The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to make their first joint public appearance in the UK in four years as they visit Nottingham for a series of engagements.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit three organisations in the city on Thursday, meeting young people and community groups as part of a day focused on youth support, food poverty and mentoring.
Return to England
The couple returned to England in August, six years after stepping back from their roles as senior working royals and relocating to the US in a decision widely referred to as Megxit. Their latest visit will take them to the Community Recording Studio (CRS), the Himmah Hub and Epic Partners, which supports children, young people and families through sports programmes, mentoring and education.
While the high-profile visits are not official royal engagements, they are anticipated to follow a broadly similar format to traditional royal visits. A letter sent to Government stakeholders and authorised by King Charles last month made clear that Harry and Meghan remain private citizens.
Meghan's First UK Event Since Queen's Funeral
The letter is said to have taken the couple by surprise, with the Sussexes reportedly considering themselves public figures. Thursday's visit will also mark Meghan's first public appearance at an event on British soil since the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September 2022.
Harry and Meghan undertook their final official joint royal engagement in March 2020, when they joined members of the Royal Family for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. However, the duchess is anticipated to make such public outings comparatively infrequently as she focuses on her family, her As Ever lifestyle brand and a potential return to acting.
A source revealed the couple had differing professional priorities, with Harry concentrating on philanthropy and public service, while Meghan's focus remained on their children and her business ventures.
The source said: "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."
"Her public appearances will be relatively rare. She is reading a lot of scripts at the moment."
They added that any spare time Meghan possessed would be dedicated to charitable work, characterising her as a full-time mother and entrepreneur rather than a working royal. Speculation has swirled around how the former Suits actress would occupy her time in the UK, with reports indicating she had held discussions about a role in the popular Netflix series The Gentlemen.
Nottingham Engagements
Nevertheless, a friend of Meghan told Hello! magazine that the duchess was prepared to "stick her head above the parapet" during the Nottingham visit.
The friend said: "She's up for it. There are still causes and there are still issues that Meghan is really passionate about supporting, and Nottingham is one of those."
During Thursday's visit, Harry and Meghan will spend time at CRS, a youth and community charity in St Ann's. The duke is due to meet musician and poet Jah Digga, who attended the studio as a child, while Meghan will join young girls for a confidence-building session and a bracelet-making workshop.
Harry previously visited CRS in September last year, when he personally donated £1.1 million to BBC Children In Need to support young people affected by violence. The couple will also visit Himmah Hub, where they are expected to take part in a cooking class and help pack food parcels for donations.
The visit will see Meghan reconnect with women from the Hubb Community Kitchen, which she championed during her time as a working royal. In 2018, her debut solo project as a member of the Royal Family saw her lend her support to a cookbook produced by the women behind the community kitchen.
The group had originally come together to assist families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire in west London.
Their final stop will be Epic Partners, an organisation supporting children, young people and families in the St Ann's and Sneinton areas through youth work, sport, mentoring and education. The Nottingham engagements follow a series of other UK appearances by Harry, including his attendance at the annual WellChild Awards last month.
Meanwhile, the Sussexes are awaiting a ruling on whether they will be granted taxpayer-funded security during future visits to the UK. Harry is said to be worried about a possible postponement after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed a review of security arrangements for the Royal Family and public figures in the wake of Reform UK's justice spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe's death.
