Prince Harry, Meghan to carry out first joint engagement since UK return

Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will on Thursday carry out their first joint engagement since returning to live in the UK in August, according to media reports.

King Charles III’s 42-year-old younger son and Meghan will on that day visit Nottingham in central England, the city where they made their first joint appearance after announcing their engagement in 2017, the Sunday Times reported.

The visit signalled the couple’s “determination to be viewed as public figures”, the report said.

That resolve is at odds with a letter last month in which the king made it clear that their position was “akin to private citizens” rather than public figures and that they should not be addressed as his and her royal highness.

They are expected to visit projects at three charities that support young people and local communities through music, film, sport and tackling food poverty, the report said.

The couple left Britain and quit royal duties in 2020 amid a bitter royal family feud.

Although they have since built bridges with Charles, they remain estranged from Harry’s older brother and heir to the crown Prince William.

The couple had settled in California, but in a surprise move Harry and Meghan, 45, returned to live in the United Kingdom with their two young children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, in August.

The report added that they would return to the United States for Christmas, quoting a friend as saying “they know they’re not going to be invited (to the royal family’s get-together) and they’re not waiting for an invitation”.

The royal family traditionally gathers at the king’s Sandringham estate in eastern England at Christmas.

AFP