Prince Harry makes surprise Grey Cup appearance in Vancouver

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VANCOUVER — Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, surprised football fans Sunday, appearing at the Grey Cup in Vancouver before the Toronto Argonauts took on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Wearing a dark dress shirt and long, black jacket, he was interviewed by TSN’s James Duthie at the station’s sideline set, then waved at the crowd before he was quickly escorted away.

Prince Harry later returned to the field with B.C. Lions owner Amar Doman and Canadian Invictus Games athlete Wenshuang Nie.

Nie, a former diesel mechanic and medical officer in the Royal Canadian Navy, is set to compete in wheelchair rugby, swimming, biathlon, and skeleton when the Invictus Games are held in Vancouver and Whistler from Feb. 8 to 16. The trio appeared on the big screen before Prince Harry gave Doman a black and gold Invictus Games jersey. Doman gave him a Grey Cup 2024 jersey in return.

Prince Harry, a former soldier, founded the Games in 2014 as a place for wounded, injured or sick service personnel and veterans from around the world to compete in a variety of sports.

The B.C. iteration will feature winter sports for the first time, including sit-skiing, sit-snowboarding, curling, biathlon and skeleton.

More than 500 athletes from 23 nations are set to compete in the Games, which were held in Toronto in 2017.

Prince Harry visited Whistler’s famed Olympic sliding track in May and slid down it headfirst on a skeleton sled, topping speeds of 99 kilometres per hour.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, joined him on that trip, appearing at training events in Whistler and a dinner in Vancouver.