Prince Harry, Meghan make first joint public appearance since UK return

NOTTINGHAM, United Kingdom (AFP) -- Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Thursday carried out their first joint engagement since their surprise move back to the UK in August.

King Charles III's 42-year-old younger son and Meghan, 45 -- who left Britain and quit royal duties in 2020 amid a bitter royal family feud -- were greeted with cheers before they chatted and joked with well-wishers in the central English city of Nottingham.

The royal-style visit puts the pair at odds with Buckingham Palace after the king made it clear in a letter released last month 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.

The couple are due to spend the day in the city visiting three charities that support young people and local communities through music, film, sport and tackling food poverty.

Known formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they posed for selfies, hugged members of the crowd and accepted flowers.

Following a spectacular falling out with the rest of the royal family, Harry and Meghan have built bridges with Charles but they remain estranged from Harry's older brother and heir to the crown Prince William.

The couple settled in California six years ago but in a surprise move in August they returned to live in the United Kingdom with their two young children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.

The late Queen Elizabeth II made it clear to Harry and Meghan before her death in 2022 that there was no "half-in/half-out" option under which they could pursue commercial ventures while being working royals.

A letter issued last month by the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the Royal Household, said that following the couple's relocation there had been "a number of requests for guidance."

"It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the sovereign and are no longer working members of the royal family," it said.

"This position, distinct from the state and royal duties undertaken by the working royal family, and with the personal latitude it brings the couple in respect of financial independence and protection of their privacy as they would wish, will continue to be fully respected." "Working royals" are members of the royal family who carry out official duties on behalf of the monarch. They receive administrative and other support from the Royal Household to do so.

There are currently seven senior working royals -- King Charles and Queen Camilla; son and heir Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales; Charles's sister Princess Anne, brother Edward and the latter's wife Sophie.

Others working royals include several of the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousins.