Prince Harry and girlfriend Meghan Markle joined by her mother at Invictus Games closing ceremony
The royal gave a speech at the closing ceremony in Toronto.
-- Prince Harry joined his girlfriend Meghan Markle and her mother in a private luxury box at the Invictus Games closing ceremony in Toronto on Saturday night.
The prince, who was spotted elsewhere in the stadium and onstage during the event, joined Markle and her mother in the luxury box for a kiss before heading out to give his final speech. The British royal was seen embracing Markle in the box while watching Bruce Springsteen, Kelly Clarkson and others perform. Later, Markle and her mother applauded as Harry delivered his final speech to the crowd.
"Don’t just move on from these games with happy memories,” he told the crowd. “Instead, make an Invictus goal for yourselves."
Prince Harry encouraged the audience on his closing speech, saying, "Let the examples of service and resilience that you have seen, inspire you to take action to improve something -- big or small - in your life, for your family, or in your community."
Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, a social worker and yoga instructor, flew to the event from Los Angeles to be at her daughter’s side with Prince Harry on his big night. Her attendance is the surest sign yet that an engagement between Markle and Harry may be imminent. Also joining Markle were her close friend, stylist Jessica Mulroney, and Markus Anderson, who attended the opening ceremony with the actress.
This is the third major public appearance for Markle this week, after she attended the Invictus Games opening ceremony -- although she was separated by 18 seats from Prince Harry, as he was seated with United States First Lady Melania Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
On Monday, Markle arrived holding hands with Prince Harry to attend the wheelchair tennis match, as New Zealand faced off against Australia. The couple was seen laughing, smiling and whispering to each other in between chats with children and family members who were also viewing the match.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle step out holding hands at Invictus Games competition
The Invictus Games, a competition for wounded service members that was founded by Prince Harry in 2014, has been a public coming out of sorts for the royal and his girlfriend of one year. Prince Harry and Markle were introduced by friends in the summer of 2016 in London.
Earlier on Saturday, former U.S. vice president Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden joined Prince Harry to support him on the last day of the games. Biden presented the gold medal to Team U.S.A. after their victory in the wheelchair basketball final. On Friday, Prince Harry spent time with his old pal, former president Barack Obama, along with the Bidens.
Former President Obama, Bidens join Prince Harry at Invictus Games
When asked earlier in the day about the future of the Invictus Games, Prince Harry told CTV, "I think I've said many, many times before that Invictus has got a shelf life, because as other people have said, the conveyor belt of wounded coming back from war has ceased to a certain extent -- especially for these 70 nations."
The Invictus Games head to Sydney in October 2018 after being previously played in London, Orlando, and Toronto.
'We have a social responsibility to continue this for as long as it's needed, Prince Harry added. “Which is what I've always said.
'The world needs Invictus, these guys need Invictus, I need Invictus, we all need our fix,” he continued. “We all need to be inspired, we all need to be encouraged and reminded of what duty and service is all about.”