The Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated Harry’s 39th birthday at a German beer house this evening, drinking some of Dusseldorf’s best lagers and eating traditional dishes.
Prince Harry, who will celebrate his birthday tomorrow, tucked into plates of bratwurst sausage Wiener Schnitzel, red cabbage and mashed potato.
With wife Meghan and a dozen member of his aides he was seen by diners laughing and joking as the food arrived at his table in the restaurant ‘Im Goldened Kessel’ restaurant.
At the end of the evening the couple posed for photos with the staff at Schumacher, with Meghan sporting yet another chic outfit.
Appearing to stick with the white skinny jeans she opted for to watch the sitting volleyball match earlier today, Meghan chose a red and dark grey pinstriped shirt and nude ballet pumps. Meanwhile Harry chose dark jeans and a grey top.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated Harry’s 39th birthday, which is tomorrow, in a German beer house this evening
He and Meghan happily posed for photographs with the owner of the restaurant Thea Ungermann and head waiter Frank Wackers who happily shared them with Mail Online.
Thea said: ‘He was a lovely man and was having a very jolly time. Meghan was lovely.’
During his meal, Harry was presented with a birthday cake by staff at the restaurant, part of the Schumacher brewery and based in the old town of the city of Dusseldorf.
The former royal and his party took up two table and were served their food and beer by head waiter Frank Wackers, who has worked at the restaurant for 38 years.
He told Mail Online Harry was served six small beers – about half a pint rather than the litre sized beers most German breweries serve.
He said Harry and his party were served Wiener Schnitzel, Pork knuckle, sausage and plates of roast and mashed potato.
Frank said:’ They were very happy. He is a lovely man, and they were so nice.’
Other diners left the party alone, but they were not shy in allowing others to take photographs.
Frank joked Harry’s bodyguard Chris Sanchez asked what was the beer like and when he told him was awful.
‘He said that he would kill me if the beer was bad, but I know he was joking.’
Sanchez, a former Secret Service bodyguard, happily posed up with the waiter.
The owner of the restaurant said Harry picked up the bill and left a big tip for the staff.
Harry and his party had driven from their hotel in the Media Harbour of the city and were dropped off by a pedestrian area.
They walked the 50 yards to the restaurant past other bars before occupying two tables in a raised section of the restaurant which is next door to a McDonalds.
The party drank the locally brewed beer called Alt Schumacher which is also served at the Merkur Spiel-Arena where the Invictus Games are held.
Restaurant owner Thea said: ‘The couple were very relaxed, they drank our beer, Schumacher Alt – it’s the same beer they are serving at the Invictus Games.
‘Harry and Meghan sat next to each other during the meal. I had goosebumps when they walked into the restaurant, I had watched his speech on the stage at the Invictus Games and couldn’t believe he was in my restaurant. Prince Harry was so lovely and gave me a hug.’
The restaurant posted the group photo Harry and Meghan posing with staff on their social media.
Harry is thought to have had an early 39th party as he will be busy with events at the games on Friday.
Earlier today, the Duchess enjoyed the excitement in the Murker Spiel Arena as she and Harry watched the sitting volleyball match between Nigeria and Ukraine.
She opted for a white cable knit vest from Ralph Lauren with matching white jeans and black pumps as she cheered on Nigeria in the hard-fought match.
For her first engagement of the day, a meeting with NATO officials, she sported a brown silky shirt and trousers to join Prince Harry at the Invictus Games.
The mother-of-two, 42, opted for a monochrome ensemble with two-tones of brown, while wearing £1200 wide-leg silk trousers from Gabriel Hearst, which she previously sported to the One Young World roundtable in 2022.
While she has opted for inexpensive high street looks in her last few appearance, the Duchess went high end today – and paired the look with £165 oversized Miu Miu sunglasses and a £365 Dani Blouse from French designer L’agence.
Showing off her natural beauty, the royal let her hair long and loose and sported a natural make-up look while boosting her height with £590 heels from Manolo Blahnik.
Adding even more glamour to the look, the royal wore Princess Diana ‘s £17,800 Cartier watch and but swapped out her $62,000 Lorraine Schwartz pinky ring made with ‘diamonds gifted from the Middle East’ for a $2,800 1972 tennis pinky ring from Shiffon and Co.
Meghan Markle opted for another muted outfit today as she sported a brown silky shirt and trousers to join Prince Harry at the Invictus Games
While she has opted for inexpensive high street looks in her last few appearance, the Duchess went high end today – and paired the look with £165 oversized Miu Miu sunglasses
Meghan wowed in the all brown ensemble as she headed out
The mother-of-two, 42, opted for a monochrome ensemble with two-tones of brown, while wearing $1,490 wide-leg silk trousers from Gabriel Hearst, which she previously sported to the One Young World roundtable in 2022
She paired the look with £165 oversized Miu Miu sunglasses and a £365 Dani Blouse from French designer L’agence
She added her £5,000 Cartier love bracelet to the look as she walked hand-in-hand with Prince Harry.
Meghan has opted for an array on monochrome outfits for the first day on the Invictus Games in Germany today.
The Duchess of Sussex , 42, boarded a plane from Los Angeles to Europe in an all black ensemble, before quickly getting ready in her Dusseldorf hotel room and heading to the games in a black shirt dress from Banana Republic, which she paired with black shoes and a black belt.
She then appeared on Wednesday in a black and white number – with white shorts, a black tank top and a white cardigan from J Crew.
Then the royal opted for go all black again, in black jeans, heels and a tank top – which she paired with a white blazer.
Despite often wearing colour while a working royal, Meghan claimed she ‘toned down’ her wardrobe while she living in the UK to avoid clashing with more senior members of the Royal Family .
The Duchess of Sussex made the claims in the third episode of her Netflix series.
She explained: ‘Most of the time I was in the UK, I rarely wore colour.
Adding even more glamour to the look, the royal wore Princess Diana ‘s £17,800 Cartier watch and but swapped out her $62,000 Lorraine Schwartz pinky ring made with ‘diamonds gifted from the Middle East’ for a $2,800 1972 tennis pinky ring from Shiffon and Co
She added her £5,000 Cartier love bracelet to the look as she walked hand-in-hand with Prince Harry
‘To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same colour as Her Majesty if there’s a group event but then you also shouldn’t be wearing the same colour as one of the other more senior members of the family.’
To respect this rumoured royal protocol, Meghan says she started dressing almost exclusively in shades of camel, beige and white.
She continued: ‘I wore a lot of muted tones but it was also so I could just blend in. I’m not trying to stand out here.
‘There was no version of me [that was] joining this family and trying not to do everything I could to fit in. I don’t want to embarrass the family.’
So it appears that Meghan is shunning the spotlight in muted tones again.
On her way to the games, she opted for a decidedly casual look in a 773 Ulla Johnson sailor-style Polina wide-legged trousers with a matching navy V-neck jumper.
Flats were the order of the day, and the mother-of-two, who travelled with aides to the California airport donned a favoured pair of $770 Valentino ‘Roman Stud’ mules in ivory calfskin.
Meghan Markle appeared to make a subtle nod to the Queen as she flew to Germany today as she opted to carry one of the late monarch’s favourite scarves in her bag
Meghan opted for a black outfit with a white blazer to meet athletes
It was the accessories that stole the sartorial show in this particular ensemble however, with Meghan, 42, carrying a $2,650 Goyard ‘St. Louis PM’ tote bag, in which a designer scarf, believed to be a $1,200 Rayures d’Ete Shawl from Hermes, was draped.
For her first appearance, Meghan then looked radiant in a black shirt dress from Banana Republic, costing £112.
She paired her dress with black pumps and wore her thick brunette locks down and brushed behind one shoulder to reveal her £595 Kimaï hoop earrings.
She continued she can mix high street and high end in $98 J Crew linen shorts and a black tank top which she paired with a £177 J Crew blazer, Givenchy belt and £910 Chanel shoes,
The Duchess of Sussex , 42, boarded a plane from Los Angeles to Europe in an all black ensemble, before quickly getting ready in her Dusseldorf hotel room and heading to the games in a black shirt dress from Banana Republic, which she paired with black shoes and a black belt (pictured)
She then appeared on Wednesday in a black and white number – with white shorts, a black tank top and a white cardigan from J Crew
Meghan Markle appeared to make a subtle nod to the Queen as she flew to Germany today as she opted to carry one of the late monarch’s favourite scarves in her bag
She was later snapped during the Swimming Finals with a pair of £620 cream Hermès Get sneakers, made from canvas and calfskin, and emblazoned with an ‘H’ motif.
And she added some bling to the outfit with a pair of £2,000 Luna Skye earrings, shaped like leaves, and boasting baguette diamonds.
Harry’s time in Afghanistan inspired him to launch the sporting event but the Prince and Princess of Wales were central to its initial success.
The couple’s now-defunct foundation formed with the Duke of Sussex hoovered up sponsors and spent huge sums of cash to get Invictus up and running.
Nine years ago Harry, his father and brother stood united as they attended the opening ceremony and multiple events at the first ever Invictus Games in London – but the new King and his heir have had zero involvement since Harry met Meghan and they all fell out.
Officials have said that despite Harry’s passion for Invictus, which is growing in size, there have been plenty of seats at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf. Some believe that the involvement of Charles, William and Kate would change that.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex held hands, cosied up to one another and were seen affectionately leaning towards each other as they attended the wheelchair basketball finale at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany
Meghan, 42, was seen shyly looking towards her husband, 38, who appeared to sweetly whisper in her ear during one candid moment, while another showed Harry wrapping his arm around his wife as they watched the nail-biting action on court
Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex watch the basketball at the Invictus Games yesterday – cheering on the Americans
Meghan Markle and the Duke of Sussex at the games on Wednesday as the Royal Family stay quiet on Invictus. Harry couldn’t look at one point
Harry points something out to his laughing wife
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, hands out medals to the winning USA wheelchair basketball team
The Duchess hugged one of the stars of the tournament
The Duchess of Sussex was very vocal as she watched one of the events yesterday
Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at the medal presentation of the wheelchair basketball
The Prince and Princess of Wales have both been at the rugby World Cup in France in the past week while King Charles and Queen Camilla and other senior royals have been at the Highland Games.
One Team GB insider told The Telegraph: ‘The athletes find it bizarre but don’t want to get caught up in the royal crossfire.’
This year’s games in Germany are the biggest ever involving 22 nations and 500-plus athletes. Harry has been there from start to finish, joining in with clapping and dancing in the crowd, and joking about going out on the beers at the end of the day.
Many have enjoyed seeing the Harry of old, high fiving children and singing Sweet Caroline in the days before his wife Meghan arrived.
But there has been no word from his family in the UK.
Double amputee Ben McBean, who was on the same return flight from Afghanistan as Harry in 2008 and credited with inspiring the Duke to launch Invictus, said he understood both sides of the ‘rift’ between the brothers but added that they should have put their differences aside.
He told The Telegraph: ‘Saying that, they should have just given the lads a shout out. It’s like when we went to Afghanistan, no one supported the war, but they supported the troops. It’s the same thing’.
Palace sources reportedly say that members of the Royal family never involve themselves in each others’ professional endeavours, and they would not expect the Duke to voice support for the finalists of William’s Earthshot Prize, for example.
One critic of Harry said: ‘Harry has never supported any of latest William‘s projects, not Earthshot when he is president of African Parks and advocate for climate change, no word about Homewards either but they insist William must supportInvictus. I’m so tired of this nonsense’.
Harry and Meghan share a private moment
Meghan smiles to the crowds at an event last night
Harry and Meghan are now the only two royals involved. William and Kate had supported it in the past
Meghan attends the medal ceremony and hands over a medal to the winning team
The Duke of Sussex and Meghan Duchess of Sussex are seen at the wheelchair basketball final between the United States and France
Prince Harry speaks enthusiastically to a Team GB supporter
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meets Glory Essien at the ‘Friends @ Home Event’ at the Station Airport during day three of the Invictus Games
Earlier this month King Charles attended the Highland Games – an event which was a firm favourite of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II – with the Duchess of Cornwall.
They were joined by Anne, Princess Royal, and her husband Sir Timothy Laurence at the games which have been a part of Scotland’s culture for hundreds of years.
Critics argue the royal family’s ‘ill-will’ towards Harry should not be held against the disabled veterans who are competing.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were integral in the early stages of the Invictus Games.
The Royal Foundation, which was shared by Prince Harry at the time – invested significant amounts of money in the event.
Meanwhile Harry’s brother Prince William continued with his charity work yesterday in London, visiting a building site to discuss the mental health of construction workers.
His sister-in-law Kate has also been carrying out royal visits this week, going to HMP High Down in Surrey on Tuesday to learn more about the work of an addiction charity.
King Charles III visited Tomintoul in the Cairngorms where he was welcomed by primary school children and community stalwarts.
An anonymous UK media strategist said: ‘It’s ironic Buckingham Palace has had more to say about the Highland Games than the Invictus Games, despite the honorary military roles they hold.
‘In doing so, the palace ends up looking mean-spirited and petty. The ill will against Harry should not be held against the Invictus competitors.’
The Invictus Games is one of the big projects that Prince Harry has continued since his departure from the royal family.
He was given a hero’s welcome in Germany by those attending the latest iteration of the competition he founded for wounded and disabled military veterans.
Harry arrived at the event trailed by dozens of excited schoolchildren who had been given time off from studies to attend.
He has said he plans to attend as many events as he can during the week-long competition.
On Tuesday, Meghan Markle joined the Duke at the games held at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, where the pair were seen smiling and rejoicing as they watched numerous sporting events. The Duchess was seen sporting a stars and stripes badge as she cheered her home country on during the wheelchair basketball game between USA and France yesterday.
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