Meghan declares her love for Prince Harry before pair kiss on stage at Invictus Games

The Duchess of Sussex publicly declared her love for her “incredible” husband in front of an audience of thousands.

Introducing the Duke at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, she said that she “could not love and respect him more”.

The pair kissed when the Duke arrived on stage, and he appeared emotional before his speech, saying: “Thank you, my love.”

The Duchess, dressed in a white off-the-shoulder top and dark trousers, spoke for a couple of minutes before welcoming the Duke on stage in the venue which seats up to 5,000 people.

She said: “It is my distinguished honour to introduce someone that I think you’ll all be very excited to hear from. He has also spent many late nights and early mornings planning for these games to make them as perfect as possible for each of you.”

She added: “I could not love and respect him more and I know that all of you feel the same, because he is your fellow veteran, having served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and 10 years of military service.

“He’s the founder of the Invictus Games, and the father to our two little ones, Archie and Lili. Please welcome my incredible husband, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.”

The couple appeared happy and close during their public appearances at the event, holding hands and placing their hands on each other’s backs.

The Invictus Games was where the couple made their first public appearance together almost five years ago.

The Duchess made her first appearance at an official engagement attended by the Duke in Sep 2017 when she attended the opening ceremony in Toronto, Canada, although the pair sat about 18 seats apart.

The following day, they emerged hand-in-hand to make their first official public appearance together at the wheelchair tennis.

Earlier in the day, the Sussexes were taken for a spin by a couple of young drivers in mini cars.

The couple hopped into miniature Land Rovers driven by two little girls ahead of the opening ceremony.

The Duke also took part in the Jaguar Land Rover driving challenge, sitting in the front passenger seat and helping to navigate a course of bridge structures, ramps and rocks.

Jaguar Land Rover provides financial backing for the games.

The couple, who could be seen holding hands, arrived at the Zuiderpark at about lunchtime and looked casual and relaxed as they chatted to people.

The Duchess wore her hair in a ponytail and dressed down in cropped jeans, a short boxy jacket and flat pumps, whilst the Duke wore an Invictus polo shirt and navy-blue trousers.

The couple, both sporting sunglasses on a sunny Saturday, met children at a small track next to the main driving course, and each sat in the passenger space next to their young drivers.

The Duchess was driven around by five-year-old French girl Mya Poirot, whilst her husband was driven by four-year-old Dutch girl Scarlet Vroegop.

At one point, the Duchess appeared to praise Mya for her driving as she could be seen applauding.

They made their first public appearance together in Europe since quitting as senior working royals more than two years ago when they attended a reception at the games on Friday.

Their appearance at the Zuiderpark came after they visited the Queen and met with the Prince of Wales in Windsor on Thursday, having flown in from their home in the US.

The opening ceremony was due to feature live performances by rock stars the Kaiser Chiefs, Anneke van Giersbergen, DI-RECT and the Johan Willem Friso royal military band.

Princess Margriet, Prince Pieter-Christiaan and Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, were among those expected to attend, with the latter scheduled to give a speech on the importance of the Invictus Games.

A crew has joined the Sussexes at the games to film a Netflix documentary called Heart Of Invictus, a series from Archewell Productions following people who are competing at the event.

One film crew was present on Friday, whilst another was seen close to the Duke and Duchess on Saturday.

The Duke founded the Invictus Games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympics.

The Sussexes’ Anglo-Dutch trips came after the pair were absent from the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in London.

Meanwhile, the Duke is bringing a claim against the Home Office after being told he would no longer be given the same degree of personal protective security when visiting the UK, despite offering to pay for it himself.

He wants to bring his children to visit, but he and his family are “unable to return to his home” because it is too dangerous, his legal representative has said.

The opening ceremony of the Invictus Games will be shown on the BBC.