Royal couple to join Prince Harry at Invictus Games – details
Prince Harry is due to host the Invictus Games in Whistler, Canada, from 8 February to 16 February, with the event being the first to encompass winter sports.
However, the Duke of Sussex will not be alone, as it has been announced that Denmark's Prince Joachim and Princess Marie will also head out during the Games. The news was confirmed in a release by the Danish Palace, which stated that the royal couple would arrive at the Invictus Games on 15 February, a day before its closing ceremony.
Joachim and Marie's attendance at the Games will mark their first time at the sporting event. However, the Danish prince previously met with Harry in connection with the Invictus Games.
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The pair crossed paths in 2017 when the Duke of Sussex travelled to Copenhagen to visit a military training centre and meet with the family of Morten Krogh Jensen, a Danish soldier who died in the Helmand Province. Morten's death partially inspired Harry to set up the Invictus Games.
Harry served in the military in Afghanistan, and when travelling home in 2008, Morten's coffin was loaded onto his transport plane. Three injured British soldiers who were in comas were also on the flight.
The father-of-two explained the impact this moment had on him when he gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Invictus Games: "As I was waiting to board the plane, the coffin of a Danish soldier was loaded on by his friends," he said.
"Once on the flight, I was confronted with three British soldiers, all in induced comas, with missing limbs, and wrapped in plastic. The way I viewed service and sacrifice changed forever."
Joachim was moved when he met Harry, sharing that the Invictus Games meant that Morten's death was "not in vain".
The trip to Whistler, Canada, won't be too arduous for Joachim and Marie, as the Danish prince and his family are currently living in Washington D.C.
The couple and their two children, Count Henrik and Countess Athena, moved to the United States in 2023 when Joachim took up a job as Defence Industry Attaché at the Danish embassy.
When the family isn't in America, Marie and Joachim can make use of their property in Vedbæk, Denmark. They purchased the home, thought to have cost them €3.4 million, in 2023 following the news that they had sold their villa in Klampenborg.
Alongside Henrik and Athena, Joachim is also a father to Count Nikolai and Count Felix, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Princess Alexandra. Nikolai is currently studying at the University of Technology Sydney, while Felix studies at the Royal Danish Military Academy.
