Break off the old (ice) block? Prince Harry follows in the footsteps of his late grandmother The Queen as he drops the puck ahead of the Vancouver Canucks game – but has an awkward blunder and has to tell him to let it go
Prince Harry followed in his grandmother’s footsteps last night when he dropped the puck while attending an NHL hockey game with Meghan Markle.
The Duke, 39, and Duchess, 42, of Sussex made a surprise visit to the game, where they watched the Vancouver Canucks beat the San Jose Sharks 3-1 from a VIP box at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena.
When the Canucks won the game, Harry jumped up and Meghan put down her wine glass so they could both dance to celebrate the win to Simple Minds’ hit Don’t You Forget About Me.
And in a poignant moment reminiscent of Elizabeth II in 2002, when she attended a game during an 11-day tour of Canada to celebrate her golden jubilee, Harry initiated the action by dropping the puck.
A photo of the moment reflected the action the Queen took when she threw the puck to start a match between the same teams – although Harry’s attempt to throw the puck was reportedly more awkward than his grandmother’s.
The late Queen Elizabeth II dropped the puck in 2002 when the same teams played on her Golden Jubilee tour while she was on an 11-day tour of Canada
Prince Harry (pictured, center) dropping the puck. He was reportedly told to throw the puck, according to player Tomáš Hertl, who said the Royal simply continued to hold the puck and smiled.
Queen Elizabeth II dropped the ceremonial puck during a 2002 game, also between the Vancouver Canucks and the San Jose Sharks, during her two-week Golden Jubilee tour of Canada.
It was the first NHL game the Queen had attended since 1951, when she, still a princess, and Prince Philip watched the Montreal Canadiens play the New York Rangers.
One difference between the puck photos is that her grandson looks much less formal during his performance, wearing an all-dark outfit. He paired dark trousers with a matching sweater over a white shirt, blazer and trainers.
Meanwhile, the 2002 photo shows the late monarch dressed in one of her iconic one-color outfits, with a maroon dress, paired with her favorite black heels and patent handbag.
Another difference, according to local reports, is that the Prince needed some help when it came to what was expected from the puck drop.
According to San Jose’s NHL star Tomáš Hertl, who spoke after the game about the experience of meeting Harry: “I actually had to tell him [to drop the puck] because he keeps holding on and smiling.
‘I said, ‘It’s time to drop it.’ But it’s a cool moment. I will definitely remember that.’
Meanwhile, Canucks coach Rick Tocchet suggested his fist bump with the Royal was somewhat awkward.
Regards! Prince Harry shakes hands with the Canucks’ Quinn Hughes during the outing in Vancouver
The royal was all smiles as he dropped the puck before the game, just like his grandmother did in 2002
Harry joked with the players after walking onto the ice ahead of the game at Rogers Arena
He said, ‘I fist bumped him, I don’t know if you’re allowed to do that. I did it, he did it. He kind of looked at me, but he did it.”
The Sussexes watched the match from the VIP box, where they were joined by local Indigenous leaders, British Columbia Prime Minister David Eby and the region’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sports, Lana Popham.
And Harry and Meghan weren’t alone for their night out: they were joined by Markus Anderson.
Markus is a friend of Meghan from Toronto, whom she knew from when she lived there filming Suits.
As Chief Membership Officer of lifestyle chain Soho House, Markus helped organize Meghan’s first date with Harry in London and has been described as the second most important man in her life after her British husband.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are photographed in their seats during the first period of the ice hockey match
Meghan Markle (photo) smiles as she takes her seat after an exciting moment in the hockey game
Meghan Markle celebrates during the NHL game in Canada – a country that is very important to her and Harry because it is the place where they started having sex. Her boyfriend Markus Anderson is with her. He was the man who organized the Sussexes’ first date
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured) are seen cozying up in their box at Rogers Arena last night
It was Markus who arranged a private room at Soho House in London for the couple’s first date from Montecito, while Meghan organized a low-key hen night ahead of her 2018 wedding at Soho Farmhouse in Chipping Norton, UK.
He originally invited her to join Soho House when she was still a TV soap actress in Toronto, and it was Markus who facilitated all of Harry and Meghan’s early dates in London and Oxfordshire.
Harry and Meghan’s The sports outing comes just days after Meghan’s surprise arrival at the Variety Power Of Women event in Los Angeles to celebrate women’s achievements in entertainment.
The former Suits actress said she was “delighted” to return to the entertainment industry with Archewell Productions and is “really proud” of the projects they have completed so far, including docuseries Harry & Meghan and Heart Of Invictus.
The Duke and Duchess appeared on the jumbotron at Rogers Arena last night when the match was tied 0-0
The Duke of Sussex was seen at one point explaining what had happened in the game when his wife appeared confused
She also teased future projects, saying, “We have so many exciting things planned…I can’t wait until we can announce them, but I’m just really proud of what we’re creating. My husband loves it too and that’s a lot of fun.’
Experts told MailOnline they believe the flood of A-list appearances is a PR tactic to pitch for lucrative work and create new buzz around Meghan and her husband.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are inside Canada for work promoting the next Invictus Games, to be held in Vancouver and Whistler in February 2025.
The Invictus Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler in February 2025 and will include winter sports for the first time.
For the first time, adaptive winter sports such as downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and curling will be included in the program of week-long events hosted in the seaside town of Whistler.