By Hannah McKay and Vitalii Yalahuzian
NOTTINGHAM, England, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Prince Harry and his wife Meghan appeared together in public on Thursday for the first time since they made a surprise return to Britain, returning to the city where they made their maiden joint official engagement nine years ago.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and Meghan shocked the monarch and other members of the royal family when they relocated from California to England two months ago with their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.
In their first joint public outing since then, the couple returned to Nottingham in central England which they visited in 2017, shortly after it was announced they were getting married.
They began by visiting a recording studio run by a youth and community charity which has received support from a £1.1 million ($1.46 million) donation announced by Harry last year.
Later they were to visit a charity which tackles food poverty run by a group called Himmah to which Meghan donated £10,000 from sales of a cookbook released to raise funds in the wake of London’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster.
The engagements conclude with a visit to another charity the couple have backed which supports young people and is linked to their previous visit in 2017.
HARRY AND MEGHAN DIVIDE PUBLIC OPINION
Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have become deeply polarising figures since they stepped down from royal duties to move to California in 2020, going on to deliver scathing criticism of both the prince’s family and the royal institution itself.
Opinion polls show a majority of Britons hold a negative opinion of them, although young people are far more sympathetic.
On their visit to Nottingham nine years ago they were met by large flag-waving cheering crowds. Thursday’s visit was a much lower-key affair, but the couple chatted with about 100 excited schoolchildren and well-wishers joined by large numbers of media.
Meghan looked emotional as one woman handed her a large bouquet of flowers and gave her a hug.
“We just wanted to support you,” another well-wisher told her. “We wanted to be here … we understand, we wanted you to know that we’ve shown you so much love.”
When Harry made his first solo public appearance since their relocation he declared it was “good to be back on British soil” but their return has not been without difficulties.
The location of their new home has been kept private amid security concerns and they are not living in a royal residence.
They had to move their children to a new school not long after they started term because of concerns about security, with the couple’s spokesperson also condemning the actions of “certain European paparazzi” intruding into their privacy.
($1 = 0.7549 pounds)
(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
