Meghan showered with bouquets on first joint public appearance with Harry since UK return

Kids skipped school and royal fans lined the streets of Nottingham as Prince Harry and Meghan stepped out publicly together on Thursday.

It marks the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first joint pseudo-royal engagement since their move back to the UK in August.

The couple made a sentimental choice for the outing, replicating their first-ever joint public engagement, which came just days after the couple announced their wedding in 2017.

And the choice paid off, with the couple receiving a very warm welcome as they arrived about 10.35am (8.35pm AEDT).

Crowds lined streets and cheered as well-wishers handed over bouquet after bouquet of flowers to Meghan, who returned to the Midlands city for the first time since that day in December 2017.

It also marked Meghan’s first public engagement in the UK in four years.

The couple were also inundated with gift bags and given unicorn and Batman foil balloons, presumably for their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

The duke and duchess appeared touched by the reception they received, beaming as they took time to chat to as many of the hundreds of people that turned out as they could.

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The couple also took a leaf out of Prince William and Kate’s books and relaxed their approach to selfies, happily posing with fans.

This is in stark contrast to their previous joint visit, when Meghan was forced to politely decline a fan’s request for a photo, saying, “we’re not allowed”.

Now returning as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan opted for a signature monochromatic look, wearing top-to-toe burgundy from a selection of British designers.

The former Suits star had her long auburn locks pulled back in a ponytail but opted to go sans earrings for the outing.

Prince Harry wore blue jeans, a white shirt and a blazer as he held his wife’s hand dutifully and joked around with people who were there to see them.

“It’s great to be back,” Meghan told one well-wisher.

Harry, when asked by a journalist how it felt to be back in Nottingham, also said “great”.

The first stop on their day-long visit was a return to the Community Recording Studio (CRS) in St Ann’s, which they’d been to last time and Harry has since returned to.

“They are back here primarily because they support and believe in the organisations they are visiting,” the Sussexes’ spokesperson told the BBC.

“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.”

At CRS, Harry and Meghan had some solo meetings with kids who have benefited from programs at the facility, before coming together to watch an acting workshop designed to developing young people’s skills and confidence.

During the workshop with the girls, Meghan advised them to be kind to themselves.

“We have to remember to talk to ourselves like we talk to our best friends,” the duchess said.

“It’s really important to be just as kind to yourself.”

The mum-of-two also gave a little insight into Princess Lilibet’s life, revealing the five-year-old is enjoying gymnastics currently.

“I like it when I do gymnastics,” one young girl told Meghan, to which she replied: “Oh yeah. Our daughter is doing that too right now. She loves it.”

On their way out, they were again gifted with flowers, hugs and requests for selfies from the crowd who surprised the couple by sticking around until they were done inside.

The couple then made their way to Himmah Hub, central England’s biggest food bank, where Prince Harry whisked Meghan inside as she apologetically waved to the small crowd gathered outside.

The charity is in a similar vein to the Duchess’s former work with the Hubb Community Kitchen in London, which was created by a group of women following the Grenfell fire.

With Meghan’s patronage, they released a fundraising cookbook. But the London-based charity, who collaborated with the Nottingham group in the past, closed their doors earlier this year.

The couple visited the charity’s base first, where they took part in a cooking class, wearing a hat and apron, before popping over to the charity’s nearby food bank.

On arrival, Meghan made a beeline to “my ladies”, saying “it’s been too long” as she hugged them and enjoyed quick catch-ups before starting a group hug.

The couple helped make a West African dish in their cooking class before enjoying lunch with about 50 people associated with the charity.

On the way into Himmah Hub, while rushing inside, the Duchess of Sussex was said to have promised she’d return to waiting fans afterwards.

But the couple left the premises without popping out front, leaving a number of people disappointed.

“I really wanted to catch her, she did say she would come out,” Shagoftah Akhtar, 53, told media.

“I’m sure they’ve got their security reasons and stuff, if she’d have had her way, I think she’d have come out.”

At the food bank, the couple packed parcels of groceries and paused to take selfies and photos.

As they left, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex both spoke about how they had found their first outing since their return.

“It’s great to be back,” Prince Harry told BBC. “Wonderful and great to be back in Nottingham too.”

While Meghan described the visit to Himmah Hub as “really, really meaningful”.

Harry and Meghan ended the day with a visit to Epic Partners and heard about how the charity supports children, young people and their families.

While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s outing has all the hallmarks of a royal engagement, including walkabouts, a media pool covering the event and use of their titles, it’s not characterised as one.

And that’s largely thanks to one key difference – there is no massive police presence around the couple.

There was one police car spotted during their first engagement but nothing at seen outside their second, according to The Nottingham Post.

The Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) is still evaluating their threat level and the security protection they’ll be afforded while living in the UK.

Traditionally, royals on an official engagement receive a police convoy and police protection. Harry and Meghan only had private security on Thursday.

In a statement issued shortly after their UK return, Buckingham Palace made it clear they were not resuming their duties as senior working royals on their return to the UK.

Six years after quitting their roles in 2020 for a life in North America, a letter from the Lord Chamberlain on behalf of King Charles reminded the public that the couple would remain “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests”.

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The decision to send the letter to senior government officials and, more importantly, to release it to the media demonstrated the concern among some palace officials.

It’s thought they were worried Harry and Meghan’s celebrity could allow them to become a sort of parallel royal court, competing with the Prince and Princess of Wales and other working royals for press coverage and public support.

But, similar to what was seen in Australia when Harry and Meghan made their pseudo-royal tour in April, Nottingham proves the divisive couple can still pull a crowd.