Meghan Markle will travel with Prince Harry to the Invictus Games in Holland next week, on her first trip outside of the US since the couple quit the royal family.
The Mirror can reveal Harry and Meghan will be followed by a Netflix documentary crew throughout the Games, which start next Saturday.
The couple’s decision to attend the event in The Hague has been blasted by palace insiders after Harry claimed it was “too dangerous” to travel to the UK.
He is locked in a legal battle with the UK government over a decision to downgrade his security, and did not show up at a memorial service for his grandfather, Prince Philip, last week.
Ken Wharfe, an ex-Met officer who once protected Harry, said: “I’m baffled about why Harry thinks he would be safer in the Netherlands than the UK.
“He would have travelled to his grandfather’s memorial service with his brother or father and received protection from the Met. It’s not like he would have been turning up at Westminster Abbey on a bike.
“It is more of a risk to go to Holland to support a charity with a military link than coming to London last week.” A spokesman for Harry and Meghan reportedly said: “We take measures based on the security threat level.”
Since ditching their royal roles to seek “financial independence”, Meghan, 40, and Harry, 37, have signed deals with Netflix and Spotify worth more than £100million.
The couple, who now live in California with children Archie, two, and 10-month-old Lilibet, are expected to arrive in Holland on Friday. Harry’s father Prince Charles is understood to have offered an olive branch to smooth relations, offering the Duke of Sussex and his family the opportunity to stay with him and wife Camilla at Highgrove.
But sources close to Charles suggest the invitation “remains unanswered”.
Meghan may join Harry on stage at the Games opening ceremony, insiders promising “a big surprise to launch the event”. A source said: “Meghan is excited to travel with Harry for the event, which is certainly close to his heart.”
The couple’s Archewell Productions last April announced its first major docu-series for Netflix would be titled Heart of Invictus, and follow athletes and organisers from across the world on the road to the Games.
