Royal couple set to join Prince Harry at his Invictus Games in Vancouver next month

Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark are set to attend Prince Harry’s Invictus Games in Canada next month. 

The event, which will be held in Vancouver and Whistler from 8 to 16 February, will be the first to incorporate winter sports, and will be broadcast on ITV in the UK. 

Joachim and Marie will arrive at Invictus on February 15, a day before the closing ceremony, the Danish Palace confirmed. 

The couple currently live in Washington DC, where Joachim works as Defence Industry Attaché at the Danish embassy after the family were stripped of their royal titles by Queen Margrethe in September 2022. 

When Invictus started in 2014, Harry was backed by his father, brother and sister-in-law, who stepped away after Megxit.

Meghan Markle has joined her husband for every Invictus Games since 2017, though she did not accompany him on a promotional visit in November.  

However, no members of the UK royal family have been confirmed to attend the 2025 events.  

It will be the first time the Joachim and Marie have attended the Duke of Sussex’s event for wounded veterans, though the Danish royal has shown a keen interest in the ethos of the Games before, previously meeting with Harry in 2017. 

That year Harry had travelled to Copenhagen to visit a military training centre and joined Joachim at a Rolling Floorball match, a sport invented by Danish veterans. 

He also met with the family of Morten Krogh Jensen – a Danish soldier who was part of the inspiration behind Invictus. 

Joachim was moved when he crossed paths with Harry, and said he knew the death of Jensen hadn’t been ‘in vain’. 

During the visit the Prince was briefed about the Danish participation at the Invictus Games and he saw veterans battling in rolling floorball. 

Harry pointed to the importance of treading the psychological issues veterans may face and those having flashbacks. 

After his family were stripped of their titles in September 2022, Prince Joachim claimed that his mother’s decision had ‘harmed’ his children.

Months later, the sixth-in-line to the throne admitted that ‘communication was missing’ within the Royal Family in the lead-up to the shock announcement.

Joachim told local news outlet B.T. at the time: ‘There is a lot to work on. Communication was what was missing. Now we have met and we are on the right track.’

This year’s Invictus Games will be the first to incorporate winter sports. Harry and Meghan pictured in Whistler in February 2024

Joachim and Marie (pictured on New Year’s Day) will arrive at Invictus on February 15, a day before the closing ceremony, the Danish Palace confirmed

Harry and Joachim have met for Invictus-related matters in previous years. Pictured together in 2017

Shortly after his children were stripped of his titles, Joachim claimed that he had only been given five days’ notice before the news was made public.

Meanwhile, Prince Joachim’s ex-wife Alexandra said that her sons, Nikolai and Felix, had been left feeling ‘ostracised’ from the institution and the decision had come like a ‘bolt out of the blue’.

The Royal Household released a further statement, saying: ‘As the Queen stated yesterday, the decision has been a long time coming.

‘We understand that there are many emotions at stake at the moment, but we hope that the Queen’s wish to future-proof the Royal Household will be respected.’

It comes as the Invictus Games Foundation announced that ITV would be the UK broadcast partner. 

On their website, the Foundation stated: ‘This exciting collaboration will bring the inspirational stories and extraordinary athleticism of the Games to audiences across the UK, celebrating the resilience and determination of wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans.’

The games will feature over 500 competitors from 23 nations competing in adaptuve sports ranging from wheelchair rugby to alpine skiing. 

The event celebrated the strength of its participants but also promotes the power of recovery through sport. 

Prince Joachim of Denmark (L) and Prince Harry (C) watch a Rolling Floorball match, a sport invented by Danish veterans

Prince Joachim now lives in Washington DC, so the journey will not be too far to make

Prince Harry meets Prince Joachim of Denmark at they visit a Wounded Veteran Programme on October 26, 2017 in Copenhagen

The collaboration means that nine daily highlight shows will be available on ITVX across the duration of the Games, including the opening ceremony music acts. 

Sam Newell, Director of Communications at the Invictus Games Foundation, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership: ‘We are thrilled to have ITV on board as the official UK broadcaster for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025. 

‘Their commitment to storytelling and bringing people together aligns perfectly with our mission to amplify the voices of our competitors and shine a light on the incredible journeys they’ve undertaken. 

‘This partnership will ensure that the spirit of Invictus reaches homes across the UK, inspiring countless others.’ 

The games is due to be hosted in the UK in 2027, where it will come to Birmingham. 

‘It’s our 10-year anniversary this year, which is really exciting. It’s a sporting platform used for the rehabilitation and support for wounded soldiers, serving and veterans. We have 25 nations, growing all the time’, Harry said at a promotional event for the Games in November. 

He previously opened up in a emotional video about the ‘healing power of sport’ ahead of the Invictus Games.

The Duke of Sussex released the message on the official account for the 2025 Games to be held in Vancouver, Canada, on X, formerly Twitter in September.

He told viewers: ‘Sport has the ability to heal, to change lives and to save lives.

Harry is patron of the Invictus Games which he established in 2014 as an international adaptive multi-sport event for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women.

Both serving troops and veterans are encouraged to compete as part of their recovery journeys.

Harry added in his direct address in the 117-second video: ‘For so many of these competitors, getting to the start line has been one of the hardest moments of their life.

‘But at the Games, their lives are changed. Watching these magical moments happen, and sport being the facilitator of that, is very, very special for all of us to witness.’

Last summer the prince hailed the wounded, injured and sick serving UK personnel and veterans who are to take part in the 64-strong squad, made up of 60 competitors and four reserves.

They were named as Team UK for what is called the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler scheduled to be held next February.

Prince Harry said in July: ‘Congratulations to those selected for Team UK for our first-ever Winter Invictus Games in Vancouver Whistler next February.

Prince Harry waves to fans prior to the start of a TV interview before the start of the 2024 Grey Cup at BC Place

Prince Harry, pictured with his wife Meghan in Whistler last year, has said he is excited to see ‘passion, determination and resilience’ of the UK squad for the first Invictus Games with winter sports

‘Team UK will join over 500 competitors from across 20 nations in this groundbreaking event that expands the range and profile of winter adaptive sports.

‘These games present an incredible opportunity for our courageous service personnel and veterans to demonstrate their skills in new challenges like alpine skiing, snowboarding and skeleton, as well as providing a truly memorable experience for their families.

‘We’re excited to see their passion, determination, and resilience on full display as they take on this new chapter.’

This year’s Invictus Games in Vancouver will be the first to include winter sports.

Team UK captain, Stephen ‘Hoops’ Hooper, is returning for his second Invictus Games after competing in powerlifting and sitting volleyball at Dusseldorf in 2023.

Hooper, who served in the RAF and was diagnosed with PTSD before being medically discharged in 2021, said: ‘To be selected for Team UK again was overwhelming in itself, but to be captain as well, is a privilege.

‘I gained a lot from the whole Team UK experience last time around, I’ve gone from standing in the corner of a room and not talking to anybody, to finding my voice again.

‘And that’s what I want to do for others this time – make sure every member of Team UK comes together and takes those steps forward in their recovery.’