Meghan Markle and Prince Harry face choppy seas after Duchess of Sussex rests on royal tour in Australia

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have braved choppy seas hours after Meghan Markle was urged to rest on the couple’s royal tour.

Prince Harry and Meghan took to the water to watch the sailing final of the Invictus Games as part of their latest outing on the tour.

The pregnant Duchess of Sussex was back supporting competitors in the Invictus Games after being urged by her husband to pace herself during their gruelling 16-day Pacific tour.

Meghan had pulled out of an arranged meeting with those taking part in the earlier day and rested.

She and Harry were in attendance together later that day though, as they took a rib (a rigid inflatable boat) out to watch the races.

Harry was then seen to be helping Meghan onto a 40ft Hanse 400 yacht to watch the race.

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.

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.

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 couple are currently part-way through a 16-day tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, with 76 events on their schedule.

The mother-to-be opted to rest following a late night on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, after an electrical storm delayed the launch event for the Games.

A royal source said the duchess was "not sick, just tired" and was still keen to take part in everything.

The source added: "We have to try to pace her. We have to make sure she is well paced and not overdoing it. She had a very late night last night.

"She wants to do everything, but Prince Harry is encouraging her to pace herself."

The couple will next travel to Fraser Island, off the coast of Queensland, with Monday's planned engagements including a visit to Lake McKenzie and a walkabout on the Kingfisher Bay.