Meghan Markle Is Heading to Germany with Prince Harry Next Month — But Not the U.K.

The Duchess of Sussex will join her husband for a big trip next month — but not the full time

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Invictus Games in Sydney, Australia in October 2018. Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will soon say “hallo” to Germany!

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that Meghan, 42, will join her husband at the upcoming 2023 Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany in September. 

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are delighted to attend the Invictus Games 2023 in Düsseldorf. The Duke will be in attendance throughout the entirety of the games and will be joined by The Duchess shortly after the games begin,” a spokesperson said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, founded the international adaptive sports competition for injured, sick and wounded service personnel and veterans in 2014. He was inspired to launch the Paralympic-style sports tournament after attending the 2013 Warrior Games in the U.S., amplifying the transformative physical, psychological and social powers of sports for those who have served.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in The Netherlands in April 2022
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Invictus Games in The Hague, the Netherlands in April 2022. Samir Hussein/WireImage

Veterans' issues are a cause close to heart for Prince Harry, who served in the British Army for a decade and completed two tours of Afghanistan. The Duke of Sussex spoke about how sports can be a “conduit for healing” ahead of the ISPS Sports Values Summit-Special Edition in Tokyo earlier this month, which kicked off his trip to Asia for the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup in Singapore.

"I have long believed that sport is a conduit for healing – not just for the mind and body but the world. Sport requires having a dream and the need for community,” Harry said in a statement shared via Sentebale, the organization he co-founded in 2006 to help children in Africa affected by poverty, inequality, HIV/AIDS and recently COVID-19.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex meets with the Wheelchair Basketball Team Ukraine during day six of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 at Zuiderpark on April 21, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands.
Prince Harry chats with members of Team Ukraine at the Invictus Games in 2022. Chris Jackson/Getty

The 2023 Invictus Games are set to run from Sept. 9 to 16 and mark the tournament’s sixth cycle. The event has previously been held in London (2014), Orlando (2016), Toronto (2017), Sydney (2018) and The Hague (2022). In 2025, the Invictus Games will return to North America and take place in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.

Harry and Meghan famously made their debut as a couple at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, where she lived while filming Suits. Meghan has supported Invictus ever since, attending the Sydney games with her husband in 2018 (days after Kensington Palace announced she was pregnant with her first child, Prince Archie) and at The Hague in the Netherlands last spring.

She graced the stage on both occasions, delivering remarks at the Invictus closing ceremony in 2018 and introducing Harry at the opening ceremony in April 2022, where they shared a sweet kiss. 

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 Opening Ceremony at Zuiderpark on April 16, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Invictus Games in The Hague, the Netherlands in April 2022. Chris Jackson/Getty

Before Prince Harry hit the stage, Meghan told the crowd she and her husband were "so grateful to the Netherlands for welcoming us and hosting the Invictus Games." The competition was bumped from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID pandemic and will be the subject of the upcoming Netflix series Heart of Invictus. The docuseries — which hits queues next Wednesday — comes from the couple’s production hub Archewell Productions and follows athletes as they prepare for the elite event. 

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The latest update follows news that Prince Harry’s trip to Europe will begin with a stop at the annual awards event for WellChild, a charity for seriously ill children, in London on Sept. 7 — which falls on the eve of Queen Elizabeth's first death anniversary.

The prince has been patron of the organization for 15 years and has continued working with WellChild since stepping back from his royal role in 2020. There is no word yet on whether he will see any members of his family while in the U.K.

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