The Duchess of Sussex has made her first official public appearance since moving back to the UK.
Meghan arrived at a youth charity in Nottingham alongside her husband, the Duke of Sussex, on Thursday morning. The pair, who are also expected to visit a food bank later, hugged and posed for selfies with the public.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said Nottingham is “a special place” for them both, as it is where they made their first joint appearance after announcing their engagement in 2017.
The duchess has shared glimpses of her life back in the UK on social media, but this is the first time she has attended any public events since the family returned from California.
The pair are attending these events not as working royals, but as public figures and supporters of the projects they’re visiting.
The Royal Household has made it clear they view them as private citizens.
Despite that, Thursday’s schedule has a distinctly royal feel to it.
The first stop on their visit to Nottingham is the Community Recording Studio, a charity which Prince Harry has been supporting since 2013.
Its CEO Trevor Rose told the BBC they only found out about the trip a few weeks ago, and could not believe it.
“It’s exciting times. Completely random, phoned, mentioned a idea, said they’d like to come down,” he said.
“I thought it was going to be something in the future, next thing I know it’s two weeks later and we are here, so yeah it’s a complete shock.”
A group of fans had built up steadily throughout the morning, some carrying flowers whilst one child has a unicorn balloon.
Later in the day, the pair are expected to visit Himmah Hub, a local charity tackling food poverty, where they will observe cooking classes taking place and help to prepare food parcels.
Their third engagement is at Epic Partners, a group working to support young people through youth work, sport and mentoring.
The couple have a private security team with them in Nottingham and local police teams are understood to be aware of their visit.
Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson told BBC News they were “really excited” to be back together in Nottingham, nine years since their last joint visit.
“They are back here primarily because they support and believe in the organisations they are visiting.
“They enjoy coming back to revisit projects they are personally invested in, to meet the same people and understand what is happening and how things are changing.”
In 2017, Harry and Meghan visited Nottingham’s Lace Market before a visit to a World Aids Day charity fair. Pictures from that trip showed the couple smiling as they met enthusiastic crowds.
The pair and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, returned to the UK in August after living in the US for six years.
They have reportedly settled in the Cotswolds, and their children have moved schools after issues were raised by their security team about the school run.
It also emerged that the Sussexes are going to be given a review of their publicly funded security, following their return to live in the UK.
It is understood that the committee which oversees royal and VIP security, known as Ravec, is reconsidering Prince Harry and Meghan’s level of police protection now that they and their two children are full-time residents rather than visitors.
The Sussexes will not be spending Christmas with the King at the traditional royal family gathering at Sandringham, Norfolk. BBC News understands that they are likely to spend it privately with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.
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