Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have shared a behind-the-scenes video of their night at the Endeavour Fund Awards yesterday – accompanied by a poignant Otis Redding love song.
The couple put on a confident display as they arrived in pouring rain at the annual event at London’s Mansion House – their first official engagement since announcing they are stepping down as senior royals.
Later on in the evening they shared a highlights reel to their Sussex Royal Instagram page, which has notched up more than 3,542,500 views in 12 hours.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have shared a behind-the-scenes video of their night at the Endeavour Fund Awards yesterday – accompanied by a poignant Otis Redding song
The video is set to a song about a loved-up couple who are ‘down in the valley, so low’ by soul legend Otis Redding – one of Meghan’s favourite artists.
Down in the Valley, originally written by Solomon V. Burke, is about a man passing through a valley reflecting on the love he has for his woman.
The lyrics include lines like: ‘Now have you ever been lonely, lonely, ha, now have you ever been sad; did you ever really need some one, oh my, who really needed.’
Another reads: ‘It was down in the valley, in the valley so low; it was when I held you so tight, how can I ever let you go.’
The Duchess openly revealed she was struggling with life in the royal family months before she and Prince Harry announced their decision to quit The Firm.
The couple put on a confident display as they arrived in pouring rain at the annual event at London’s Mansion House – their first official engagement since announcing they are stepping down as senior royals
Meghan herself admitted to struggling after the birth of Archie, and a friend recently told DailyMail.com she was ‘miserable in the UK’ and ‘wasn’t sleeping well and started having anxiety attacks about her future.’
But the united couple are said to be ‘loving’ their new life in Canada now they have made their decision to step back from royal duty, with a source telling People magazine that Meghan feels ‘so much less stressed’.
In a post on her now defunct blog The Tig, Meghan spoke of her love for Otis Redding on a ‘sunny afternoon’.
She wrote: ‘Sun-kissed afternoons, cocktail in hand, surrounded by nothing but the laughter of your closest mates, an Otis Redding playlist, and the whistling breeze of the wind.
‘I’m talking about perfection, people. The perfection that comes with summertime.’
The Endeavour Fund supports service personnel keen to use challenges to help with their physical, psychological and social recovery and rehabilitation.
The annual awards, now in their fourth year, brings together hundreds of wounded, injured and sick serving personnel and veterans as well as their families, friends and supporters of the military community.
In a post on her blog The Tig, Meghan spoke of her love for Otis Redding (pictured)
All eyes were on Meghan last night, who has not been seen in this country since she and Harry made the dramatic announcement that they were quitting public life in early January, much to the distress of the Queen.
She looked stunning in a £950 turquoise gown by Victoria Beckham, and presented the Celebrating Excellence Award during the event.
In her speech, she said: ‘It’s very nice to be back. ‘It’s the third year I’ve had the incredible fortune of joining my husband here. It’s just the most inspiring space.
‘When we were watching the [nomination] videos all the way in Canada we had the same moment of, “How are you going to choose?” Well, we’ve done our best.’
The evening event was the couple’s first joint official appearance since announcing their decision to step down as senior royals, which takes effect on March 31.
The video showed Prince Harry and Meghan arriving at the event and walking into the grand hall for the ceremony
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were filmed meeting nominees and award winners, with unseen clips shared in their Instagram video
Harry, who has been made to give up his official patronages after deciding to move to Canada, is being allowed to retain his private links with organisations such as The Endeavour Fund, of which he is patron.
The awards ceremony host, a former soldier and friend of Harry’s, JJ Chalmers, said he supported his decision to step back from public life.
He said: ‘It’s fantastic to have them here. Obviously their support for the Endeavour Fund, the Invictus Games has never gone away because it is so personally important to them.
‘You look at Harry’s service and that is what created this Fund. What they share is a partnership and their commitment to helping others which the Endeavour Fund is all about.
‘There’s a lot of noise out there on social media and the like. But ultimately you have got to look at the last couple of years of their life together. The biggest change in their life is becoming parents and that changes your priorities.’