At Düsseldorf Town Hall, hundreds of royal admirers waited in the oppressive heat for more than two hours in anticipation of the “soap opera” that was Harry and Meghan.
Former serviceman Bob Clark and his wife Lily were among them; they were dressed in royal regalia. Clark had a queen’s mask covering his face, an ermine robe, and a crown.
His wife was dressed in a Union Jack coat and cap and was holding a bag commemorating the union of Harry and Meghan.
Even though California-based Harry and Meghan are no longer employed by the so-called “company,” the pair travelled from their home in Duisburg to express their support for the royal family.
We are both tremendous admirers of the Queen and the royal family, Bob said. I’m looking forward to seeing Harry and Meghan.
Around 500 people gathered in front of metal gates of the town hall.
Three hours before the couple was supposed to arrive, several people had already occupied the front row.
I know they have been unpleasant to the royal family, but I have read so much about them that I wanted to see them for myself, said Elisa, 24.
They have turned into a soap opera, but I find everything about the Queen and her family intriguing, remarked her 26-year-old friend Melina.
Around the red carpet going to the town hall, locally recruited security personnel were present in large numbers. Prior to the couple’s entrance, just two uniformed police officers could be seen as they stood at the edge of the throng.
Harry and Meghan arrived in Germany this morning via plane. There, police closed junctions and set up miles of roadblocks so they and their entourage, which included a personal doctor, could avoid traffic jams. Meghan was wearing a £245 cream knit vest and matching pants from trendy LA label Anine Bing.
On Tuesday, the two are meeting with representatives and possible rivals in the city. From the reception, they will be transported by boat along the Rhine River to the Merkur Spiel-Arena for a news conference where Harry will speak. On Tuesday morning, the $13 million MS Rhein Galaxie was seen parked beside the river.
Around 500 people gathered in front of metal gates of the town hall. Three hours before the couple was supposed to arrive, several people had already occupied the front row.
I know they have been unpleasant to the royal family, but I have read so much about them that I wanted to see them for myself, said Elisa, 24. They have turned into a soap opera, but I find everything intriguing about the Queen and royal family, remarked her 26-year-old friend Melina.
Despite rolling out the red carpet and even vacuuming it, city authorities stress that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit is private and that they will be escorted by their own security team at their own expense.
However, German police said that their main role during Harry, 37, and Meghan, 41,’s arrival at roughly 12.30 p.m. was crowd management in the market square.
According to a police source, temporary checkpoints will be put in place along the three-mile route from Dusseldorf Airport to the city centre to prevent the convoy of cars carrying Harry and Meghan from being caught in traffic.
Due to the nature of the visit, there were no police motorcycle outriders, and the police vehicles that were there did not activate their flashing blue lights. However, the source said that during the three-mile trip into the city, a vehicle carrying a doctor and medical supplies would have been in the convoy.
As they approached an Invictus flag outside the town hall door, Harry, who was wearing a grey suit and an open-neck shirt, wrapped a consoling arm over his wife’s back.
As several people screamed and a lady in the audience cried “you’re lovely,” Meghan grinned.
The Prince seemed to find the praise humorous as others yelled out his name.
As he waved and grinned at the audience, Harry seemed at ease.
Due to the amount of traffic entering the city centre, their arrival had been delayed by 10 minutes.
The pair grinned and posed for photos behind a group of seven bulky security.
The couple’s personal bodyguard, Christopher Sanchez, a former US secret service agent, kept watch over them.
At the Invictus Games earlier this year in The Hague, he had been at their side.
Stephan Keller, the mayor of Düsseldorf, and a top German military official greeted them on the red carpet.
The purpose for Harry and Meghan’s trip to Düsseldorf was the Invictus Games, and they stopped by a big billboard advertising them.
The sports competition for injured war veterans will be held in the city in September.
Despite all the media attention, Harry and Meghan both appeared at ease.
They complied readily when photographers asked them to turn in their direction.
Harry held his wife’s hand as they posed for mostly German journalists while standing.
A bulldog with the Invictus insignia waited anxiously by the flag to greet the pair.
The pair got to meet Loki, the military’s mascot. Meghan expressed interest in the puppy as Harry knelt down to pet it.
The newlyweds had a reception inside the town hall and then intended to greet residents who had been waiting in the hot heat for many hours. Several young girls carried bouquets of flowers they intended to give to Meghan, while one lady held her new baby in her arms.
The pair will attend the WellChild Awards, which honour young people from all around the UK for their courage in overcoming a catastrophic illness or handicap, on Thursday.
Even though the Sussexes are visiting Germany for the first time as ordinary individuals, they are being treated like royalty. When the pair shows up for a reception and book signing at the town hall in Dusseldorf today, they will be welcomed with the same warmth shown to visiting heads of state.
Red and white flowers, the city’s official colours, were scattered around the town hall’s door as a last-minute preparation.
Where will Harry and Meghan go while touring Europe?
One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit is on Monday, September 5th.
The Sussex family took the train to Manchester, where 41-year-old Meghan delivered a lecture on gender equality. Young leaders from more than 190 nations attended the meeting.
Prior to the couple’s arrival, the area surrounding Bridgewater Hall, which is hosting the summit, was cleared for 90 minutes.
For their attendance at the conference, Harry and Meghan hired private security companies to set up a “ring of steel” in Manchester.
Tuesday, September 6: Düsseldorf 2023 Invictus Games
The Sussexes fly to Dusseldorf on Tuesday to commemorate a year till Harry’s subsequent Invictus Games after their journey to Manchester on Monday.
The sixth games, which Harry earlier said will take place in September 2023. He and Meghan went to the 2022 Invictus Games in the Netherlands in April.
September 9th, Wednesday
On Wednesday, there are no set plans for the Sussexes. They have not said if they plan to see the Queen, who is now in Scotland at Balmoral.
September 8th, Thursday: WellChild Awards
For the WellChild Awards event in London on Thursday, when Harry will give a speech, the pair will return to the country.
In order to “honour the inspiring characteristics of the UK’s chronically sick children and young people, as well as those who go that additional mile to make a difference to their lives,” the WellChild Awards were created.
The pair will take a one-hour picturesque trip down the Rhine on a “party boat,” which is often crowded with visitors, as part of their visit to Germany on Tuesday to begin the countdown to the Invictus Games, which will be hosted in Dusseldorf in September.
They will travel down the Rhine to Duisburg for the afternoon excursion on the £13 million MS Rhein Galaxie, which will conclude at the Merkur-Spiel sports complex, the site of the athletic competition for injured veterans.
Although this is a private visit, a source from the city of Düsseldorf told Mail Online: “We do not want anything to go wrong or there to be any incident.” The city is being shown.
Despite the fact that they will have their own security teams, the police will be engaged and briefed. As the Invictus Games’ hosts, we want everything to go as smoothly as possible.
Although there have been several meetings and arrangements have altered, we are certain the visit will go well.
On a red carpet, Harry and Meghan will exit their vehicle and go across the market square to the door of the town hall, which was built in the sixteenth century.
They will be joined by Stephan Keller, the mayor of the city, after ascending a spiral staircase festooned with red and white flowers.
The pair will sign the “Golden Book” after statements from Harry and the Mayor.
All dignitaries who came to Dusseldorf, the capital of the Rhine-Westphalia area, signed the large leather-bound book.
The couple’s page has already been made, and it contains their names written in crimson Roman cursive.
The titles “Prinz Harry Herzog von Sussex” and “Meghan, Herzogin von Sussex” are used to refer to Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, respectively.
According to reports, Harry serves as the Invictus Games’ patron.
The pair won’t be waving to the spectators below from the book signing’s balcony, despite it having a view of the market square.
A municipal official said, “That would not be proper.”
The pair will be driven in a convoy to a dock about two miles away, where they will board the Rhein Galaxie for the hour-long Rhine trip.
Due to the warm weather forecast, they will have lunch on board and are planning to remain on the open top deck rather than sit on one of the three decks below.
The 85-meter-long ship, which is the most up-to-date in the fleet of sightseeing tour providers KD, was launched in 2020 but didn’t enter operation until five months later owing to the epidemic.
It is utilised for conferences, trade shows, and celebrations and can accommodate up to 1,000 persons.
The ship includes “floor-to-ceiling windows, a stage set up on the side, and a vast atrium that links three decks through an aesthetically built “feature wall” with big screens,” the business promises.
The outside deck has an imposing “Skywalk” above the bar, a VIP viewing area, an 85 square metre dance floor, and VIP observation platforms.
On the open top deck, tables and flowers were being set up as last-minute preparations for the journey were made.
Harry and Meghan will be dropped off to the sporting venue, where they will be presented to competitors in the 2023 Invictus Games, by the river cruise ship.
Harry will attend a news conference held by the German military, one of the games’ co-organizers, but he has made it clear he won’t accept any questions from the media.
The meeting will finish at 5 p.m. UK time, at which point the pair will be taken back to the airport to catch their aircraft back to London.
At the One Young World conference in Manchester last night, Meghan Markle was accused of giving a speech that was all about “me, me, me,” as she made at least 54 references to herself during a seven-minute address to young people that was supposed to be about gender equality.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, inaugurated the event at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as her beaming husband Harry looked on. However, the pair had to navigate a boo-filled entrance to the first public engagement of their faux-royal tour.
The audience greeted Meghan and her husband warmly as they entered the stage for her keynote address at the One Young World Summit for young leaders from all across the world.
Meghan told one tale about women throughout the address to around 2,000 people, despite the fact that it was advertised as a lecture on gender equality. Instead, she raved over Archie’s mother, Prince Harry, and the “life-changing” effect of returning to the UK. She also said it was “really good” to be there.
She expressed her delight in being a “mom” at one point and became emotional when the crowd cheered. She continued by saying that her life had “changed substantially,” maybe in reference to Archie, the Royal Family, or Megxit.
Mostly young individuals made up the crowd, and Meghan described how she initially became engaged with the group in 2014: They were told to “seize the moment” and not let self-doubt paralyse them, saying, “In many respects I was probably a lot like you, I was young, ambitious.”
She referred to herself as “the girl from Suits,” who was finally “asked to draw up a seat at the table” with prominent presidents, prime ministers, humanitarians, and campaigners, and she questioned how she had achieved success. She mentioned experiencing a “pinch me moment” when she was initially invited to be a counsellor.
She remarked, “I was so overwhelmed by this event, I remember I even preserved my little paper place-marker with my name on it, because the reality was, I wasn’t sure that I belonged.” She continued, “It was just evidence: proof that I was there, proof that I belonged.”
Meghan’s speech, according to Majesty Magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward, “was just’me, me, me’ and applauding herself.”
A cordial welcome had been extended to Meghan and Harry. However, a large portion of a 100-person audience booed the couple from behind a barrier only yards away moments earlier as they exited their vehicle.
Witnesses said that the booing was so loud that “there was no question they would have heard.” A poster that said, “FO Harry and Me-Gain Fake Royals,” was carried by one demonstrator.
A lady from Manchester who went under the name of Janet accused Meghan of attacking the Royal Family and being a “liar and hypocrite.” She said, “She’s a faux feminist and a fake humanitarian.”
She is a social climber who believed she could become famous in the Royal Family and is the most poisonous, polarising person I have ever heard of.
A body language expert revealed on Twitter that throughout the seven-minute speech, Meghan made 54 references to herself.
Meghan just shared one short tale about another woman despite being chosen to speak on gender equality. The Duchess of Sussex recalled working with a young Eritrean lady her first year at One Young World in Dublin.
She had fled her own country while being shot at from above. I can still clearly recall it, she replied.
“I remember my amazement, but I also remember her bravery, and I remember realising how much still happens every day while so many people choose to ignore it.”
Despite all the obstacles, she persisted, just like so many others.
Meghan was criticised by royal authorities for giving a speech that “lacked substance” and was filled with illogical and false remarks following the speech.
Majesty Magazine’s Ingrid Seward told The Sun, “I can’t imagine or understand how the 2,000 young people comprehended a word of what she was talking about.”
It was illogical. Everything was centred on her and linked to her.
“I doubt she understood what she was talking about,” I said. Only “me, me, me” and self-aggrandizement were present.