Prince William and Kate Middleton return to spotlight in Bradford amid royal family crisis - best photos

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited Bradford on Wednesday to carry out their first joint engagements of the year. Prince William and Kate's first stop of the day was City Hall in Centenary Square to join a group of young people from across the community to hear about life in Bradford. The royal couple delighted members of the public as they stopped to chat to them before their next engagement. Their appearance comes shortly after Prince William attended crunch talks surrounding his brother's decision to step back as a senior royal.

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Prince William and Kate are also set to travel to one of Bradford's Khidmat Centres, whose main focus is to help the most vulnerable members of the community from minority ethnic backgrounds. William and Kate will join a session involving groups supported by Better Start Bradford, which delivers over 20 projects to pregnant women and families under the age of four. One of the Duchess' main focuses is her Early Years initiative and the importance of supporting children and families from a young age. Click through the gallery to see the best pictures from the day...

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge received a warm welcome as they arrived in Bradford on Wednesday. Kate looked elegant wearing a dark green outfit with her brunette locks styled in loose waves, while William looked smart in his suit and dark overcoat.

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The couple's first stop in Bradford was City Hall in Centenary Square, where they met a group of young people, local employers and members of the public.

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Prince William and Kate's final stop of the day was one of Bradford's Khidmat Centres, which help vulnerable people from the community.

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For Kate's first public engagement of the year, she wore a dark green Alexander McQueen coat - and she looked fabulous as ever! She also wore black high heels, a black bag by Aspinal London and and gold drop earrings by Zeen. The Pakistani jewellery designer was favoured by the duchess during the couple's royal visit to Pakistan in October.

The Duchess appeared to be in great spirits as she happily chatted to a group of people upon her arrival.

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Prince William and Kate's trip follows a tumultuous week for the royal family in which the Queen allowed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to step down as senior royals and begin a "new life".

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The royals were greeted by cheers from several hundred well-wishers on Centenary Square, directly outside the 19th-century building. 

Huge cheers greeted the royal couple as they came out of the City Hall to meet members of the public.

Huge crowds gathered to catch a quick glimpse of William and Kate - much to their delight. Kate, 38, smiled as one little girl presented her with a small bouquet of flowers.

During their engagement, Rayhan Hussain, 15, from Bradford got the chance to speak to Prince William as he and Kate stopped to chat to members of the public in Centenary Square outside the City Hall.

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He told HELLO!: "I wrote a letter to Catherine for her birthday, I was going to post it to her. It when I found out that William and Catherine we’re visiting my hometown, I wanted to give it to her in person."

Rayhan handed the card over to William, who joked: "What's in the letter, shall I ask?" He added he would pass it on to his wife. "It was a birthday message and I just said what an amazing woman she is and how thankful I am that she visited my hometown," Rayhan told HELLO!: "I love her commitment and dedication to her work and her patronages, especially her work with mental health and early years."

Prince William was given several bouquets for Kate, as she chatted to pupils from Rainbow Primary School in Bradford. At one point, the Duke was even spotted signing to one member of the public, after being praised for using sign language to say "congratulations," as he gave an MBE to Alex Duguid for his services to deaf people at Tuesday's investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Following their first stop, the royals headed to MyLahore, which is a British Asian restaurant chain that has taken inspiration from Lahore, the Food Capital of Pakistan.

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The royal couple made mango and kulfi milkshakes under the guidance of operations director Ishfaq Farooq. They chose ice cream to add to their drinks and mixed them using blenders.

William said his milkshake was "delicious" and went on to ask staff about the origin of ingredients used.

Underneath the coat, Kate wears a midi-length black and white tartan pussybow dress from high street retailer Zara.

William also went in the kitchen, where he met students from Bradford College taking part in an apprenticeship scheme.

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Both Prince William and Kate even got to meet with professional boxer Amir Khan during their visit to MyLahore's flagship restaurant. The sports star said he spoke to William about his boxing foundation and mental health in sport. When asked about Prince Harry and Meghan, Amir said he felt for the family and thought they needed to sit down together to resolve the issues. He said he had never personally experienced any racism in the UK. "I'm British, I've lived in Britain all my life," he explained. "I feel that Meghan will also be welcomed because the people in Britain
are very loving."

The royal couple later arrived at the Bradford Khidmat Centre, which is devoted to helping vulnerable members of society from minority ethnic backgrounds. They were greeted by a crowd of cheering well-wishers and a drummer.

WATCH: Prince William impresses by using sign language at investiture ceremony

After hearing about the community hub's work, they joined in a session involving groups supported by Better Start Bradford, which delivers projects to pregnant women and families with children under the age of four.