Meghan and Harry were cheered as they made their first joint appearance since moving back to the UK today, with a series of royal-style public engagements in Nottingham.
The couple are supporting a number of charities, including a community food project established in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and a recording studio where Meghan will take part in an acting workshop.
Around 100 people and a large number of schoolchildren gathered to greet them as they began three quasi-royal engagements in the East Midlands on Thursday.
The Sussexes looked very happy to be in Nottingham, with Harry putting a protective arm around his wife on their first UK appearance for four years
More than 100 people were waiting for the couple in the East Midlands this morning
Meghan and Harry looked delighted as they were handed bouquets of flowers
The duchess looked delighted with the reception
Meghan and Harry greeted excited fans in the city where they made their first riyal engagement in 2017
The Duchess chatted animatedly with fans
The couple, who were called 'private citizens' by the King, posed for selfies
Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive for a visit to The Community Recording Studio, a youth and community charity supporting young people through creative activities, mentoring and youth development, in Nottingham
The royal-style events came after the Sussexes were described as ‘private citizens’ by the King, who is in Wales with the Queen for an official engagement today.
Nottingham is the city where the couple carried out their first royal walkabout together after announcing their engagement in 2017.
But almost a decade on, Meghan does not see herself as a working royal and is instead more of a ‘full-time mum and entrepreneur’, a friend has said, adding that public events like this with her husband will be ‘rare’ for her.
The Sussexes are visiting three charities, starting with the Community Recording Studio, where Meghan is due to take part in an acting workshop.
The couple will then visit the Himmah food bank alongside the Hubb Community Kitchen and Epic Partners, a charity offering sports mentoring for children aged four to 18.
Hubb, which was established after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed 72 lives in June 2017, has long been a passion project for Meghan. She wrote the foreword to its 2018 cookbook, Together.
There is a ‘really nice synergy’ in their return to Nottingham nine years on, a source said, while adding that things have changed since they were last there.
And Meghan, who was out for lunch with her royal wedding hairdresser in London yesterday, will not be making these kinds of visits often.
'Her public appearances will be relatively rare. She is reading a lot of scripts at the moment. If she has time left after all of that, she will do some charity work,' the Sussex source said.
'But she's not a working royal. Her day isn't organised around a programme pulled together by a private secretary. She's a full-time mum and entrepreneur, and that alone takes up a lot of time and work.'
Meghan is hoping to launch As Ever in the UK by the end of this year.
Harry is focused on his charity work, especially Invictus, while Meghan is more focused on business and her potential return to acting.
'They have different professional priorities,' one source told the Telegraph.
'Prince Harry's is his philanthropic work and public service. Her focus is on her family and children, followed by her business, followed by rebooting her acting career.'
Meghan has been busy in the past fortnight, launching a new advent calendar and a collaboration with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai.
She is donating a day’s proceeds of all jam and tea sales from her Californian brand As Ever to Yousafzai’s charity, the Malala Fund, in honour of the International Day of the Girl on October 11.
Although the Daily Mail's Alison Boshoff revealed that this may end up being less than the £2,000 value of the trousers she wore when they met at Claridge's last week.
On Sunday, alongside a shot of her grinning at that tea, as Malala looked solemn, the Duchess shared a joint statement from the pair.
‘When we support the girls today, we empower the women of tomorrow. Access to education is the key to unlocking this,' she said.
She then told her 4.9million followers: ‘This International Day of the Girl, in partnership with Archewell Philanthropies, 100 per cent of net proceeds from As Ever jams and teas will support Malala Fund and its vital work to ensure every girl has access to free safe quality education. Tea for Two has never felt so good. Shop at asever.com’.
Meghan's first UK engagement was at Community Recording Studio (CRS), a youth and community charity that offers a wide range of creative activities, sports, mentoring and youth development programmes
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, speaks with members of the public as she arrives for a visit to The Community Recording Studio
Harry was in his element as he spoke to local schoolchildren
Harry and Meghan spent some time meeting well-wishers
The Duchess then spoke to the team running the Community Recording Studio
Her office this week declined to confirm any sales figures from Sunday.
Even a generous extrapolation from the only available data suggests a day of proceeds from tea and jam will add around £1,900 to the Malala Fund coffers.
Despite becoming increasingly active in the UK, including through a number of visits to London, the couple have yet to meet King Charles and remain estranged from the Prince and Princess of Wales.
One source claimed the Sussexes have taken their Christmas plans into their own hands because they 'know they're not invited' to Sandringham.
It would be 'too difficult and awkward' to spend Christmas with the Royal Family, a friend said.
'They won't be having Christmas with the Royal Family. How could that even work? They know it would be too awkward and too difficult. They also know they're not going to be invited, and they're not waiting for an invitation.
'For Thanksgiving and Christmas, they will do whatever Doria wants to do. They would love her to come over to the UK and spend it with them here, but they will be wherever she wants to be.'
The friend added: 'He [Harry] has not yet seen the King, who is still in Scotland, but it will happen.'
The couple are expected to spend the festive period with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, 70, who lives less than a two-hour drive from their Montecito home.
Meghan with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala after a ‘private’ tea at Claridge’s last week
Another friend told the Daily Mail that the Sussexes are trying to 'keep their heads down between now and Christmas', when they will return to California for the holidays.
Harry and Meghan are understood to be planning to spend school holidays and half-term breaks either in California or Portugal, where they also own a property.
Ms Ragland has been a constant presence in the family's life since the couple stepped down as senior royals and relocated to the United States in 2020. She lives in a bungalow in an affluent residential area outside Los Angeles and has formed a particularly close bond with her grandchildren.
As for Archie and Lilibet's other grandparents, King Charles and Queen Camilla saw them in person for the first time in four years at Highgrove in July.
It is understood Harry remains in contact with his father by phone. The monarch is enjoying an extended summer and autumn break at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Harry and the Prince of Wales have not spoken since 2022.
