day job. I am an anaesthetist and there aren't many of us who are wheelchair users. I had had to fight so hard to get back to work. It took everything from me, I didn't leave much time for anything else. I didn't help that I thought I was a shadow of my former myself.
"Everyone frowns at you, they think you are a lost patient. Like you don't deserve to be there. I know that is partly my interpretation of how they see me but inside it is just so hard. The mental barriers of going back to work were far harder than the physical barriers to go back to work. As women we don't give ourselves enough credit."
Earlier in the week Dr Warren, who was a major in the Royal Army Medical Corps, spoke to Harry after she had the disappointment of narrowly missing out on a gold medal in her first cycling event.
The prince gave her a pep talk, however, and she went on to win gold in the same sport the next day.
Dr Warren said: "I was sat out the back as I'm not the kind of person to put myself forward but our physio called him over and asked him to come to speak to me. We just had a little chat, talking about the Invictus Games as whole and what it means to different people. I told him about my story and we chatted about the challenges of running the games, particularly finding the balance between people winning medals and what it means to their recovery, which is what is the real medal of the games.
His Royal Highness Prince Harry meeting with competitors during Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada. Photo / Getty Images
"Harry has proved himself in the military, he has done two tours of Afghanistan and there are not many royals that can say that. What's more he has proved himself once again.
"Harry is my hero. The amount of work he puts into these events. He talks to the competitors, he talks to the crowd, he doesn't shut himself off or put himself on show. He is working 24/7. He works his socks off. he doesn't just come in, say hello and then wave.
"I was in the military, I respect the Royal Family, I respect what they represent. But this goes far beyond that. He can do nothing wrong in my eyes.
"I was just blown away by how he uses all of his strength and all of his toolkit to give back to the community."
Dr Warren stressed that the legacy of the games was more far-reaching than anyone could imagine in bringing nations, cultures and people with so much still to offer together.
She said: " It's great to see here at the Invictus Games teams from all over the work. In a war situation we might be fighting each other but this is a community without borders and having a great relationship. We are competing against each other but the camaraderie is amazing and that trickles down from Harry.
"He makes such an effort to talk to every body, he goes out of his way to make sure there is no-one left untouched."
Prince Harry congratulates the US team at the Wheelchair Basketball Finals. Photo / Getty Images
PRINCE HARRY'S INSPIRING SPEECH IN FULL
I want to start by saying thank you. Thank you to Michael Burns and his team, to all the amazing volunteers, to our friends and families, and to the people of Toronto.
You have delivered the biggest Invictus Games yet, with the most incredible atmosphere, making our competitors feel like the stars they are.
One week ago, I told you that you needed to be ready. But even I, could not have been ready for the scale of what we witnessed at these Games.
I told you to be ready for some fierce competition. But I'm not sure any of us were ready for a group of men from Georgia - who until three years ago had never even played the game to battle all the way to gold in sitting volleyball.
I told you to be ready to see examples of determination, that would give you power in your own lives. But I'm not sure any of us were ready to see Mark Ormrod, with a medal round his neck, hoisting his son onto his shoulders, and capturing the imagination of the world.
I told you to be ready to see the true meaning of teamwork. But who could have predicted how powerful it would be to see competitors from Ukraine, Denmark, Romania, and America, band together, to form Team Unconquered, and win a sitting volleyball game with people they just met.
I told you to get ready to see role models that children would look up to. But who could have imagined that Randi Gavell, would compete on the track, on the court and in the pool, having battled back from emotional challenges, and while four and a half months pregnant. I think we all know who Randi's little girl is going to look up to.
I told you to be ready to see lives change in front of your eyes. But I didn't tell you that some of those lives, would be your own.
I told you that anything is possible, if you have the will. But I didn't tell you that when we saw triple amputee Mike Nicholson nail a 150 yard drive on the golf course, that our idea of what we thought was possible, would change forever.
I told you, you would be inspired. But I didn't say, that these games, might leave you questioning, if you are living to your own true potential.
To the thousands who filled the stands this week, and the millions who watched at home, let me issue you a challenge. Don't just move on from these games with happy memories.
Instead, make an Invictus goal for yourselves.
Let the examples of service and resilience that you have seen, inspire you to take action to improve something - big or small - in your life, for your family, or in your community.
Let's create a ripple effect of the Invictus spirit across our nations, that will be the real legacy of this extraordinary week.
As I did a week ago, I want to end by speaking directly to our competitors. Right now you're on a high - at the summit of a mountain many of you thought was too high to climb. You have done it.
This is the moment, right here, right now, shoulder to shoulder. You are Invictus.
These Games are not about gold, silver or bronze medals. They never have been. They're about the journey that you and your families have made to the start line.
Now, going home, it might be tough, as the excitement fades, but you have faced much greater challenges before, it will be a breeze.
As I have said many times, once you have served, you are always serving. On your return home, I want you to set a new Invictus goal.
Make a plan about how you are going to use the experience of this week, to help lift up all those around you. It might be something big, like starting a new project for young people. Or, it might be something small, like reconnecting with an old friend. It doesn't matter how big or small your step is - just take it.
Our world needs your dedication and passion like never before. And you never know, this may just be the missing piece of the puzzle to help you regain that satisfaction of serving others once again.
And, I'd also ask for one more important favour. I bet you can all think of at least one person who would benefit from the Invictus Games, but has yet to find the motivation to make that first step.
When we gather in Sydney next year, I look forward to seeing familiar faces in competition. But, more than anything, I hope to meet those who have watched these games at home, who may still be struggling, but with your support will wear their nation's flag on their chest once again as part of the 2018 Games.
And I want to see those who have competed this year, back by their sides cheering them on, as others have done for you.
The Invictus Games are not just for the already determined. These Games are for those who need it most. Please help us find them.
It's gonna be Game On, Down Under. I'll see you in Australia.
