<p><strong>TL;DR: </strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Prince Harry recalled his first public appearance at the 2017 Invictus Games with Meghan Markle in <em>Spare</em>. </li>
<li>He also noted “the Palace” didn’t respond when Meghan Markle was “slammed” for wearing ripped jeans. </li>
<li>“No one mentioned that everything she wore, down to the flats and button-down shirt, had been pre-approved by the Palace,” he said. </li>
<li>A statement “in defense of Meg,” he explained, “might’ve made a world of difference.”</li>
</ul>
<figure class=”wp-block-image aligncenter size-full”><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1200″ height=”800″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-the-2017-Invictus-Games-their-first-public-appearance-together.jpg?strip=all&quality=95″ alt=”Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who wrote in ‘Spare’ that a statement from ‘the Palace’ in ‘defense of Meg’ might’ve ‘made a world of difference’, attend the 2017 Invictus Games” class=”wp-image-3437534″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-the-2017-Invictus-Games-their-first-public-appearance-together.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-the-2017-Invictus-Games-their-first-public-appearance-together.jpg?w=150&h=100 150w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-the-2017-Invictus-Games-their-first-public-appearance-together.jpg?w=640&h=427 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-the-2017-Invictus-Games-their-first-public-appearance-together.jpg?w=768&h=512 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-the-2017-Invictus-Games-their-first-public-appearance-together.jpg?w=1024&h=683 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-the-2017-Invictus-Games-their-first-public-appearance-together.jpg?w=90&h=60 90w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation</figcaption></figure>
<p><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/prince-harry/”>Prince Harry</a>’s list of grievances with the royal family is long. Among them, how “the Palace” handled his first public appearance with <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/meghan-markle/”>Meghan Markle</a> at the 2017 Invictus Games. Specifically, what <em>didn’t</em> happen when the Duchess of Sussex got “slammed” for wearing ripped jeans. Ahead, what the Duke of Sussex said about <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/prince-harry-remembers-2017-toronto-invictus-games-meghan-markle-lot.html/”>attending the 2017 Invictus Games</a> with Meghan and in his <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/4-questions-prince-harry-answered-spare-3-didnt.html/”><em>Spare</em> memoir</a> and what he believed “might’ve made a world of difference.” </p>
<h2>Harry believed a statement defending Meghan amid outfit criticism after 2017 Invictus Games ‘might’ve made a world of difference’</h2>
<p>Thinking back to that sunny day in September 2017, Harry recalled what came of his and Meghan’s first public appearance together at the Toronto Invictus Games. </p>
<p>“The photos that appeared the following day were sweet,” he wrote (via <em><a href=”https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/727238/spare-by-prince-harry-the-duke-of-sussex/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Spare</a></em>). However, the reactions weren’t all glowing. Harry remembered how “several in the British press slammed Meg for <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/prince-harry-noticed-marked-difference-meghan-markle-kate-middleton-met.html/”>wearing ripped jeans</a>.” </p>
<p>What bothered Harry was that the palace stayed silent on the matter. “No one mentioned that everything she wore, down to the flats and button-down shirt, had been pre-approved by the Palace,” he said. To clarify who he was referring to, Harry added, “And by ‘no one,’ I mean not anyone at the Palace.” </p>
<p>“One statement, that week, in defense of Meg … it might’ve made a world of difference,” Harry added. </p>
<h2>Harry and Meghan were ‘nervous’ to make their first public appearance at the 2017 Invictus Games</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio”><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<div class=”jetpack-video-wrapper”><iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Prince Harry, Meghan Markle in first public appearance” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/vNJxHXqGzso?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
</div></figure>
<p><br>Despite the “sweet” images it produced and body language analysis about their compatibility, Harry and Meghan were both “nervous” about making their debut. </p>
<p>“Meg was a bit nervous. Me too,” Harry recalled. “But we had no choice. Has to be done, we said. We’ve hidden from the world long enough.” </p>
<p>The palace, he explained, had decided the games, which “by pure chance” were taking place in “Meg’s backyard,” would be the “perfect occasion” for their “first official public outing.” </p>
<p>Not only that but it “would be the most controlled, predictable environment we could ever hope for,” Harry explained. “Above all, once we did a public date, it might reduce the bounty on our heads among the paps, which at that point was running at around a hundred thousand pounds.”</p>
<h2>Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tried to make their public debut ‘as normal as possible’</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image aligncenter size-full”><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” width=”1200″ height=”866″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-their-first-public-appearance-the-2017-Invictus-Games.jpg?strip=all&quality=95″ alt=”Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who thought a statement defending Meghan Markle from the palace might’ve helped after their first public appearance at the 2017 Invictus Games, clap” class=”wp-image-3437549″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-their-first-public-appearance-the-2017-Invictus-Games.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-their-first-public-appearance-the-2017-Invictus-Games.jpg?w=640&h=462 640w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-their-first-public-appearance-the-2017-Invictus-Games.jpg?w=768&h=554 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-their-first-public-appearance-the-2017-Invictus-Games.jpg?w=1024&h=739 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-their-first-public-appearance-the-2017-Invictus-Games.jpg?w=83&h=60 83w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Meghan-Markle-and-Prince-Harry-at-their-first-public-appearance-the-2017-Invictus-Games.jpg?w=150&h=108 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation</figcaption></figure>
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<p>Harry, now 38, recalled how he and Meghna did their best to make the 2017 Invictus Games like any other day. They “tried to make the whole thing as normal as possible,” he remembered in <em>Spare</em>. </p>
<p>Harry and Meghan “watched wheelchair tennis from the front row.” They “focused on the game and the good cause.” Through it all, Harry noted, they “ignored the whir of cameras” and “managed to have fun, to crack a few jokes” with nearby spectators. </p>