Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Didn’t Bring Archie and Lili to the Invictus Games
Sorry, royal fans! Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet weren’t at the 2025 Invictus Games with their parents, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. So why didn’t the Duke and Duchess of Sussex bring their children to Canada for the first-ever Winter edition of games? Because, according to royal experts, Archie and Lili’s lives are still “incredibly private.”
No Sussex family moment with Archie and Lili at the Invictus Games
Harry and Meghan didn’t attend the 2025 Invictus Games from Feb. 8-16, 2025, with Archie and Lili in tow. Instead, it was a parents-only trip. Meghan joined Harry for the first five days before returning home to Montecito, Calif., while he stayed for the remainder of the competition.
During the Feb. 13 episode of “A Right Royal Podcast,” hosts Emmy Griffiths and Andrea Caamano discussed Archie and Lili’s absence with royal editor Emily Nash and ITV’s royal journalist Lizzie Robinson.
“Given the fact that the children are able to live a much more private life than their cousins…for example, because their roles are different,” Nash told listeners, “I don’t see why they [Harry and Meghan] would put them [Archie and Lili] in that arena at this point.”
Robinson echoed Nash’s comment, saying, “They have sort of kept the children incredibly private. I know we saw snippets of them in the Netflix docuseries [Harry & Meghan]. But really, the children have lived an incredibly private life,” she added, saying the “the next Invictus Games will be interesting” due to their U.K. location.
Harry and Meghan mentioned their kids at the games and brought gifts home from Canada
Although Archie and Lili weren’t at the Invictus Games they weren’t far from their parents’ minds. Both Harry and Meghan mentioned their son and daughter at various times throughout the Invictus Games, which kicked off on Feb. 8, 2025.
At the opening ceremonies, Meghan introduced Harry to the stage and in the process mentioned their kids not once but twice.
“With families…the big rush in the morning and getting ready for school and packing the lunchboxes and making breakfast and my husband is in all of that with all of us,” Meghan said (via Harper’s Bazaar.) “And then he’ll be on his phone, and Archie will say, ‘Papa, why are you on your phone?’ and he’s like, ‘Because it’s Invictus, I’m getting ready for Invictus.’”
Moments later, Meghan described Harry as “father of our very sweet, excited children, who will cheer you on from California” as he took the stage. Harry, for his part, mentioned discussing landmines with Archie at one point during the games.
While Archie and Lili didn’t get to join their parents, Meghan brought back some goodies to share with them. In a Feb. 11, 2025, post to her Instagram Stories, the former Suits star snapped a photo of treats—chocolate, Tim Hortons’ Timbits, personalized jerseys with the kids’ names, etc.— she brought back to Montecito after her five days in Canada.
Harry ‘absolutely’ wants Archie and Lili to experience the Invictus Games
In a Feb. 14, 2025, interview with Town & Country, Harry opened up about his desire to bring Archie and Lili to the Invictus Games. Asked if he hopes to bring his kids to the games “one day,” the 40-year-old replied: “Absolutely.”
“I’d love for them to experience the Invictus spirit firsthand one day,” Harry said. “Right now, they’re still young.” (Archie turns 6 on May 6, 2025. Meanwhile, Lili turns 4 on June 4, 2025.) “But we already talk about the importance of resilience, community, and service—everything Invictus represents.”
The next Invictus Games are in Birmingham, England, in July 2027. By that time Archie and Lili will be eight and six, respectively. So, there’s certainly a chance they could be there. Although Harry’s ongoing security lawsuit may prevent them from attending.
Until then there’s still the chance that royal fans may catch a glimpse of Archie and Lili in their mom’s upcoming cooking series, With Love, Meghan, which premieres March 4, 2025, on Netflix.
