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. Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark are set to attend Prince Harry's Invictus Games in Canada next month. Harry is pictured at an Invictus promotion event in November.

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.