The Duchess of Sussex declared “it’s great to be back” as Meghan and the Duke of Sussex were cheered at their first joint engagement on British soil since their return to the UK.
Harry and Meghan were welcomed to the Community Recording Studio (CRS) in St Ann’s, Nottingham, for a run of three quasi-royal public appearances in the city on Thursday.
The couple set up home back in England in August in a dramatic u-turn six years after sparking the Megxit crisis and quitting the working monarchy for a new life in the US.
The pair went straight to greet the crowds of well-wishers, just like a traditional royal walkabout – smiling, shaking hands, giving hugs and taking selfies with the members of the public.
The duchess was heard telling one woman in the crowd: “Oh it’s great to be back”.
At one point Meghan turned her attention to the most British of topics – the weather, telling one member of the public who had gathered in the sunshine: “We’ve got lovely weather today. We got lucky.”
Harry could be seen putting his hand on Meghan’s back and at one point the couple put their arms around each other.
The duke stopped to tell one woman he liked her bright pink jacket and that it was “very nice” to see everyone, and he also crouched down to speak to one youngster.
Meghan was seen to kiss 90-year-old Irene Hardman on the cheek and give her a hug after she showed her a framed photograph of the Sussexes’ 2017 visit to Nottingham – their first joint official public appearance after announcing their engagement.
The duchess said: “Oh my gosh. How sweet is that? This was our very first walkabout”, while Ms Hardman told her: “I remember you, my darling.”
The crowd had cheered as the couple stepped from their dark-coloured Range Rover, before one woman shouted: “We love you Duchess Meghan, we love you.”
Meghan, wearing her hair in a ponytail, was dressed in all British designs for her return to public engagements in the UK, with a loose-fitting burgundy winter coat, polo neck and earrings by Joseph, a belt from Marks & Spencer and stilettos by Jennifer Chamandi, while Harry was in a dark suit, with an open-necked white shirt.
The duchess was wearing her wedding ring and her customised fitness Oura tracker ring on the away day, but not her diamond engagement ring.
Emily Davis, 21, gave Meghan a bunch of yellow flowers and a card in which she wrote that the duchess “really inspires” her, with Meghan putting it in her pocket to read later.
Inside the event, Meghan revealed that Princess Lilibet has been enjoying gymnastics.
The duchess joined young girls aged 10 and 11 for a confidence-building and bracelet-making workshop where they discussed what makes them feel most like themselves.
When one youngster said: “I like it when I do gymnastics.
Meghan replied: “Oh yeah. Our daughter is doing that too right now. She loves it.”
The duchess, whose Netflix lifestyle With Love, Meghan show centred around hosting and cooking, added: “I feel most like myself when I’m with my family and also when I’m cooking. I love doing that. I love to cook.”
The duchess also gave the girls advice, saying: “We have to remember to talk to ourselves like we talk to our best friends.
“It’s really important to be just as kind to yourself”.
Meghan gave each of the girls a handwritten card featuring an inspirational paragraph written on it.
The duchess had earlier been presented with a healing crystal for “positivity” from Shani Saviciene, who was waiting in the crowd.
The 30-year-old told the Press Association Meghan was “really grateful”.
Ms Saviciene said: “I just want her to be protected, uplifted, and just have as much positivity around her as possible.”
The couple were welcomed with hugs by CRS chief executive and co-founder Trevor Rose and musician, poet and youth mentor Jah Digga, who was helped by CRS as a child to move away from gang violence.
They watched an acting workshop led by actor Andre Squire, with former Suits star Meghan, who is preparing to reboot her acting career, telling the participants “That was great”, and asking the group “Did you find the characters relatable?”.
They also watched Amelia Faith Currie, 14, from Clifton, perform one of her own songs about peer pressure.
The couple applauded afterwards, and hugged Amelia in the recording booth.
“Bravo. Look at you,” Meghan said, while Harry added: “Keep singing, just keep singing.”
Amelia said: “They said I was great, I was a bit shocked, to be fair. Meghan said she wanted me to record a cover of a song – Letter To My 13-Year-Old Self – and she wants to hear it. I know the song, Meghan said she’d send it to me.”
Before leaving, Harry filmed a private interview with Digga about the charity’s work, with the musician saying of the visit: “They’re really supporting us, I think it’s a beautiful thing.”
The Sussexes also visited food poverty community action group Himmah Hub, with their final stop of the day due to be Epic Partners, which supports young people through sports programmes and mentoring.
The high-profile events are not official royal engagements – with a letter to Government stakeholders authorised by the King last month clarifying the Sussexes remain “private citizens” – they appeared to bear all the hallmarks of such.
But the duke and duchess were 11 minutes’ late arriving by car.
They are being protected by their private security team during the event, and do not enjoy the benefit of the police convoys assigned to senior working royals.
In keeping with traditional royal engagements, the scores of photographers and journalists gathered outside were kept behind barriers, as were the crowds of well-wishers, some clutching flowers, with one youngster holding a unicorn balloon, while media access inside the event was pooled.
Harry and Meghan are waiting to hear whether they will be granted taxpayer-funded security, with the duke said to fear a delay after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a review of security measures for the royal family and public figures in the wake of the death of Reform UK’s justice spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe.
It marks the first time in four years that Meghan has appeared publicly at events in the UK, the last time being the late Queen’s funeral in 2022.
The King and Queen Camilla meanwhile were carrying on with official duties in Cardiff as the monarch addressed the Welsh Parliament at the ceremonial opening of the Senedd.
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