Meghan Markle has been an almost ever-present at Prince Harry's side since the start of the 2025 Invictus Games. But after today, Harry will be left flying solo at the tournament as Meghan is set to fly back home to California later today. The Duchess of Sussex will catch a flight back home where she will be reunited with her and Harry's children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. During the first five days of the competition, the Sussexes have put on a loved-up display and were even spotted kissing during the opening ceremony - leading some to wonder why her trip to Canada is seemingly being cut short.
While aides have been keeping Meghan's travel plans under wraps for security reasons - it is understood it had always been planned she would leave the event today. Harry is expected to stay at the Games until after the closing ceremony this Sunday. It mirrors a move by Meghan during the last Invictus Games in 2023 in Dusseldorf. The Duchess only joined her husband for part of the event, opting to stay behind in California with their children for the first few days of the tournament.
It comes after yesterday in Whistler, the Sussexes were in high spirits before Harry stepped out on stage to open three days of sporting events at the luxury ski resort. He thanked the attendees for their support before calling for Meghan to join him. As she stood beside her husband, Harry quipped: "And now she's going to sing!" Clearly caught off guard, Meghan shook her head while laughing as the crowd cheered and clapped.
Her return to California will come after earlier in the week when she admitted to competitors that she was missing her and Harry's children. Cynthia Phelps, 39, her husband James, 44, and their baby Laramie, seven months, all from Alaska, had breakfast with Meghan and Harry at their hotel in Vancouver on Saturday. Cynthia then spoke to Meghan again after a wheelchair basketball match on Sunday when Meghan tenderly cradled Laramie in her arms.
Cynthia said: "I was just talking to Meghan about her kids. She said her kids were at home and she missed them and she was excited to see a baby that was so happy. She said she misses them and remembers when they were young. She said [Laramie] was a very happy baby.". Meghan has repeatedly shown her maternal side while meeting children at the event, which Harry founded for wounded military personnel in 2014.
She bonded with a group of around 40 children on Sunday morning by reading them the best-selling kids book 'All Are Neighbors', an "uplifting" tome that focuses on a neighbourhood "coming together to celebrate their diverse community. She also spent time speaking to the children and posing for pictures with them after looking at touching drawings they had made. She was seen speaking tenderly to eight-year-old Lucious Gayton, who ran over to her and Harry clutching a Funko Pop! figure of him, which the royal signed, on Sunday.
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