Harry and Meghan appear together for the first time since their return to the UK

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared together at their first public event in Britain since their return to the country. Prince Harry and Meghan were warmly received by attendees upon their arrival at the Community Recording Studio (CRS) in Nottingham on Thursday morning. British news agency PA Media reported that the crowds presented the couple with balloons and flowers, while Harry and Meghan stopped to greet people and take selfies with them.

"It's great to be back," Meghan told one woman in the crowd. The Community Registration Centre, which Harry previously visited, is a charity that teaches young people film, video and music making skills.

Inside the center, Megan joined a group of girls in a workshop aimed at enhancing self-confidence and making bracelets. In response to a question about what makes them feel like themselves, one of the participants mentioned that she loves doing gymnastics, to which Megan answered – according to PA Media – saying: “Our daughter is also doing it at the moment, and she loves it very much.”

The Duchess added: "I feel most like myself when I'm with my family, and also when I'm cooking; I love doing that very much." On their second stop in Nottingham on Thursday, the couple visited Himmah Hub, a community group working to combat food poverty.

There, they participated in cooking lessons and prepared food parcels for donation. According to PA Media, about 50 people gathered at the entrances hoping to catch a glimpse of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

While at the Himmah Hub, the couple reunited with women who had previously been involved in preparing meals for families from Grenfell Tower in London, which was hit by a massive fire in 2017. Meghan hugged these women, all of whom were featured in a community cookbook she had supported.

The couple's third and final stop in the city was a visit to the Epic Partners charity, which supports children and young people in Nottingham. In a surprise announcement this summer, the couple revealed their intention to leave their home in California and settle again in the United Kingdom, accompanied by their two children, Prince Archie (7 years old) and Princess Lilibet (5 years old).

The family arrived in August, just before the start of the school year last September. The couple returned as private citizens, without resuming any official duties on behalf of King Charles III.

These visits in Nottingham come more than 6 years after the couple left the United Kingdom for the United States, a period that witnessed a public dispute with some members of the royal family. Harry and Meghan had cited several reasons that prompted them to leave in 2020, including: the interference of the tabloid press in their private lives, the presence of racism within British institutions, exposure to online abuse, in addition to complications in family relationships.

It is noteworthy that Harry and Meghan's visit to Nottingham is not considered an official royal activity. Last September, Harry's father, King Charles, sent a letter explaining that the couple should be treated as "ordinary citizens", a move that was said to have surprised Harry and Meghan.

According to the letter — sent by Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the British royal court — all of Harry and Meghan's charitable work is "a personal matter for them, which they undertake in their own capacity." The letter also made it clear that any procedural or operational matters relating to them should be directed to the relevant security authorities, while Harry continued to ask the British Home Office to restore security protection for his family – paid for by the taxpayer – which was reduced when the family left for North America in 2020.

The Sussex family's last joint public appearance in Britain was 4 years ago, during the funeral of Harry's grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022. During his stay in the United States, Harry made several trips to the United Kingdom, which included attending the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022, and the coronation ceremony of his father, King Charles III, the following year.