Meghan and Harry head to Dusseldorf for Invictus Games event

Next stop, Germany! Meghan Markle and Prince Harry head to Dusseldorf TODAY for Invictus Games event where they will be protected by private security again after travelling to Manchester by train

Meghan and Harry are heading to Germany today on the next leg of their pseudo-royal tour of the UK and Europe.

The couple, who are staying at Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, are jetting to Dusseldorf for the launch of the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023, the Paralympic-style event for servicemen and women founded by the prince.

They will meet officials and potential competitors ahead of selection later this year, as well as athletes’ friends and family. On Thursday the couple will attend the WellChild Awards, which celebrate the bravery of young people from across the UK who have coped with a serious illness or disability.

The red carpet is being rolled out for the Sussexes on their first ever visit to Germany – even though their trip is as private citizens.

The couple will be given the same sort of welcome afforded to visiting heads of state when they arrive for a reception and book signing at the town hall in Dusseldorf today.

City officials insist the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is private and they will be protected by their own security team with the couple footing the bill. But German police will also be involved primarily on crowd control in the market square where Harry, 37, and Meghan, 41, begin their visit around 12.30pm.

A police source said temporary roadblocks will be set up along the route from Dusseldorf airport to the city centre to allow the convoy of vehicles transporting Harry and Meghan to avoid being stuck in traffic.

Harry and Meghan (pictured at the One Young World summit in Manchester on Monday) are in Germany on Tuesday to start the countdown to the Invictus Games being held in Dusseldorf next September

The Sussexes’ visit to Dusseldorf will include an hour-long scenic cruise along the Rhine on a ‘party boat’ usually packed with tourists

Harry and Meghan will emerge from their car onto a red carpet and walk across the market square to the entrance to the town hall which dates back to the 16th century (prepared interior pictured)

Last minute preparations included red and white flowers – the official colours of the city – being placed around the entrance to the town hall.

Where will Harry and Meghan visit on their European tour?

Monday, 5 September: One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit

The Sussexes are travelling to Manchester on Monday where Meghan, 41, is due to give a speech on gender equality. The summit brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries.

The area around Bridgewater Hall, which is hosting the summit, will be cleared for 90 minutes ahead of the couple’s arrival, The Times reports.

However, Harry and Meghan have asked private security firms to provide a ‘ring of steel’ in Manchester for their appearance at the forum.

The event runs from 6pm to 8pm.

Tuesday, 6 September: Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023

After Monday’s trip to Manchester, the Sussexes will travel to Dusseldorf on Tuesday to mark a year before Harry’s next Invictus Games.

Harry previously announced the sixth games would be held in September 2023. He and Meghan attended the 2022 Invictus Games last April in the Netherlands.

Wednesday, 9 September

The Sussexes have no official plans on Wednesday. They have not said whether they intend to visit with the Queen who is at Balmoral in Scotland.

Thursday, 8 September: WellChild Awards

The couple will return to Britain for the WellChild Awards ceremony in London on Thursday, where Harry will deliver a speech.

The WellChild Awards looks to ‘celebrate the inspirational qualities of the UK’s seriously ill children and young people, along with those who go that extra mile to make a difference to their lives.’

The couple are in Germany on Tuesday to start the countdown to the Invictus Games being held in Dusseldorf next September and their visit will include an hour-long scenic cruise along the Rhine on a ‘party boat’ usually packed with tourists.

The afternoon jaunt on the £13m MS Rhein Galaxie will take them along the Rhine to Duisburg and end at the Merkur-Spiel sports stadium where the sports event for disabled military veterans will be held.

As the visit is private there will be no police motorcycle outriders and accompanying police cars will not turn on their flashing blue lights.

But the source said a vehicle carrying a doctor and medical equipment will be part of the convoy for the three-mile drive into the city.

A source with the city of Dusseldorf told Mail Online: ‘Of course this is a private visit, but we do not want anything to go wrong or there to be any incident. We are showcasing the city.

‘They will have their own security teams, but the police area being consulted and will be involved. We are hosts for the Invictus Games and we want everything to run very smoothly.

‘There have been lots of consultations and plans have changed, but we are confident it will be a trouble-free visit.’

Harry and Meghan will emerge from their car onto a red carpet and walk across the market square to the entrance to the town hall which dates back to the 16th century.

After walking up a spiral staircase adorned with red and white flowers they will be joined by the city’s Mayor Stephan Keller.

After speeches from Harry and the Mayor, the couple will sign what is known as the ‘Golden Book’.

The oversized leather-bound volume is signed by all visiting dignitaries to Dusseldorf, the capital of the Rhine-Westphalia region.

The page assigned to the couple has already been prepared with their names in red Roman cursive writing.

Harry is billed as’ Prinz Harry Herzog von Sussex’ while his wife is ‘Meghan, Herzogin von Sussex’ – translated as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Harry is described as the patron of the Invictus Games.

The afternoon jaunt on the £13m MS Rhein Galaxie (pictured) will take Harry and Meghan along the Rhine to Duisberg and end at the Merkur-Spiel sports stadium where the sports event for disabled military veterans will be held

The Golden Book in the Town Hall in Dusseldorf is prepared and ready to be signed by Harry and Meghan at the reception to launch the Invictus Games 2023

The Von Sussexes: The Golden Book at Dusseldorf town hall is ready to be signed by Harry and Meghan on Tuesday

Although there is a balcony in the book signing overlooking the market square the couple will not be stepping out to wave to crowds gathered below.

‘That would not be appropriate,’ said a city official.

A convoy of cars will take the couple to a jetty about two miles away where they will board the Rhein Galaxie for the hour-long cruise along the Rhine.

They will have lunch on board and with warm weather predicted expected to stay on the open top deck rather than sit below on one of the three decks.

The 85m long ship was launched in 2020 but due to the pandemic only came into service five months ago and is the most modern along the fleet of the sightseeing tour operators KD.

The outdoor deck has an 85 square meter dance floor and offers a VIP viewing platforms and an imposing ‘Skywalk’ above the bar

The company boasts that the ship has ‘floor-to-ceiling windows, a stage arranged on the side and a spacious atrium, which connects three decks with one another via an artistically designed ‘feature wall’ with large screens.

It can hold up to 1,000 guests and is used for conferences, trade fairs and parties.

The outdoor deck has an 85 square meter dance floor and offers a VIP viewing platforms and an imposing ‘Skywalk’ above the bar.

Last-minute preparations for the trip were being carried out with tables and flowers being arranged on the open top deck.

The river cruise ship will drop Harry and Meghan off at the sports arena where athletes taking part in the 2023 Invictus Games will be introduced to the couple.

The German military, who are co-organisers of the games, will hold a press conference attended by Harry but he has stipulated he will not take any questions from the media.

With the conference scheduled to end at 5pm UK time the couple will be driven back to the airport for a return flight to London.

Meghan Markle was last night accused of making a speech that just focused on ‘me, me, me’ at the One Young World summit in Manchester as she made at least 54 references to herself during a seven-minute talk to young people billed as being about gender equality.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, made her first address in Britain since Megxit as she opened the event at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester watched by her smiling husband Harry – but the couple had ran a gauntlet of boos as they arrived at the first public engagement of their pseudo-royal tour.

Meghan gave the keynote speech at the One Young World Summit for youth leaders from around the globe – and the welcome was warm as she and her husband walked onto the stage.

It had been touted as a speech about gender equality but Meghan made one anecdote about women during the speech to about 2,000 people. Instead, she gushed about Prince Harry and the ‘life-changing’ impact of becoming a mother to Archie and told the event it was ‘very nice to be back in the UK’.

At one point she spoke of her pride at being a ‘mum’ and appeared emotional when the audience applauded. She then spoke of how her life had ‘changed significantly’ – a reference that may have been related to Archie, the Royal Family and Megxit.

Meghan told the audience of mainly young people about how she first became involved in the organisation in 2014: ‘In many ways I was probably like a lot like you, I was young, ambitious’ and declared they must ‘seize the moment’ and not be crippled by self-doubt.

She questioned how she became successful, referring to herself as ‘the girl from Suits’ who was eventually ‘invited to pull up a seat at the table’ with powerful leaders, prime minsters, humanitarians and activists. And spoke about the first time she was asked to be a counsellor and having a ‘pinch me moment’.

‘I was so overwhelmed by this experience, I think, I think I even saved my little paper place-marker with my name on it’, she said, adding it was ‘Just proof: proof that I was there, proof that I belonged, because the truth was, I wasn’t sure that I belonged.’

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said Meghan’s speech ‘was just “me, me, me” and praising herself.’

Meghan and Harry had been given a warm welcome. But minutes earlier, as the couple climbed out of their car, many in a 100- strong crowd booed from behind a barrier just yards away, with onlookers saying it was so loud ‘there was no doubt they would have heard’. One protester was carrying a sign that read: ‘FO Harry and Me-Gain Fake Royals.’

A woman who gave her name as Janet, from Manchester, accused Meghan of being a ‘liar and a hypocrite’ and of launching an ‘attack’ on the Royal Family. ‘She’s a fake humanitarian and a fake feminist,’ she said. ‘She’s a social climber… she thought she could be a celebrity in the Royal Family and she’s the most toxic, divisive woman I’ve ever heard of in my life.’

Meghan Markle (pictured on Monday) gave a seven-minute speech focused on ‘me, me, me’, royal experts said, during her first address in Britain since Megxit more than two years ago, as she gushed about Prince Harry and the ‘life-changing’ impact of becoming a mother to Archie

Meghan told the event it was ‘very nice to be back in the UK’ before touting her own work with the organisation. Meghan seemingly tried to relate with the youth attendees, telling them: ‘In many ways I was probably like a lot like you, I was young, ambitious.’ The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pictured together at Monday’s event

Meghan also told the audience, made up of young delegates from more than 190 countries, that they are ‘the future, but also the present, driving the positive and necessary change needed across the globe.’ She and Prince Harry are pictured at Manchester Train Station as they make their return to London on Monday night

Harry and Meghan greet one of the founders of the One Young World Summit as they take to the stage on Monday night

Meghan made at least 54 references to herself during the seven-minute talk, a body language analyst revealed

One protester was carrying a sign that read: ‘FO Harry and Me-Gain Fake Royals’

Harry and Meghan arrived back at London’s Euston station on Monday evening after the opening ceremony, They head to Germany today

Meghan referenced herself 54 times in the seven-minute speech, a body language analyst revealed on Twitter.

Despite having been selected to discuss gender equality, Meghan only made one brief anecdote about a woman other than herself. The Duchess of Sussex said that the first year she joined One Young World in Dublin, she worked with a young woman from Eritrea.

‘She had escaped her home country, fleeing with bullets fired above her head. I still remember it so well,’ she said. ‘I remember my shock, and I also remember her courage, my recognition of how much continues to go on each day with so many turning a blind eye. And yet despite all odds, she like so many still persevered.’

Royal experts criticised Meghan after the speech for delivering an address that ‘lacked content’ and was riddled with confusing and insincere commentary.

‘I can’t visualise or comprehend how the 2,000 young people understood a word of what she was talking about,’ Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told The Sun.

‘It made no sense. It was all about her and related everything to herself.

‘I don’t think she knew what she was talking about. It was just ‘me, me, me’ and praising herself.’

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