The Duke and Duchess are said to have fond memories of their time in Canada, free from the constraints of royal life and the constant presence of photographers.
It was at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto when Harry and Meghan made their first appearance as a couple.
It came after they spent months dating in secret, traveling undercover between London and Toronto, where Meghan was filming US legal drama, Suits.
When they made the decision to leave official royal duties behind, they initially escaped to a private retreat on Vancouver Island, with their young son Archie and their dogs in tow.
The six weeks they spent there contemplating their future lives were transformative. Ability to hike, swim and kayak without disturbing photographers. It gave them a new lease on life.
When they returned to the UK, it emerged that they had decided to move abroad.
In his memoir, Spear, the Duke wrote fondly of the “taste of freedom” they experienced on Vancouver Island and how the peace inspired them to permanently escape public life.
“What if life was like this… all the time? What if we could spend at least part of each year somewhere remote, still doing our work for the Queen, but out of reach of the press?” he wrote.
He added that Canada feels like home. “We can imagine spending the rest of our lives there,” he said.
“If we could find a place that the press didn't know about, we said, 'Canada might be the answer.'” Meg called a friend in Vancouver, who put us in touch with a real estate agent, and we started looking at homes.
But the coronavirus pandemic ruined their plans and they rushed to the US instead of shutting down before the lockdown. However, Canada remains close to their hearts, and the purpose of their visit even more so.
The couple's appearance at the Invictus event marks a one-year countdown to the upcoming Games, which Prince Harry founded a decade ago.
