For the first time since their withdrawal from the British royal family, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are appearing together in Europe again.

The couple traveled together this week for the Harry-created Invictus Games, which were set to officially kick off on Saturday night in The Hague, The Netherlands.

On Friday, both of them were already there at a reception: Harry (37) in a dark suit and Meghan (40) in a white pantsuit smiled brightly at the cameras.

A good two years ago, the couple resigned their duties as royals and said goodbye to the British royal family and Europe.

The Paralympic competition is considered an affair of the heart for Harry, which is still very important to him after his retirement.

After being postponed twice because of the pandemic, the tournaments in various disciplines are now scheduled to take place until April 22nd.

At the official opening on Saturday, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was expected alongside Harry and Meghan.

The royals are closely followed by a camera team in The Hague for a Netflix documentary.

The couple have signed a multi-million dollar deal with the streaming giant.

Accompanied by the camera team, they also met several Ukrainians who are taking part in the Invictus Games for their country on Friday.

"I spoke to Meghan about the importance of having a voice, being heard and being able to express your point of view.

That's very important to her," Ukrainian Oksana Horbach told the British news agency PA after a conversation with the ex-actress on Friday evening.

Horbach usually works as part of the Ukrainian armed forces in Kyiv, providing meals to her comrades.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave the team special permission to take part in Prince Harry's Games for Disabled Soldiers despite the ongoing war, she said.

Before arriving in the Netherlands, Harry and Meghan - to the surprise of the public and a tour group in Windsor - had made a stop in their old homeland.

They met Queen Elizabeth II together for the first time since breaking up with the Royal Family.

At Harry's request, both are said to have made a short detour to Prince Charles as a gesture of peace, whom Harry had particularly sharply criticized in interviews last year.

Royal biographer Phil Dampier called this a "first tentative step in repairing the relationship".

The Telegraph, citing inside sources, speculated that details of the Queen's reunion could also be seen in the Netflix documentary.

According to dpa information, Harry and Meghan's offspring - little Archie and baby Lilibet - should not be part of the party.