london —
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their first public appearance together since returning to the UK.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were greeted by well-wishers as they arrived at Nottingham’s Community Recording Studio (CRS) on Thursday morning.
Crowds presented the couple with balloons and flowers, and Harry and Meghan stopped to greet onlookers and take selfies, Britain’s PA media news agency said. “I’m glad to be back,” Meghan told a woman in the crowd.
CRS, which Harry has previously visited, is a charity that teaches film, video and music skills to young people. Inside the studio, Meghan joined a group of girls for a workshop to build confidence and make bracelets.
According to PA Media, one of the participants asked what made her feel like herself and she said she likes doing gymnastics, to which Meghan replied: “My daughter is doing it now too. She loves gymnastics.”
Meghan, whose Netflix lifestyle show “With Love” focuses on hosting and cooking, added: “I feel most myself when I’m with my family and when I’m cooking. I love doing that. I love cooking.”
The couple’s second stop in Nottingham on Thursday was Hima Hub, an organization that works with food-poor communities. During their stay, they attended cooking classes and packed food parcels for donation.
According to PA Media, a crowd of around 50 people gathered at the gate to catch a glimpse of the Sussexes.
During their stay at Himmer Hub, the couple reunited with women who had been cooking for families in London’s Grenfell Tower area, which was devastated by the devastating fire in 2017. Meghan hugged the women featured in the community cookbook she champions.
The Sussexes’ third and final engagement in Nottingham was with a charity called Epic Partners, which supports children and young people in Nottingham.
In a surprise announcement this summer, the couple revealed they would be leaving their California home and resettling in the UK with their two children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. The family landed in August ahead of the start of the new school year last month. They will return as civilians and have no plans to resume official duties on behalf of King Charles III.
The engagement in Nottingham came more than six years after the couple left Britain for the United States, and in the years since then there have been rumors of rifts between the couple and some members of the royal family.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan cited tabloid intrusion, racism in British institutions, online abuse and complicated family relationships as reasons for their resignation in 2020.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s visit to Nottingham is not an official royal engagement.
Last month, Prince Harry’s father, King Charles, released a letter stating that Harry and his wife should be treated as “civilians”. The letter is said to have caught the Sussexes by surprise.
A letter sent by Lord Chamberlain, the most senior member of the British royal family, said all charity work undertaken by Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan “is a personal matter for them and is carried out in their personal capacity.”
The letter also made it clear that any operational issues involving them should be reported to the relevant police authorities. Prince Harry continues to call on the Home Office to reinstate the family’s taxpayer support, which was downgraded when the family left for North America in 2020.
The Sussexes’ last public appearance in the UK was four years ago, at the funeral of Prince Harry’s late grandmother Queen Elizabeth in September 2022.
While living in the US, Prince Harry returned to the UK several times for the funeral of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the coronation of his father Charles III the following year.
CNN’s Lauren Said Moorhouse and Max Foster contributed reporting.
