Prince Harry
That’s why he threw the first puck in the ice hockey game
© Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan surprised fans at an ice hockey game in Vancouver. The performance was part of a promotional tour.
Duchess Meghan (42) and Prince Harry (39) made a surprise appearance at a game in the North American professional ice hockey league NHL on Monday evening in Canada. At the Vancouver Canucks’ game against the San Jose Sharks, Prince Harry was responsible for the opening face-off and ceremoniously threw the first puck onto the ice between the players. He then watched the duel with his wife in the official gallery.
However, Prince Harry doesn’t seem to be an ice hockey expert, as Czech Sharks star Tomáš Hertl (30) did after the game. in an interview with the “Vancouver Sun”.: “I even had to tell him to drop the puck because he was still holding it and smiling.” He told him: “It’s time to drop him.” Nevertheless, it was also a “cool moment” for him as a player: “I definitely won’t forget it.”
Invictus Games promo tour
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet (59) also talked about his encounter with Harry after the game: “I gave him a fist bump, I don’t know if that’s allowed.” To explain: Fist to fist is the traditional greeting among ice hockey players – and naturally not very royal. But Harry apparently went along with it. “He kind of looked at me, but he did it,” Toccet said, smiling.
The performance is part of the promotional tour that has already begun for the upcoming Invictus Games, which will take place in the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Whistler in 2025. Harry, a former British Army captain, founded the tournament in 2014 to provide a platform for sporting competition for wounded, injured and ill soldiers and veterans. Most recently, the Invictus Games took place in Düsseldorf.
By the way: Harry’s grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), also threw the first puck for the opening face-off at the same location in an NHL game and back then the game was also called Vancouver Canucks against the San Jose Sharks. Around 21 years ago, in 2002, she visited Canada for her Golden Jubilee and didn’t miss the opportunity to start the game alongside ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky (62).
Meghan, Harry and Vancouver – there was something…
Duchess Meghan was born in the US, but also lived in Toronto, Canada for several years. There she filmed the successful legal series “Suits” from 2011 to 2018. After “Megxit”, Harry and Meghan initially retreated to Canada for three months in 2020. There they lived on a property in North Saanich on Vancouver Island near the Canadian city of Vancouver. Ultimately, however, they decided to move to the USA and have been living in their house in Montecito, California ever since.