Germany rolls out red carpet for Harry and Meghan's Dusseldorf visit

Germany rolls out the red carpet for Harry and Meghan: Duke and Duchess of Sussex will take a scenic cruise along the River Rhine on £13million ‘party boat’ while town hall will be decorated in flowers to mark couple’s first trip to the country

• Harry and Meghan will cruise along the Rhine on the £13m Rhein Galaxie vessel
• The pair will be treated like visiting heads of state despite being private citizens
•  Roadblocks will be set up on their route from the airport, a police source said

The red carpet is being rolled out for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their first ever visit to Germany – even though their trip is as private citizens.

The couple will be given the same sort of welcome afforded to visiting heads of state when they arrive for a reception and book signing at the town hall in Dusseldorf today.

Last minute preparations included red and white flowers – the official colours of the city – being placed around the entrance to the town hall.

The couple are in Germany on Tuesday to start the countdown to the Invictus Games being held in Dusseldorf next September and their visit will include an hour-long scenic cruise along the Rhine on a ‘party boat’ usually packed with tourists.

The afternoon jaunt on the £13m MS Rhein Galaxie will take them along the Rhine to Duisburg and end at the Merkur-Spiel sports stadium where the sports event for disabled military veterans will be held.

Dusseldorf city officials insist the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is private and they will be protected by their own security team with the couple footing the bill.

But German police will also be involved primarily on crowd control in the market square where Harry, 37, and Meghan, 41, begin their visit around 12.30pm.

The afternoon jaunt on the £13m MS Rhein Galaxie (pictured) will take Harry and Meghan along the Rhine to Duisberg and end at the Merkur-Spiel sports stadium where the sports event for disabled military veterans will be held

Harry and Meghan (pictured at the One Young World summit in Manchester on Monday) are in Germany on Tuesday to start the countdown to the Invictus Games being held in Dusseldorf next September and their visit will include an hour-long scenic cruise along the Rhine on a ‘party boat’ usually packed with tourists

A police source said temporary roadblocks will be set up along the route from Dusseldorf airport to the city centre to allow the convoy of vehicles transporting Harry and Meghan to avoid being stuck in traffic (Pictured: Inside the party boat that will play host to the Sussexes on Tuesday) 

The Golden Book in the Town Hall in Dusseldorf is prepared and ready to be signed by Harry and Meghan at the reception to launch the Invictus Games 2023

Monday, 5 September: One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit

The Sussexes are travelling to Manchester on Monday where Meghan, 41, is due to give a speech on gender equality. The summit brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries.

The area around Bridgewater Hall, which is hosting the summit, will be cleared for 90 minutes ahead of the couple’s arrival, The Times reports. 

However, Harry and Meghan have asked private security firms to provide a ‘ring of steel’ in Manchester for their appearance at the forum.

The event runs from 6pm to 8pm. 

Tuesday, 6 September: Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023

After Monday’s trip to Manchester, the Sussexes will travel to Dusseldorf on Tuesday to mark a year before Harry’s next Invictus Games.

Harry previously announced the sixth games would be held in September 2023. He and Meghan attended the 2022 Invictus Games last April in the Netherlands.

Wednesday, 9 September

The Sussexes have no official plans on Wednesday. They have not said whether they intend to visit with the Queen who is at Balmoral in Scotland.

Thursday, 8 September: WellChild Awards 

The couple will return to Britain for the WellChild Awards ceremony in London on Thursday, where Harry will deliver a speech.

The WellChild Awards looks to ‘celebrate the inspirational qualities of the UK’s seriously ill children and young people, along with those who go that extra mile to make a difference to their lives.’ 

A police source said temporary roadblocks will be set up along the route from Dusseldorf airport to the city centre to allow the convoy of vehicles transporting Harry and Meghan to avoid being stuck in traffic.

As the visit is private there will be no police motorcycle outriders and accompanying police cars will not turn on their flashing blue lights.

But the source said a vehicle carrying a doctor and medical equipment will be part of the convoy for the three-mile drive into the city.

A source with the city of Dusseldorf told Mail Online: ‘Of course this is a private visit, but we do not want anything to go wrong or there to be any incident. We are showcasing the city.

‘They will have their own security teams, but the police area being consulted and will be involved. We are hosts for the Invictus Games and we want everything to run very smoothly.

‘There have been lots of consultations and plans have changed, but we are confident it will be a trouble-free visit.’

Harry and Meghan will emerge from their car onto a red carpet and walk across the market square to the entrance to the town hall which dates back to the 16th century.

After walking up a spiral staircase adorned with red and white flowers they will be joined by the city’s Mayor Stephan Keller.

After speeches from Harry and the Mayor, the couple will sign what is known as the ‘Golden Book’.

The oversized leather-bound volume is signed by all visiting dignitaries to Dusseldorf, the capital of the Rhine-Westphalia region.

The page assigned to the couple has already been prepared with their names in red Roman cursive writing.

Harry is billed as’ Prinz Harry Herzog von Sussex’ while his wife is ‘Meghan, Herzogin von Sussex’ – translated as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Harry is described as the patron of the Invictus Games.

Although there is a balcony in the book signing overlooking the market square the couple will not be stepping out to wave to crowds gathered below.

‘That would not be appropriate,’ said a city official.

A convoy of cars will take the couple to a jetty about two miles away where they will board the Rhein Galaxie for the hour-long cruise along the Rhine.

They will have lunch on board and with warm weather predicted expected to stay on the open top deck rather than sit below on one of the three decks.

The 85m long ship was launched in 2020 but due to the pandemic only came into service five months ago and is the most modern along the fleet of the sightseeing tour operators KD.

The Von Sussexes: The Golden Book at Dusseldorf town hall is ready to be signed by Harry and Meghan on Tuesday

Harry and Meghan will emerge from their car onto a red carpet and walk across the market square to the entrance to the town hall which dates back to the 16th century (prepared interior pictured)

The outdoor deck has an 85 square meter dance floor and offers a VIP viewing platforms and an imposing ‘Skywalk’ above the bar

The company boasts that the ship has ‘floor-to-ceiling windows, a stage arranged on the side and a spacious atrium, which connects three decks with one another via an artistically designed ‘feature wall’ with large screens.

It can hold up to 1,000 guests and is used for conferences, trade fairs and parties.

The company boasts that the ship has ‘floor-to-ceiling windows, a stage arranged on the side and a spacious atrium, which connects three decks with one another via an artistically designed ‘feature wall’ with large screens.

The outdoor deck has an 85 square meter dance floor and offers a VIP viewing platforms and an imposing ‘Skywalk’ above the bar.

Last-minute preparations for the trip were being carried out with tables and flowers being arranged on the open top deck.

The river cruise ship will drop Harry and Meghan off at the sports arena where athletes taking part in the 2023 Invictus Games will be introduced to the couple.

The German military, who are co-organisers of the games, will hold a press conference attended by Harry but he has stipulated he will not take any questions from the media.

With the conference scheduled to end at 5pm UK time the couple will be driven back to the airport for a return flight to London.

Meghan Markle’s seven-minute gender equality speech to the One Young World summit: Duchess of Sussex referenced time in TV drama Suits and gushed over Prince Harry and Archie

Meghan Markle has said ‘it is very nice to be back in the UK’ in her first speech in Britain since Megxit more than two years ago, as she gushed about Prince Harry and the ‘life-changing’ impact of becoming a mother to Archie.

In her appearance at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester on Monday night, the Duchess of Sussex, 41, spoke about a previous One Young World summit she attended in 2019 in London.

‘My life had changed significantly… I was now a mum’ 

She said: ‘And by that point, it’s fair to say, my life had changed rather significantly. I was now married and I was now a mum.

‘My world view had expanded exponentially, seeing the global community through the eyes of my child.’

To cheers, the Duchess of Sussex added: ‘I’m thrilled that my husband is able to join me here this time.

‘To be able to see and witness first-hand my respect for this organisation, this incredible organisation and all that it provides as well as it accomplishes.

‘So we are both of us, bearing witness to the power that you hold in your hands and the unbridled enthusiasm and energy that you have, to see things come to fruition.

‘It is just an absolute privilege. I’m incredibly humbled to not just stand before each of you, but to stand beside you.

‘We often hear people say: ‘the time is now’, but I’m going to double down on that, by saying your time is now. The important work can’t wait for tomorrow.

‘And this week the world is watching as you cement your place in history by showcasing the good that you are doing today, in the present moment, as we embrace the moment of now to create a better tomorrow.’

 ‘You are the future’

The Duchess of Sussex also told young future world leaders: ‘You are the future… you are the present,’ during the speech, her first public appearance in the UK since returning briefly for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The former Suits actress, also a counsellor for the global youth charity organisation, told the attendees: ‘You are the ones driving the positive and necessary change across the globe now, in this very moment.

‘And for that I am so grateful to be in your company today.’

‘The girl from Suits’

Meghan spoke about the first time she was asked to be a counsellor for One Young World in 2014 and having a ‘pinch me moment’.

‘And there I was, the girl from Suits. I was surrounded by world leaders, humanitarians, prime ministers and activists that I had such a deep and long-standing respect and admiration for.

‘And I was allowed in, to pull up a seat at the table.

‘I was so overwhelmed by this experience, I think, I think I even saved my little paper place-marker with my name on it.

‘Just proof: proof that I was there, proof that I belonged, because the truth was, I wasn’t sure that I belonged.’

‘I wasn’t sure that I belonged’  

The Duchess of Sussex continued: ‘Because the truth was, I wasn’t sure that I belonged.

‘I was so nervous, I doubted myself and I wondered, wondered if I was good enough to be there?’

But she added One Young World, ‘saw in me, just as I see in you, the present and the future’.

She added: ‘And I want to make that point because often times I speak to young girls about the years ahead.

‘About what you will do, about what you will have to adopt to fix from previous generations and also what legacy you will leave.

‘Too often in that, we neglect the point – you are doing it now.

‘You, here, in this present moment, this is where it is all beginning.’

EXCLUSIVE: German authorities ALSO refuse to foot the bill for Harry and Meghan’s security – as couple are told to pay for their own bodyguards because Düsseldorf visit is a ‘private event’

By Paul Thompson for MailOnline 

Prince Harry and Meghan have been forced to pay for their own team of private security guards after German authorities classed their trip as a ‘private event’.

The Sussexes are set to spend Tuesday in Düsseldorf where they will enjoy a cruise down the Rhine, after touring Manchester today in what was their first visit to UK soil since the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June. 

But police in Düsseldorf told the pair they must pay for their own security service, and officers will only provide small-scale protective measures, mostly for crowd control purposes.

Roadblocks will be put in place at busy road junctions to allow their convoy of cars to speed from the airport to the city centre rather than be caught in traffic queues.

Bodyguards who accompanied the couple to Manchester today will be by their side in Germany along with a small team of local security staff.

Prince Harry has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with the UK Home Office after it previously refused to provide police protection for the couple to return to the country after they stepped back from royal duties and moved to California.

The Duke of Sussex, 37, has been taking legal action against the department after being told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US.

The Sussexes pictured at the Invictus Games in the Hague, the Netherlands, in April this year

The couple will enjoy a short river cruise on the Rhine (pictured) as part of their day-long visit to Düsseldorf on Tuesday

Police will be responsible for controlling the entry of traffic close to the historic town hall where they meet local dignitaries and later at the sports stadium where next year’s sports event will be held.

Harry and Meghan could come into contact with members of the public on a short cruise they will take down the Rhine.

It is here that local security guards will be on duty to make sure no one gets too close to the couple.

Harry and Meghan are expected to take a 30-minute cruise along the Rhine.

It will also be the only real opportunity locals will get the chance to see the couple as the events at the town hall and stadium are by invitation only.

With less than 24 hours before Harry and Meghan arrive there were no security measures visible in the market square where they will enter the town hall.

The only sign of activity was a window cleaner polishing the ground floor windows of the building.

Unlike in Manchester, there was no ‘ring of steel’ being prepared for the visit.

Most locals sitting at cafes around the market square were unaware that the couple were even due to visit.

Police sources have made it clear Prince Harry was coming to Düsseldorf as a ‘private person’.

‘This is something he has initiated,’ said the source.

The source added: ‘The policing will be very low key. He is here as a private individual but he is a guest of the city and we want to make sure he feels safe.

‘There is no restriction on use of private bodyguards’

The Duchess of Sussex smiled back as they headed to Manchester for her speech on gender equality on Monday

The couple left in a convoy of Range Rovers ahead of the first leg of their European tour, which will take them to Manchester, Dusseldorf and then back to London

In the Netherlands earlier this year at the Invictus Games, a team of five bodyguards flew in from the US and were led by former Secret Service agent Christopher Sanchez.

He was from Houston, Texas, and part of the Touchstone Global company that provides security at major sporting events.

A spokesman for the company refused to comment on the visit to Germany.

Meghan has also been seen with Alberto Alvarez as her personal bodyguard.

He formerly worked as head of security for the late ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson.

The couple fly into Düsseldorf late morning on Tuesday and will be driven to the town hall to be greeted by the city’s Mayor Stephan Keller.

Harry will sign the city’s Golden Book, a leather-bound volume where all visiting VIPs sign their name.

He will attend a lunch reception before travelling to the Merkur-Spiel arena where They will meet competitors taking part in next September games as well as the organisers of the event.

Harry will make a speech celebrating the games and its power to heal those affected by combat.

A press conference will be held but Harry is not expected to answer any questions.

It is believed the pair will fly back to London in the evening rather than stay in Germany.

They have a ‘free day’ on Wednesday before attending the WellChild event in London where Harry will make a speech.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go into a side entrance of London Euston on Monday as they travel up to Manchester

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go into a side entrance of London Euston on Monday as they travel up to Manchester

After stepping back from royal duties, it was decided that the prince should be taken off the list for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), whose members receive automatic security funded by the taxpayer.

In July, Harry won the right to bring a High Court challenge against the Home Office over his security arrangements in the UK.

A High Court judge said Harry had an ‘arguable’ case on four of the five grounds on which he brought his claim, and that his lawyers will be able to make his arguments at a judicial review of the Home Office decision.

After his official role ended and he became ‘a privately funded member of the Royal Family with permission to earn his own income and pursue his own charitable interests’, Ravec withdrew guaranteed police support.

Ravec chairman Sir Richard said in a letter to the Queen’s private secretary that while the committee would ‘continue to monitor the security of the Sussex family’, the ‘existing provision by the Metropolitan Police will be withdrawn… there is no basis for publicly funded security support’.

Harry said he only discovered the extent of the change when he made one of his rare visits to England in June 2021, and was unhappy with arrangements made.

The Home Office maintains Ravec was entitled to reach the decision that his security arrangements will be considered on a ‘case by case’ basis.

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