Meghan Markle has picked up a new nickname at Prince Harry’s Invictus Games!
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, made her sporting event debut on Wednesday in Düsseldorf, Germany, joining her husband at the sixth edition of his international adaptive sports competition for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans. Meghan and Prince Harry, 38, watched a wheelchair basketball game between Ukraine and Australia, checked out a children’s event and spent time with the Nigerian team, whom Harry said his wife is supporting during his opening speech on Saturday.
"Now, I'm not saying we play favorites in our home, but since my wife discovered she's of Nigerian descent, it's likely to get a little bit more competitive this year," he joked at the opening ceremony. Last fall, the Duchess of Sussex revealed on her podcast Archetypes that she had recently learned she was 43% Nigerian thanks to a genealogy test.
Nigeria, along with Colombia and Israel, are new entrants at the Invictus Games this year, which welcomed 21 nations and 500 athletes to Düsseldorf.
Prince Harry and Meghan posed for a photo with Team Nigeria and the national flag, and Hello! magazine reported the squad presented them with a plaque from the Chief of Defense — plus a new nickname for Meghan. According to the outlet, she received the name “Amira Ngozi Lolo,” which bears a royal meaning. Amira is the name of a warrior princess from a legend, while Ngozi means "blessed" and Lolo means "royal wife."
The former actress married Prince Harry in May 2018, and the newlyweds received their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles from Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth as a wedding present. While the couple stepped back from their royal roles in the U.K. and relocated to Meghan’s home state of California in 2020, they retained their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles.
The Invictus Games have been the backdrop for many sweet milestones in Prince Harry and Meghan’s relationship. King Charles’ younger son — who served for a decade in the British Army and deployed twice to Afghanistan — founded the Invictus Games in 2014. Harry was inspired to launch the Paralympic-style competition after attending the 2013 Warrior Games in the U.S., amplifying the transformative power of sport for those who have served.
The 2023 Invictus Games opened on Saturday, while sporting events officially began on Sunday and are set to run until Sept. 16 for the tournament’s sixth cycle. The event has previously been held in London (2014), Orlando (2016), Toronto (2017), Sydney (2018) and The Hague (2022). In 2025, the Invictus Games will return to North America and take place in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.
Harry and Meghan famously made their debut as a couple at the 2017 Toronto games, where Meghan lived while filming Suits, and were all smiles at Invictus 2018 in Syndey, days after Kensington Palace announced she was pregnant with their first child, Prince Archie, 4. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex went on to welcome daughter Princess Lilibet, 2. On Tuesday, Meghan said that she and her husband “can’t wait” to bring their children to the Invictus Games one day and explained that she wasn’t at the initial Invictus kickoff in Düsseldorf in order to spend some extra time with Archie and Lili.
"It is so special to be here, and I'm so sorry that I was a little late for the party. Just like so many of you, we know this is about family and friends and the community that Invictus has created, that Fischer House has created, and so I had to just spend a little bit more time getting our little ones settled home,” the Duchess of Sussex said at the Family & Friends party, which she attended with Harry after traveling in from California, according to Hello!. “Getting milkshakes, doing school drop off and then I just landed a couple of hours ago. I am thrilled that the first event that I can do with Invictus is here with all of you.”
Meghan went on to thank the Fisher House for organizing the festive event and revealed that she recently paid a visit to one of the organization’s Los Angeles hubs.The Fisher House Foundation provides a home away from home for military and veteran families while their loved ones are hospitalized, and operates 94 Fisher Houses in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.
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Celebrating competitors and sharing support from those “here in spirit,” Meghan concluded, "Have the best time, we're cheering for you, and we can't wait to bring our kids also so they can experience just how awesome this is.”
While speaking to PEOPLE about the Invictus Games last year, Prince Harry shared what he wanted his kids to know about his time in the military.
“That I am grateful for every experience I had in and out of my uniform. That I learned how to be in true service for others. That finding your purpose is one of the most gratifying experiences. And that working hard should be fulfilling and rewarding at the same time,” Prince Harry told PEOPLE.
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