Prince Harry and Meghan Markle paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II during a rare surprise appearance.
As People reports, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended a Vancouver Canucks hockey game in Canada on Nov. 20 to the delight of fans inside the Rogers Arena.
Ahead of the game between Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, Prince Harry walked onto the rink to carry out the first puck drop, before heading back to a VIP box seat to enjoy the head-to-head alongside Markle.
The couple’s surprise visit comes ahead of the forthcoming Invictus Games that are set to be held in Vancouver and Whistler in 2025 — an annual tournament founded by the Duke of Sussex that supports wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women.
He Followed In The Queen’s Footsteps
Harry’s appearance at the Vancouver hockey match occurred 21 years after his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, also carried out the ceremonial puck drop at a game between the exact same teams (the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks) in 2002.
The late Queen stopped by the game during her 11-day tour of Canada in celebration of her Golden Jubilee, which marked 50 years of her reign as the British monarch.
The late monarch also previously attended a hockey game in Canada before she was crowned Queen, and stopped by a head-to-head between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks back in 1951.
Harry & Meghan’s Love Of Canada
Although a shock to hockey fans, Harry and Meghan’s Canadian appearance should come as no surprise given the couple’s great affinity for the commonwealth country.
Before marrying into the royal family, the Duchess of Sussex previously lived in the city of Toronto while filming the hit legal drama Suits — the recent resurgence of which was described as “wild” by Meghan (aka Rachel Zane).
The couple also previously lived in Vancouver, Canada after stepping back from their royal duties in 2020, while Harry has hosted the Invictus Games in the country on multiple occasions throughout the competition’s 10-year history.
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