As Sussexes step down, Meghan and Queen meet
THE Duchess of Sussex met the Queen for the first time yesterday since she and Prince Harry announced they are to quit as senior royals.
Meghan and Harry attended a church service in Windsor with Her Majesty as they prepare to leave the royal household in a little over three weeks.
The couple will take part in their final royal engagement today when they will join the Queen and other senior royals at Westminster Abbey to mark Commonwealth Day.
It will be the first time the Royal Family has come together in public since the Sussexes announced they were stepping down. Guests of honour among the 2,000-strong congregation will include the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Commonwealth secretary-general Baroness Scotland, high commissioners, ambassadors, faith leaders and more than 800 schoolchildren.
Yesterday Harry smiled and appeared relaxed as he drove Meghan to the Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park.
It was the first time that the duchess has seen the Queen since the couple dramatically announced on January 6 that they would be retiring from public life.
While Harry has sat down with the Queen on several occasions since, Meghan has stayed in Canada with their son Archie. But any hopes
Serious: The Queen yesterday that she may have had of seeing her great- grandson were dashed because Archie remains on Vancouver Island.
On Saturday night, Harry appeared close to tears as he received a long round of applause during his final engagement as Captain General of the Royal Marines.
In a red ceremonial uniform, he seemed to bite his lip when he and Meghan received a standing ovation as they took their seats in the royal box at the Royal Albert Hall.
The couple were attending the Mountbatten Festival of Music, marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the formation of Britain’s commandos.
The Sussexes are expected to return to Canada next week, and their new life away from royal duties will officially start on April 1.
Harry will remain sixth in line to the throne, despite stepping down as a senior royal.
‘Harry appeared close to tears’