Prince Harry’s unofficial royal tour of Canada continued with a dazzling veterans’ gala, where he shared his connection with Canadian troops and humorously referenced his “growing bald spot” during his speech.

The Duke of Sussex’s visit to Canada comes after the historic Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, which marked the inaugural winter edition of the Games earlier this year.

Harry’s Canadian visit precedes Remembrance Sunday, coinciding with his wife’s return to the spotlight as she revives her acting career in Hollywood.

This timing also overlaps with his brother, Prince William’s, five-day journey to Brazil aimed at promoting his Earthshot Prize. However, Harry assures that the overlap was purely coincidental.

Donning a black tie and proudly displaying his service medals, Harry made his entrance at the True Patriot Love’s National Tribute Dinner in Toronto, accompanied by veterans last night.

After bagpipes played, the Duke then spoke on stage about his personal connection with Canada’s military, from his training in Alberta to serving alongside Canadian Armed Forces members during his deployment in Afghanistan.

There were also laughs as he said sorry over the row over his and Meghan’s decision to wear LA Dodgers caps at the World Series last week instead of supporting Toronto’s Blue Jays.

‘I am truly sorry for wearing a Dodgers hat’, he said, before joking that the cap had also helped hide how much his hair is thinning.  There were more guffaws in the crowd of 500 when he made a gag about the lights on bouncing off his bald spot.

He said: ‘Before I begin, I think it’s important we address the blue hatted elephant in the room once more. No excuses, but there were two reasons for wearing it. First, our host that night was the owner of the Dodgers and I believed it was the polite thing to do. Second, the 900,000-watt floodlights shining down on an ever-increasing bald spot’.

He also defended his wife, Meghan: ‘As for my wife, she lived in Toronto for years and has deep affection for this city, so much so that many people around the world believe she’s Canadian, so I think we can forgive a native Californian for her Dodgers loyalty, even if just for one evening’.

True Patriot Love is run by Nick Booth, a former aide to Harry and William, and the organisation has been a major backer of the Invictus Games movement.

Last night’s black tie bash brought together business leaders, dignitaries, and supporters from across Canada to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans, and their families.

The Duke of Sussex met with veterans, active service members and their families to chat about their experiences of military life.

Earlier in the day Harry wore a Toronto Blue Jays hat on TV as he faced controversy for not supporting them in the World Series – claiming he was forced to wear it.

When asked by CTV News if there was anything he would like to say about the scandalous move, Harry said: ‘Oh the LA Dodgers hat, hatgate. Firstly I would like to apologise to Canada for wearing it.

‘Secondly, I was under duress, there wasn’t much choice, I was invited to the LA Dodgers box or the dugout by the owner himself so I thought I was doing what was the polite thing to do’.

He then pulled out a Blue Jays cap and placed it on his head, saying he would wear that hat from now on to ‘make sure I don’t make any more of those mistakes’.

The Prince then joked that there was another reason he was wearing the LA Dodgers cap to the game.

‘But the other piece to this was… when you’re missing a lot of hair on top and you’re sitting under floodlights, you’ll take any hat that’s available’.

He explained that through Game Five, Game Six, and Game Seven, he was Blue Jays throughout. ‘Now that I’ve admitted that, it’s going to be really hard for me to return to Los Angeles,’ he said.

Harry’s apology came after he met some of Canada’s oldest veterans as he continues his pseudo-royal trip around Canada. 

The Duke of Sussex denied deliberately trying to overshadow Prince William – who is in Brazil for the Earthshot prize – through taking part in a high–profile tour of his own.

Yesterday, Prince Harry travelled to Sunnybrook Hospital’s veterans centre in Toronto where he joined a group of Canadian war heroes for a creative arts class.

The centre has worked with veterans to help them express their stories, honour their service, and find connection through art.  

In one particularly touching picture, Harry can be seen kissing the hand of 91-year-old Villa Shah. 

He also painted poppies on an army helmet with 101-year-old veteran Jim LaForce who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two where he took part in the Battle of Normandy. 

Harry also met Ed Marshall who served in the air force and as a paratrooper during the war.

Speaking to veteran Brenda Reid, Harry asked what the veteran’s most memorable war story was, Ms Reid cautioned that, when it comes to her fellow residents, ‘you can’t always believe the boys’.

Ms Reid, 101, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and was posted to a station in Nova Scotia run entirely by women during the Second World War 

As a humorous gift, Harry was presented with a Toronto Blue Jays cap. 

Yesterday, the Duke spent time with members of Canada’s Reserve Forces in Toronto, meeting with soldiers from two historic Army Reserve units.

The visits were made to highlight the important role Reserve Forces play in Canada’s military capability.

Harry conversed with soldiers from the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and the Royal Regiment of Canada.

The Queen’s Own Rifles, which was founded in 1860, is Canada’s oldest continuously serving infantry regiment.

The meeting was part of his two-day visit to Toronto to meet veterans, members of the armed forces community and military charities to mark the ‘Remembrancetide’ period which spans the two-week period leading up to Remembrance Sunday.

It came after Harry expressed his pride at fighting for his country and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten ‘once the uniform comes off’.

Harry, who undertook two frontline tours to Afghanistan, spoke in an essay about serving alongside men and women from all four corners of the UK.

He called on people to remember ‘not only the fallen, but the living’ who carry the ‘weight of war’ and urged them to knock on veterans’ doors and ‘join them for a cuppa… or a pint’ to hear their stories and ‘remind them their service still matters’.

In a personal 647-word piece titled ‘The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery: What it means to be British – By Prince Harry’, the duke acknowledged although he ‘currently’ lives in the US, he reflects that ‘Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for’.

He described Remembrance as ‘not simply a minute’s silence’ but ‘a call to collective responsibility’.

Meanwhile the Prince of Wales landed in Rio de Janeiro on Monday to mark the fifth anniversary of his environmental award, the Earthshot Prize.

But as William began his first engagement at Sugarloaf Mountain, his younger brother’s office in California announced a trip to Canada this week ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

The Brazil visit marks a pivotal and personally important moment for the heir to the throne – who jetted out of the UK after he and his father stripped his uncle Andrew of all his titles and his Windsor home.

Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter said the timing of Harry’s announcement was ‘inevitable if not predictable’.

But a spokesman for the Duke of Sussex has hit back, declaring: ‘The events were planned nearly a year ago.

‘The date of the main event, the dinner, is set by the charity, not Prince Harry.

‘The period of Remembrance tide traditionally extends from the 1–11 November and has done since 1918, over 100 years. He can’t choose to move those dates.’

The spokesman added: ‘We are always guided – as to when we can announce trips like this, by the advice given to us by his private security advisers and the event’s security team.

‘This visit, months in the planning, marks a return to a city that has a special place in the Duke’s heart, having played host to the Invictus Games back in 2017.’

The British royal household was informed of Harry’s Canada plans in advance – a sign that communications between the King and his youngest son are open again.

But Harry and William, however, are understood not to be talking.

In a previous statement Harry’s team blamed the timing of his trip on the fact he is ‘not afforded the same level of security and protection as other working members of the Royal Family’.

‘It means therefore, that the period of time in which we can release details of events is much more truncated than it is for His Majesty the King or the Prince of Wales’, his spokesman added.