Meghan Markle Is Headed To Europe For The First Time Since Leaving The Royal Family

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from royal duties in March 2020, they first moved from Frogmore Cottage in the U.K. to stay at Tyler Perry's Los Angeles mansion. By July 2020, the couple moved to Montecito, California, a swish suburb of Santa Barbara (per People). For the most part, they have stayed close to home since, bar a few exceptions. 

Prince Harry returned to England for the funeral of Prince Philip in April 2021; Meghan Markle stayed home on a doctor's advice due to her pregnancy (via Vanity Fair). He also returned to England for the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue in late June, but Markle stayed home with their two kids for that trip (per People). 

Much ado was made about the fact that the couple didn't attend the 2022 memorial for Prince Philip. However, Harry has been working to resolve security issues to keep his family safe during any potential U.K. visit, according to Marie Claire. While Meghan has been stateside since 2020, that's about to change. She will be returning to Europe along with Harry soon for the Invictus Games.

The 2022 Invictus Games will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will both be in attendance, according to royal editor Chris Ship (via Twitter). Currently, there's no info on whether they will be bringing along their kids, Archie and Lilbet. According to The Mirror, the couple will be accompanied by a Netflix documentary crew for the trip. Their company Archewell Productions partnered with Netflix to create a docu-series about the Invictus Games called "Heart of Invictus. According to the Archewell website, it will feature inspiring stories from some of the competitors.

The Invictus Games are an initiative started by Prince Harry, according to the event's website. In 2013 he was inspired by seeing the U.S.-based Warrior Games and how they helped wounded servicemen and women recover mentally and physically. By 2014, London was host to the first Invictus Games, which brought together wounded service members from around the world to compete in adaptive sports (per Town & Country). Harry has stayed on as a patron for the Invictus Games Foundation and attended each games since. 

The event likely has another special meaning for the couple; the 2017 Invictus Games marked the first time Harry and Meghan made a public appearance together (per BBC).