Prince Harry had a very telling reaction when he was presented with an ‘inappropriate’ gift from Team Australia at the opening of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been having the best time in Vancouver to celebrate the start of the Invictus Games. And they didn’t mask their feelings when presented with an ‘inappropriate’ gift from Team Australia.
Harry was presented with a pair of Speedos – commonly known as “budgie smugglers” in Australia. And he couldn’t help but smile as he examined the tiny swimwear.
“So inappropriate! I love it. Thank you so much,” Harry was heard to exclaim. The funny exchange was later shared in a video shared on wife Meghan’s Instagram Stories, with the Duchess writing: “And Team Australia, you’ve done it again!”
The moment echoed a past Invictus encounter when an Australian athlete cheekily asked for Harry’s autograph on a pair of Speedos during the 2018 Games in Sydney.
At the time, Harry joked he would sign them – provided the athlete wore them on his head. But, as per royal protocol, the prince ultimately had to decline given that the royals cannot sign personal items.
It’s an exciting time for Harry. For the first time ever, his Invictus Games will include winter sports – including alpine skiing, snowboarding, and curling. During the opening ceremony on 8 February, Harry gave an impassioned speech to the crowd, telling the athletes: “Over the past decade, I’ve lost count of the times that we’ve heard you tell us that the Invictus Games ‘saved you.’ Respectfully, I disagree. Invictus didn’t save you. You saved yourself.
“It was you who pushed through the doubt and despair. You who summited your own mountain and brought us along with you. It was you who kept going even when you didn’t think you had any more to give. We didn’t do that. You did,” he added.
“The Games simply reveal what is already within you. That scarcest — and most precious — of the world ’s resources: character. A spirit of fortitude and perseverance that can never be defeated. That is the magic of the Invictus Games.”
Fans were delighted to see that Harry’s wife Meghan has joined him for the games, and the pair have been very tactile during their Invictus outings. The couple, who have been married for six years, publicly shared kisses and cuddles at the opening ceremony, and have continued to make a series of loved-up displays, much to the delight of their fans.
According to one body language expert, however, Meghan’s affection for Harry shows conflict between two roles. Judi James told told GB News : “It was Meghan the human limpet, wasn’t it? She’s never shy about doing PDAs with Harry, obviously, but I think this took it to a different level. She’s giggling, she’s squealing with excitement at things, she’s very breathless. She had to sit there with him and not just cling on to his arm, she was holding his hand at the same time as well.
“She was gazing at him, she tilted her head onto his shoulder like they were on a date night. She looked like a cross between a woman on a date night and a mum going to her son’s school open day. It’s a proud mum or besotted wife on a date.”
