but is still without Meghan Markle - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
PRINCE Harry has been cheering on the competitors at the Invictus Games in Germany, but he’s still without Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, appeared to be in a lively mood has he joined in with the chanting at a track and field event.
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Harry was cheered by the crowd as he took his seat in the grandstand at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf and was joined by around six members of his entourage.
As competitors raced in the 200 metres event, the royal could be seen cupping his hands around his mouth and cheering them on.
He sat next to Yulia Laputina, Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs who wore a military uniform and had a Ukrainian flag draped over her shoulders.
Harry was expected to spend around an hour at the event and is due to attend the final of the wheelchair rugby, which is usually one of his favourite events.
The Invictus Games, for disabled military veterans, are due to last a week and Harry has said he intends to attend as many events as possible.
A large contingent of Team UK supporters took part in a Mexican wave with family and friends from other countries also taking part.
While attending the wheelchair basketball, Harry sat next to a variety of dignitaries which included Nigeria’s defence minister, Nasa administrator Bill Nelson and a member of the South Korean delegation at the games.
Harry had arrived at the event followed by dozens of thrilled schoolkids who had been given time off to attend the event.
It’s thought Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, 42, will arrive at the games later this week and is expected to meet some of the children attending the sporting event.
The royals are due to stay in the presidential suite at the waterfront hotel where they will be celebrating Harry’s 39th birthday on Friday.
During the opening of the event, Prince Harry compared himself to JFK and grappled with the German language.
Taking the stage, the duke took a new riff on President Kennedy’s famous speech in West Berlin in 1963 during the Cold War when he said ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’.
Harry, instead told the packed audience “Ich bin ein Dusseldorfer” referring to the host city.
Harry’s comparison to assassinated President Kennedy comes as warring sibling Prince William used a famous JFK ‘moonshot’ speech about putting a man on the moon to inspire his £50million Earthshot Prize to save the planet.
Harry looked emotional and close to tears on stage after he received a 60 second standing ovation with cries of “Harry, Harry”.
He opened his address with a smattering of German words thanking Dusseldorf for hosting the games.
Since the last games in The Hague, in the Netherlands, in 2022, Harry has brought out his tell-all memoir Spare and six-part Netflix series and attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and coronation of his father King Charles.
Harry told the crowd: “I don’t know about you but that last year went very fast, Ich bin ein Dusseldorfer.
“We went from stroopwafels to schnitzels in a blink of an eye.”
Last October, Meghan revealed that she discovered she is 43 per cent Nigerian after doing a genealogy test ‘a couple years ago’.
She made the startling revelation on an episode of her now-defunct Archetypes podcast on Spotify.
Harry told the crowd in Dusseldorf that Nigeria had sent a team for the first time.
He said: “Now I’m not saying we play favourites in our home – but since my wife discovered she is of Nigerian descent it’s likely to get a little bit more competitive this year.”
The prince added: “Remember you are not only watching and participating in sport bit experiencing the magic of the human spirit learning first hand from those who learn not bound by their journey but instead freed by it.”
The competition this year will run until September 16.
A total of 550 sick, wounded and injured military veterans, representing 21 countries are taking part in ten team and individual sports.
Royal Navy submarine officer Lieutenant Commander James Rogers, is captaining Team UK, who have been supported by the British Royal Legion along with the Ministry of Defence.