Prince Harry received two gifts intended for his wife, Meghan Markle, during a visit to Kyiv on Friday as part of a trip with the Invictus Games Foundation that he said had been cleared with both his wife and the British government.
A Ukrainian businesswoman, Mariia Didkovska, presented the Duke of Sussex with a decorative plate inscribed with a line celebrating Kyiv — "Kyiv stretches behind me in dreams" — and a bottle of Victoire de la Dignité champagne encased in a wooden box. Didkovska said the bottle should be saved for "the special day when we celebrate our victory," and told Harry, "And this is for your wife." Harry replied, "Sooner rather than later." According to a statement from his office obtained by Reuters, the visit was focused on supporting rehabilitation for wounded soldiers.
Didkovska, who runs a restaurant and a bar in Kyiv and is involved in a project to support the capital’s military hospital, told Harry he was "always welcome to Kyiv" and thanked him for his work. Forbes has reported that her project has helped the hospital buy new surgical and endoscopy equipment.
The visit came as Harry marked his 41st birthday and followed a four-day trip to the United Kingdom in which he met King Charles for the first time in 19 months. On arrival in Kyiv, Harry said he had "had to check" with his wife before making the journey. His office said the Invictus Games Foundation will continue work on rehabilitation initiatives for injured veterans.
During remarks in Kyiv, Harry defended his recent media appearances and his memoir, Spare, saying he acted from a sense of accountability rather than revenge. He said, "You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth," and described his conscience as clear after publishing the book. Spare, released in 2023, chronicled fractures within the royal family and became the UK's fastest-selling non-fiction title.
Harry has maintained an active role in Invictus Games activities since founding the event in 2014 as a competition for injured service personnel and veterans. His office said his foundation has donated $500,000 to projects supporting injured children in Gaza and Ukraine, including work with the World Health Organization on evacuations and prosthetics development.
The duke’s return to the UK last week included meetings with royal and veteran contacts and a public event in London to outline the next decade of the Invictus Games. The meeting with his father at Clarence House, their first since February 2024, was followed by public comments from Harry indicating the meeting had been positive and that the focus for the coming year would be on the king.
Meghan Markle marked Harry’s return to their Montecito home with a social media post appearing to celebrate his arrival. The duchess, who has not accompanied her husband on the Kyiv visit, posted an image of pouring two glasses from her own wine brand.
Security arrangements for Harry’s UK visits have previously been a point of contention with the British government, and his relocation to the United States in 2020 has continued to influence public and royal-family discussions. Harry’s engagements in Kyiv and London reflect his continued involvement in causes related to trauma recovery and veteran support, while also underscoring ongoing public interest in his relationship with his family and his media disclosures.
Representatives for the Invictus Games Foundation said the organization will continue to work with partners to expand rehabilitation services for wounded service personnel and veterans in Ukraine. Didkovska’s gift and the foundation’s stated commitments highlight the humanitarian and symbolic dimensions of the visit amid the wider conflict affecting the country.