When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their much-debated public comeback in the UK last week, it was as if they had never been away.
Stepping out in Nottingham for their first joint official engagements since returning to Britain in the summer, they were greeted by cheering fans bearing flowers and balloons and calling out their names.
More than six years after leaving the country for a new, more private life in California as non-working royals, Prince Harry and Meghan were back with a bang and primed for their moment in the spotlight. HELLO!'s Eleanor Dye, who travelled to Nottingham to report on the day, said: “I was struck by the couple's clear delight to be out meeting people once again.”
The choice of location was a thoroughly safe one. Harry has had close ties to charities in Nottingham for years, and the Sussexes’ team knew, even as they made last-minute plans to visit, that they would receive a warm welcome.
It is also the same city where, almost nine years ago, Harry and Meghan carried out their first official royal outing as a newly engaged couple. Much has changed since 2017, of course, not least since their decision to step down as senior working royals in 2020.
As they hugged and chatted to well-wishers, their latest visit had all the hallmarks of the type of royal engagements on which they turned their backs six years ago. But the reality, as the King was at pains to point out recently in a letter to the couple, is that the couple are still “private citizens” – an agreement that was reached at the so-called “Sandringham summit” in January 2020, when the late Queen Elizabeth told them that they could not be “half in, half out” and pursue commercial interests while working within the Firm.
© Getty ImagesFinding freedom
The Sussexes, however, appear defiant in the face of criticism that they are trying to resume royal duties by stealth. A friend tells HELLO!: “It doesn't trouble them. They never agreed that they wouldn’t be half in, half out. That was what was decided and was foisted upon them.
“They're just living their lives, and they can do it because they're financially independent.
A long-time friend of Harry adds: "They want to have their independent lives in the way they think they should, and they feel they have a right to, like anybody. I don't think they are going to do things in a different way just because they're back in the UK.”
As the late Queen’s unimprovable quote goes, “recollections may vary”. In 2020, it was made clear to the public that they had, in fact, agreed to the terms.
The couple’s bullish approach is unlikely to help with Harry’s stated aim of reconciliation with his family.
But it seems that they will plough on regardless, although the Prince is likely to carry out more public engagements, with Meghan joining him less frequently.
© Getty ImagesChristmas plans
Contrary to reports, the Sussexes are not expected to return to the US for the children’s half-term holiday later this month. Friends say that they will probably remain in the UK or travel to their holiday home in Portugal.
Sources tell HELLO! that they do not plan to join the royals for Christmas at Sandringham, and they are reportedly intending to return to California to spend the holiday season with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
They certainly seem to have embraced British life since they made their surprise return in August. With Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, settled in a new school, the couple have been spotted at country pubs near their home in the Cotswolds, while Meghan has been spending time at the exclusive celebrity members’ club Soho Farmhouse, in Oxfordshire.
It was revealed last week that there are plans to expand her lifestyle brand As Ever to the UK, and Meghan also appears to be keen to relaunch her profile in London, where she has been making headlines.
The day before her trip to Nottingham, she was photographed leaving a hair salon alongside the celebrity hairstylist George Northwood, who styled Meghan’s hair for her wedding in 2018.
Days earlier, photographers captured her as she stood outside Claridge’s hotel with Malala Yousafzai, 29, the Pakistani blogger who survived being shot by the Taliban and became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Duchess later posted photos of the pair enjoying afternoon tea together, and announced she would be marking the International Day of the Girl by donating 100% of net proceeds from As Ever’s jams and teas to the Malala Fund.
Acting return on the horizon
A source close to the former Suits actress confirms that Meghan is also planning a return to acting, following speculation that she was in talks to join the cast of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentleman.
“Her diary is full,” the source tells HELLO!. “It's the kids, As Ever, acting and then supporting good causes in whatever time she has left over. The children are a bit older; they are both settled in school full-time. Archie and Lili are really enjoying school. Meghan is able to now stick her head above the parapet a little bit more.
© Samir Hussein/WireImage“It's a case of having a little bit more time to re-look at her original career, her vocation as an actor. She's looking at loads of acting offers. She's meeting a lot of writers and creatives and reading a lot of scripts. If there's anything that stands out as being amazing, she'll do it.”
The brand expert Nick Ede, who worked with Meghan before she met Harry, tells us: “I think Meghan is very keen to make her mark back in the UK, and she is carefully planning moments that grab the headlines. I think she’s trying to work out her popularity and where she lies in the world as a public figure and celebrity.
“As Ever is very her, as is her charity work and love of fashion. You can do all of those things, but you have to show up in an authentic way, and when I knew her, she was very kind and authentic. I feel that she's lost her way a bit, and many of her actions contradict her words.
“I would shy away from pseudo-royal engagements that will lead to scrutiny and, instead, meet the charities and foundations that she supports behind the scenes and as a genuine supporter, like Diana did on many occasions without the media present.”
© Getty Images“I think Meghan is very keen to make her mark back in the UK, and she is carefully planning moments that grab the headlines. I think she’s trying to work out her popularity and where she lies in the world as a public figure and celebrity."
But there was no chance of that in Nottingham, where HELLO! joined Harry and Meghan and cameras followed the couple’s every move as they visited the Community Recording Studio, the food-poverty action group Himmah Hub and Epic Partners, which supports children, young people and families through youth work, sport, mentoring and education.
Best of British
Meghan wore British designs for the visit, donning a coat, polo-neck sweater and earrings by Joseph, a belt from Marks & Spencer and shoes by Jennifer Chamandi. Eleanor says: “When I asked Harry outside the Community Recording Studio – their first stop of the day – how it felt to be back, he told me: ‘Great!’ and gave a huge thumbs-up.
“Later on, outside Himmah Hub, I asked Meghan if she was happy to be back. Her response was a genuine beam, telling me: ‘Yes, of course.’”
At the Himmah Hub, the couple had an emotional reunion with a group of women who cooked for families in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017 and featured in a cookbook championed by the Duchess.
“It’s been too long,” one of the women told them. Meghan replied: “At least five years.”
A friend of the couple tells HELLO!: “There’s a nice synergy there, with [the city] being [the location of] their first engagement as a couple and [last week’s trip being] their first since they’ve been back in the UK. Nottingham holds a special place in their hearts.”
