Prince Harry’s pseudo-royal tour of Canada has continued with a glittering gala for veterans where he used his speech to speak of his bond with the Commonwealth nation’s troops when he toured Afghanistan and crack jokes about going bald.
The Duke of Sussex’s return to Canada follows the historic Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, which marked the Games’ first-ever winter edition earlier this year.
His visit to Canada ahead of Remembrance Sunday came as his wife relaunched her acting career in Hollywood.
It also clashed with his older brother Prince William’s five-day trip to Brazil to promote his Earthshot Prize – but Harry insists it was not deliberate.
Dressed in black tie and wearing his service medals, Harry entered True Patriot Love’s National Tribute Dinner in Toronto alongside veterans last night.
After bagpipes played, the Duke then spoke on stage about his personal connection with Canada’s military, from his training in Alberta to serving alongside Canadian Armed Forces members during his deployment in Afghanistan.
There were also laughs as he apologised over the row over his and Meghan’s decision to wear LA Dodgers caps at the World Series last week instead of supporting Toronto’s Blue Jays.
‘I apologise for wearing a Dodgers hat’, he said, before joking that the cap had also helped hide how much his hair is thinning.
There were more guffaws in the crowd of 500 when he made a gag about the lights on stage bouncing off his bald spot.
Prince Harry delivers remarks at the True Patriot Love’s National Tribute Dinner in Toronto, where he praised canada’s veterans and also made jokes about going bald
Harry is in Canada ahead of Remembrance Sunday
True Patriot Love is run by Nick Booth, a former aide to Harry and William, and the organisation has been a major backer of the Invictus Games movement.
Last night’s black tie bash brought together business leaders, dignitaries, and supporters from across Canada to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans, and their families.
The Duke of Sussex met with veterans, active service members and their families to chat about their experiences of military life.
Earlier in the day Harry wore a Toronto Blue Jays hat on TV as he faced controversy for not supporting them in the World Series – claiming he was forced to wear it.
When asked by CTV News if there was anything he would like to say about the scandalous move, Harry said: ‘Oh the LA Dodgers hat, hatgate. Firstly I would like to apologise to Canada for wearing it.
‘Secondly, I was under duress, there wasn’t much choice, I was invited to the LA Dodgers box or the dugout by the owner himself so I thought I was doing what was the polite thing to do’.
He then pulled out a Blue Jays cap and placed it on his head, saying he would wear that hat from now on to ‘make sure I don’t make any more of those mistakes’.
Harry’s speech went down well with the crowd
He spoke of his deep connection with Canada’s armed forces
The annual event, organised by the True Patriot Love Foundation, honours Canada’s military community and raises funds to support active service members, veterans and their families
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the fourth game of the MLB World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. He has apologised for wearing a Dodgers hat instead of a Blue Jays cap
When asked by CTV News if there was anything he would like to say about the scandalous move, Harry said: ‘Oh the LA Dodgers hat, hatgate. Firstly I would like to apologise to Canada for wearing it’
The Prince then joked that there was another reason he was wearing the LA Dodgers cap to the game.
‘But the other piece to this was… when you’re missing a lot of hair on top and you’re sitting under floodlights, you’ll take any hat that’s available’.
He explained that through Game Five, Game Six, and Game Seven, he was Blue Jays throughout. ‘Now that I’ve admitted that, it’s going to be really hard for me to return to Los Angeles,’ he said.
Harry’s apology came after he met some of Canada‘s oldest veterans as he continues his pseudo-royal trip around Canada.
The Duke of Sussex denied deliberately trying to overshadow Prince William – who is in Brazil for the Earthshot prize – through taking part in a high–profile tour of his own.
Yesterday, Prince Harry travelled to Sunnybrook Hospital’s veterans centre in Toronto where he joined a group of Canadian war heroes for a creative arts class.
The centre has worked with veterans to help them express their stories, honour their service, and find connection through art.
In one particularly touching picture, Harry can be seen kissing the hand of 91-year-old Villa Shah.
He also painted poppies on an army helmet with 101-year-old veteran Jim LaForce who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two where he took part in the Battle of Normandy.
Britain’s Prince Harry talks with war veterans Ozzie Reece and Ed Marshall as he meets with some of Canada’s oldest veteran
Harry spoke to Ozzie as he visited Sunnybrook Hospital’s veterans centre in Toronto
Harry chatted to the heroes, who were painting poppies
Harry painted poppies on an army helmet with 101-year-old veteran Jim LaForce who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two
Prince Harry kissing the hand of Villa Shah, 91, during a visit to Sunnybrook Hospital’s veterans centre in Toronto
Harry also met Ed Marshall who served in the air force and as a paratrooper during the war.
Speaking to veteran Brenda Reid, Harry asked what the veteran’s most memorable war story was, Ms Reid cautioned that, when it comes to her fellow residents, ‘you can’t always believe the boys’.
Ms Reid, 101, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and was posted to a station in Nova Scotia run entirely by women during the Second World War
As a humorous gift, Harry was presented with a Toronto Blue Jays cap.
Yesterday, the Duke spent time with members of Canada’s Reserve Forces in Toronto, meeting with soldiers from two historic Army Reserve units.
The visits were made to highlight the important role Reserve Forces play in Canada’s military capability.
Harry conversed with soldiers from the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and the Royal Regiment of Canada.
The Queen’s Own Rifles, which was founded in 1860, is Canada’s oldest continuously serving infantry regiment.
The meeting was part of his two-day visit to Toronto to meet veterans, members of the armed forces community and military charities to mark the ‘Remembrancetide’ period which spans the two-week period leading up to Remembrance Sunday.
It came after Harry expressed his pride at fighting for his country and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten ‘once the uniform comes off’.
Harry speaking to veteran Brenda Reid. The Duke asked what the veteran’s most memorable war story was, Ms Reid cautioned that, when it comes to her fellow residents, ‘you can’t always believe the boys’.
As a humorous gift, Harry was presented with a Toronto Blue Jays cap after he was spotted wearing a LA Dodgers hat during their match against the Toronto Blue Jays last week
Harry, who undertook two frontline tours to Afghanistan, spoke in an essay about serving alongside men and women from all four corners of the UK.
He called on people to remember ‘not only the fallen, but the living’ who carry the ‘weight of war’ and urged them to knock on veterans’ doors and ‘join them for a cuppa… or a pint’ to hear their stories and ‘remind them their service still matters’.
In a personal 647-word piece titled ‘The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British – By Prince Harry’, the duke acknowledged although he ‘currently’ lives in the US, he reflects that ‘Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for’.
He described Remembrance as ‘not simply a minute’s silence’ but ‘a call to collective responsibility’.
Meanwhile the Prince of Wales landed in Rio de Janeiro on Monday to mark the fifth anniversary of his environmental award, the Earthshot Prize.
But as William began his first engagement at Sugarloaf Mountain, his younger brother’s office in California announced a trip to Canada this week ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
The Brazil visit marks a pivotal and personally important moment for the heir to the throne – who jetted out of the UK after he and his father stripped his uncle Andrew of all his titles and his Windsor home.
Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter said the timing of Harry’s announcement was ‘inevitable if not predictable’.
But a spokesman for the Duke of Sussex has hit back, declaring: ‘The events were planned nearly a year ago.
‘The date of the main event, the dinner, is set by the charity, not Prince Harry.
‘The period of Remembrance tide traditionally extends from the 1–11 November and has done since 1918, over 100 years. He can’t choose to move those dates.’
The spokesman added: ‘We are always guided – as to when we can announce trips like this, by the advice given to us by his private security advisers and the event’s security team.
‘This visit, months in the planning, marks a return to a city that has a special place in the Duke’s heart, having played host to the Invictus Games back in 2017.’
The British royal household was informed of Harry’s Canada plans in advance – a sign that communications between the King and his youngest son are open again.
But Harry and William, however, are understood not to be talking.
In a previous statement Harry’s team blamed the timing of his trip on the fact he is ‘not afforded the same level of security and protection as other working members of the Royal Family’.
‘It means therefore, that the period of time in which we can release details of events is much more truncated than it is for His Majesty the King or the Prince of Wales’, his spokesman added.
