It’s been nearly five years since Prince Harry moved to California with his wife Meghan Markle and their kids — and they’re apparently still loving it.
During an interview with Us Weekly at the 2025 Invictus Games on February 14, former professional rugby player Richie McCaw spoke about what it was like to catch up with Harry at the sporting tournament, which the royal founded for injured or wounded service personnel in 2014.
Recalling a recent conversation with Harry, 40, McCaw said: ‘I said, ‘How things go? And he goes, ‘Well, life’s going on pretty good.’”
“He was like, ‘Yeah, I can drop the kids off at school… without any issue.’ And hey, we all take that for granted, don’t we?” the New Zealand athlete continued.
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“But tough situation to be in…however you look at it,” the rugby star added.
Harry and Meghan, 43, live in Montecito with their two children: Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. The family moved to the area from the U.K. during the pandemic in 2020 after stepping down from royal duties.
McCaw shared an Instagram selfie with Harry at the 2025 games, held in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada.
He captioned the photo: “Great to be in Vancouver supporting the wheelchair rugby at the Invictus Games this afternoon @isps_handa.” The image has 12,245 likes at the time of writing on Friday, February 28.
“We’ve rubbed shoulders with the royal family a few times,” McCaw told Us. “I haven’t spent a lot of time with Harry, but yeah, it was cool that you got to have a chat. And I didn’t think a selfie like that would get so much attention.”
Before retiring from professional rugby in 2015, McCaw broke several records and captained the All Blacks, New Zealand’s national rugby team, to World Cup victories in 2011 and 2015. McCaw visited Buckingham Palace to meet the late Queen Elizabeth II with the All Blacks on several occasions. More recently, he was part of King Charles III‘s procession at the coronation in 2023.
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“My grandfather was a fighter pilot during the Second World War in Britain, and he used to talk about the king being quite a central part of life,” McCaw reflected. “My ancestors immigrated from the UK, and the thought that I just imagined what they’d be thinking, you know, looking down, going, ‘How the hell are you from a little place in New Zealand standing there at the king’s procession?’
“So it was pretty amazing,” he said.
During the Invictus Games, Us Weekly also interviewed the Duke of Sussex himself, who reflected on launching the tournament more than a decade ago.
“Today, I have the benefit of hindsight and experience, but I wouldn’t change any of it — except still wishing there were no need for the Invictus Games,” Harry told Us.
The royal added that Meghan “has been part of this community since shortly after the Orlando Games in 2016 and has loved every minute of it.”
“There are so many special memories,” he continued.
Meghan joined Harry for a couple of days at the 2025 games before returning home to be with the couple’s children.
“Back home taking care of our babies, and missing my Valentine as he continues on at the Invictus Games, changing lives and reminding all of us of the power of healing and resilience through these incredible veterans and their families,” Meghan wrote in an Instagram post on February 14.
For more on Prince Harry, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
With reporting by Justin Ravitz.
