Royal fans in Germany say Harry and Meghan have become a ‘soap opera’

Hundreds of royal fans stood for over two hours in the stifling heat hoping to see ‘soap opera’ Harry and Meghan at Düsseldorf town hall.

Among them was former serviceman Bob Clark and his wife Lily who were decked out in royal regalia. Clark wore an ermine robe, crown and a mask of the Queen covering his face.

His wife clutched a bag celebrating the marriage of Harry and Meghan and wore a Union Jack coat and hat.

The couple travelled from their home in Duisburg to show their support for the royal family – even though California-based Harry and Meghan are no longer working members of the so called ‘firm’.

Bob said: ’We are both huge fans of the Queen and the royal family. It will be great to see Harry and Meghan.’

More than 500 people stood behind metal barriers outside the entrance to the town hall.

Some had taken their place at the front three hours before the planned arrival of the couple.

Elisa, 24, said: ’I know they have been rude about the royal family, but I have read so much about them I wanted to see them myself.’

And her friend Melina, 26, said: ’They have become a soap opera, but I find anything about the Queen and royal family interesting.’

Locally-hired security teams were out in force around the red carpet leading to the town hall. Only two uniformed police officers were visible prior to the couple’s arrival as they stood at the edge of the crowd. 

Meghan, wearing a £245 cream knitted vest from trendy LA label Anine Bing and matching trousers, and Harry, in a grey suit, flew into Germany this morning where police closed junctions and set up miles of roadblocks so they and their entourage, including a personal doctor, could avoid traffic jams.

The pair are meeting officials and potential competitors in the city on Tuesday. They will be taken by boat along the Rhine River from the reception to the Merkur Spiel-Arena for a press conference at which Harry will deliver remarks. The £13million MS Rhein Galaxie was seen docked along the river on Tuesday morning.

More than 500 people stood behind metal barriers outside the entrance to the town hall. Some had taken their place at the front three hours before the planned arrival of the couple.

Elisa, 24, said: ’I know they have been rude about the royal family, but I have read so much about them I wanted to see them myself.’ And her friend Melina, 26, said: ’They have become a soap opera, but I find anything g about the Queen and royal family interesting.’

City officials also rolled out the red carpet – and even hoovered it – but insist the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is private and they will be protected by their own security team with the couple footing the bill. 

But German police said they were only involved primarily on crowd control in the market square where Harry, 37, and Meghan, 41, started their visit at around 12.30pm.

A police source said temporary roadblocks would be set up along the route from Dusseldorf airport to the city centre to allow the convoy of vehicles transporting Harry and Meghan to avoid being stuck in traffic on the three mile journey.

As the visit is private there was no police motorcycle outriders and accompanying police cars would not turn on their flashing blue lights. But the source said a vehicle carrying a doctor and medical equipment will have been part of the convoy for the three-mile drive into the city.

Harry wore a grey suit with an open neck shirt and put a comforting hand around his wife’s back as they walked towards an Invictus banner outside the town hall entrance.

Meghan beamed as a woman in the crowd shouted out ‘you’re beautiful’ and scores of people cheered.

Others shouted out the Prince’s name and he seemed to find the adulation amusing.

Harry looked relaxed as he waved and smiled at the crowd.

Their arrival had been delayed by 10 minutes due to the volume of traffic coming into the city centre.

A team of seven burly bodyguards stood behind the couple as they smiled and posed for pictures.

Former US secret service agent Christopher Sanchez, now the couple’s personal bodyguard, stood watch over the couple.

He had been by their side during the Invictus Games in The Hague earlier this year.

They were met in the red carpet by Düsseldorf mayor Stephan Keller and a senior member of the German military.

Harry and Meghan stopped by a large banner promoting the Invictus Games- the reason for their visit to Düsseldorf.

The city hosts the sports event for disabled military veterans next September.

Both Harry and Meghan seemed relaxed by all the media attention.

When photographers called for them to turn their way they willingly obliged.

As they stood posing for mostly German media Harry held his wife’s hand.

The couple were introduced to a bulldog wearing the Invictus logo and stood patiently by the banner. The couple were introduced to a military mascot called Loki. Harry bent down to pat the dog while Meghan also showed an interest. 

After a reception inside the town hall the couple planned to meet locals who stood in the blazing sunshine for several hours. One woman clutched her newborn baby while several young girls had flowers they hoped to present to Meghan.

On Thursday the couple will attend the WellChild Awards, which celebrate the bravery of young people from across the UK who have coped with a serious illness or disability.

The red carpet is being rolled out for the Sussexes on their first ever visit to Germany – even though their trip is as private citizens. The couple will be given the same sort of welcome afforded to visiting heads of state when they arrive for a reception and book signing at the town hall in Dusseldorf today.

Last minute preparations included red and white flowers – the official colours of the city – being placed around the entrance to the town hall.

The couple are in Germany on Tuesday to start the countdown to the Invictus Games being held in Dusseldorf next September and their visit will include an hour-long scenic cruise along the Rhine on a ‘party boat’ usually packed with tourists.

The afternoon jaunt on the £13m MS Rhein Galaxie will take them along the Rhine to Duisburg and end at the Merkur-Spiel sports stadium where the sports event for disabled military veterans will be held.

A source with the city of Dusseldorf told Mail Online: ‘Of course this is a private visit, but we do not want anything to go wrong or there to be any incident. We are showcasing the city.

‘They will have their own security teams, but the police area being consulted and will be involved. We are hosts for the Invictus Games and we want everything to run very smoothly.

‘There have been lots of consultations and plans have changed, but we are confident it will be a trouble-free visit.’

Harry and Meghan will emerge from their car onto a red carpet and walk across the market square to the entrance to the town hall which dates back to the 16th century.

After walking up a spiral staircase adorned with red and white flowers they will be joined by the city’s Mayor Stephan Keller.

After speeches from Harry and the Mayor, the couple will sign what is known as the ‘Golden Book’.

The oversized leather-bound volume is signed by all visiting dignitaries to Dusseldorf, the capital of the Rhine-Westphalia region.

The page assigned to the couple has already been prepared with their names in red Roman cursive writing.

Harry is billed as’ Prinz Harry Herzog von Sussex’ while his wife is ‘Meghan, Herzogin von Sussex’ – translated as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Harry is described as the patron of the Invictus Games.

Although there is a balcony in the book signing overlooking the market square the couple will not be stepping out to wave to crowds gathered below.

‘That would not be appropriate,’ said a city official.

A convoy of cars will take the couple to a jetty about two miles away where they will board the Rhein Galaxie for the hour-long cruise along the Rhine.

They will have lunch on board and with warm weather predicted expected to stay on the open top deck rather than sit below on one of the three decks.

The 85m long ship was launched in 2020 but due to the pandemic only came into service five months ago and is the most modern along the fleet of the sightseeing tour operators KD.

It can hold up to 1,000 guests and is used for conferences, trade fairs and parties.

The company boasts that the ship has ‘floor-to-ceiling windows, a stage arranged on the side and a spacious atrium, which connects three decks with one another via an artistically designed ‘feature wall’ with large screens.

The outdoor deck has an 85 square meter dance floor and offers a VIP viewing platforms and an imposing ‘Skywalk’ above the bar.

Last-minute preparations for the trip were being carried out with tables and flowers being arranged on the open top deck.

The river cruise ship will drop Harry and Meghan off at the sports arena where athletes taking part in the 2023 Invictus Games will be introduced to the couple.

The German military, who are co-organisers of the games, will hold a press conference attended by Harry but he has stipulated he will not take any questions from the media.

With the conference scheduled to end at 5pm UK time the couple will be driven back to the airport for a return flight to London.

Meghan Markle was last night accused of making a speech that just focused on ‘me, me, me’ at the One Young World summit in Manchester as she made at least 54 references to herself during a seven-minute talk to young people billed as being about gender equality.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, made her first address in Britain since Megxit as she opened the event at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester watched by her smiling husband Harry – but the couple had ran a gauntlet of boos as they arrived at the first public engagement of their pseudo-royal tour.

Meghan gave the keynote speech at the One Young World Summit for youth leaders from around the globe – and the welcome was warm as she and her husband walked onto the stage. 

It had been touted as a speech about gender equality but Meghan made one anecdote about women during the speech to about 2,000 people. Instead, she gushed about Prince Harry and the ‘life-changing’ impact of becoming a mother to Archie and told the event it was ‘very nice to be back in the UK’.

At one point she spoke of her pride at being a ‘mum’ and appeared emotional when the audience applauded. She then spoke of how her life had ‘changed significantly’ – a reference that may have been related to Archie, the Royal Family and Megxit. 

Meghan told the audience of mainly young people about how she first became involved in the organisation in 2014: ‘In many ways I was probably like a lot like you, I was young, ambitious’ and declared they must ‘seize the moment’ and not be crippled by self-doubt.

She questioned how she became successful, referring to herself as ‘the girl from Suits’ who was eventually ‘invited to pull up a seat at the table’ with powerful leaders, prime minsters, humanitarians and activists. And spoke about the first time she was asked to be a counsellor and having a ‘pinch me moment’.

‘I was so overwhelmed by this experience, I think, I think I even saved my little paper place-marker with my name on it’, she said, adding it was ‘Just proof: proof that I was there, proof that I belonged, because the truth was, I wasn’t sure that I belonged.’

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said Meghan’s speech ‘was just “me, me, me” and praising herself.’  

Meghan and Harry had been given a warm welcome. But minutes earlier, as the couple climbed out of their car, many in a 100- strong crowd booed from behind a barrier just yards away, with onlookers saying it was so loud ‘there was no doubt they would have heard’. One protester was carrying a sign that read: ‘FO Harry and Me-Gain Fake Royals.’

A woman who gave her name as Janet, from Manchester, accused Meghan of being a ‘liar and a hypocrite’ and of launching an ‘attack’ on the Royal Family. ‘She’s a fake humanitarian and a fake feminist,’ she said. ‘She’s a social climber… she thought she could be a celebrity in the Royal Family and she’s the most toxic, divisive woman I’ve ever heard of in my life.’

Meghan referenced herself 54 times in the seven-minute speech, a body language analyst revealed on Twitter. 

Despite having been selected to discuss gender equality, Meghan only made one brief anecdote about a woman other than herself. The Duchess of Sussex said that the first year she joined One Young World in Dublin, she worked with a young woman from Eritrea.

‘She had escaped her home country, fleeing with bullets fired above her head. I still remember it so well,’ she said. ‘I remember my shock, and I also remember her courage, my recognition of how much continues to go on each day with so many turning a blind eye. And yet despite all odds, she like so many still persevered.’

Royal experts criticised Meghan after the speech for delivering an address that ‘lacked content’ and was riddled with confusing and insincere commentary.

‘I can’t visualise or comprehend how the 2,000 young people understood a word of what she was talking about,’ Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told The Sun.

‘It made no sense. It was all about her and related everything to herself.

‘I don’t think she knew what she was talking about. It was just ‘me, me, me’ and praising herself.’