"Couldn't care less": How Vancouver feels about Harry and Meghan visit
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and his wife, the Duchess, Meghan Markle, will be coming to Vancouver for the Invictus Games, but what do residents think?
The Invictus Games take place in 2025 in Whistler, and a one-year lookahead event launched at the BC Legislature in Victoria, BC, on Monday, February 12, with other festivities around Whistler and the Lower Mainland over the week.
Prince Harry is expected to make his presence known during the wheelchair curling demonstration on February 16 at Hillcrest Community Centre in Vancouver.
The royal pair are also expected to join participants at various times during their camp in Whistler.
It was Prince Harry who launched the games in 2014 for wounded, sick, and injured veterans and service members to compete in several athletic endeavours.
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Canadian sentiments about the monarchy have been mixed, to say the least, in recent years. It’s a sentiment that some Vancouver residents seemingly echo with the arrival of Harry and Meghan.
People have chimed in on some of our recent articles about the arrival of the royal pair, and, well, excitement isn’t the word we’d use to describe the visit.
“Thumbs down to this pair,” one user commented.
In another comment, one user said, “As soon as your flight lands, start looking for the first flight out of Vancouver to anywhere, as long as it isn’t in Canada. We already have our own drama king who’s currently looking for a queen, and we certainly don’t need any more of yours.”
Yikes.
Someone else said, “Why are we so enamoured/beholden by the royal family and its descendants?”
That sentiment only gets worse on social media.
Some seem revolted.
🤮
— savioli (@ravioligurl) February 8, 2024
Some feel a little meh about it.
— brie is ok (@Brieferoni) February 8, 2024
Some just don’t care.
Couldn’t care less.
— Metro Vancouver Housing Collapse Facebook Group (@BcarmB) February 8, 2024
Not everyone was pessimistic about their arrival.
One X user suggested that they hope it helps the economy somehow and that if it distracts someone from their woes, “then y’know, good.”
Another user said they’re here promoting a good cause, so it’s worth celebrating.
Others wondered who was paying for their safety.
I hope they are paying for their own security detail since they are commoners.
— Al K (@AlKarumbAh) February 8, 2024
On the note of cost, in 2020, when they were officially royal, they cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
We contacted the RCMP about potential costs this year, and it told us, “For the safety of those we protect and of our members, as well as to ensure the integrity of operations, the RCMP does not confirm individuals who may be eligible to receive protection.”
We also reached out to see if Vancouver Police would be involved and haven’t heard back.
How do you feel about the impending arrival of Harry and Meghan?
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