The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a splash as they watched the sailing final of the Invictus Games on a boat alongside the parents of one of the competitors.

The couple braved the choppy seas and took a boat out to a 40ft Hanse 400 yacht, where they laughed and smiled while watching the race, standing up at times for a better view of the action.

Prince Harry was seen helping Meghan onto the yacht to watch the race, which saw host country Australia take first place.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex cheer on competitors taking part in a sailing event at the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney harbour (PA)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex cheer on competitors taking part in a sailing event at the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney harbour (Chris Jackson/Invictus Games Foundation/PA)

Meghan, wearing an Invictus waterproof jacket and Outland jeans, had missed Sunday’s first engagement to rest, but she and Harry took a Rib (rigid inflatable boat) out to watch the races.

And it was on the water that Harry received a massive bear hug from a competitor after he boarded their boat.

Video from the harbour shows the man boarding their vessel and putting his arms around the duke before lifting him off the ground. He also embraced the duchess.

Royal tour of Australia – Day Six
The Duchess of Sussex hugs a man as she and the Duke of Sussex watch competitors taking part in the sailing event (Chris Jackson/Invictus Games Foundation/PA)

Carrie and Bill Novack, from Illinois, had “no idea” that the duke and duchess would be joining them on the boat.

Their 26-year-old son Ryan was a first lieutenant in the US air force, before suffering a spinal cord injury in 2016.

Mrs Novack said: “They were so lovely. Harry asked what Invictus has meant to our family, about our son’s journey – and he also asked after his mental health.

“It was so easy to talk to them. Harry said it was good that he had been brought in to the programme early on – people can plateau or spiral downwards.

“We were watching the race and Australia was winning, he said, ‘Sorry about that’.

“Meghan was asking where we were from, she had gone to university in Chicago near us, and said that she loved Chicago.”

Mr Novack told the couple that his son had to wear a Thoracic Lumbar Sacral Orthosis (TLSO) – “like a big turtle shell” – as part of his treatment and had written the Invictus poem on the back of it.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex greet competitors taking part in the event (PA)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex greet competitors taking part in the event (Chris Jackson/Invictus Games Foundation/PA)

He said: “We showed Harry pictures, we didn’t know he would be a part of it back then.”

This is the first year there has been sailing at the Invictus Games.

The boat was owned by Cam Wayland and his partner Aisleen Patterson.

Mr Wayland is part of the organisation RANSA (the Royal Australian Naval Sailing Association) and had volunteered his boat to be used by Invictus family and friends.

On Monday, he was informed two VIP guests would be joining the boat and was told not to tell anyone.

He said: “But people did start noticing when teams came and swept the boat with a bomb dog, they even sent divers underneath it.”

Mr Wayland said Harry called the boat “beautiful”.

The team event was raced in Elliott keelboats with a mixed gender four-person crew in the “open” category.

Each boat was allocated a World Sailing accredited instructor to act as a fifth member of the crew and to provide guidance on safety if required.