Prince Harry gave a thumbs up to the paparazzi as he arrived to London Euston station with Meghan Markle late on Monday night – after his wife’s first speech in Britain since they stepped down as senior working royals more than two years ago.
The Duke, 37, and Duchess, 41, had travelled back from Manchester Piccadilly following the latter’s keynote speech at the One Young World summit at Bridgewater Hall on day one of their whistle-stop European tour.
The beaming Sussexes appeared to be in high spirits as they walked hand-in-hand to their awaiting 4x4s while flanked by security guards, before Meghan gave a wave and smiled as she climbed into one of the vehicles.
They are believed to have been taken back to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, where they will spend the night before heading to Dusseldorf in Germany for the day two of their European tour.
In her speech, Meghan had said it was ‘very nice to be back in the UK’ as she gushed about Harry and the ‘life-changing’ impact of becoming a mother to Archie.
It came just days after her controversial interview with The Cut magazine, in which she said it takes ‘a lot of effort’ to forgive and hinted that she can ‘say anything’, in what was seen by some as a thinly-veiled threat to the Royal Family.
She also said that ‘just by existing’ she and Harry were ‘upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy’ before they stepped down as senior working royals in January 2020, in a move dubbed Megxit.
Prince Harry gave a thumbs up as he arrived to London Euston station with Meghan Markle late on Monday night
The beaming Sussexes appeared to be in high spirits as they walked hand-in-hand to their awaiting 4x4s while flanked by security guards
Meghan gave a wave and smiled as she climbed into one of the vehicles at Euston station on Monday night
They are believed to have been taken back to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, where they will spend the night before heading to Dusseldorf in Germany for the day two of their European tour
Harry and Meghan walk among the public as they arrive to Euston station on Monday night, more than two years after stepping down as senior royals
Harry and Meghan share a glance as they arrive to Euston station late on Monday evening
The Tuesday afternoon jaunt on the £13m MS Rhein Galaxie (pictured) will take Harry and Meghan along the Rhine to Duisberg and end at the Merkur-Spiel sports stadium where the sports event for disabled military veterans will be held
A police source said temporary roadblocks will be set up along the route from Dusseldorf airport to the city centre to allow the convoy of vehicles transporting Harry and Meghan to avoid being stuck in traffic (Pictured: Inside the party boat that will play host to the Sussexes on Tuesday)
But her speech on Monday was jibe-free as she said she was ‘thrilled’ that Harry could join her this year as the One Young World organisation was ‘an integral’ part of her life before she met him, and that it was now a ‘privilege’ to meet them again with him by her side and ‘on UK soil’.
The Duchess also spoke about how her life had ‘changed dramatically by 2019’ and that her world view had ‘expanded exponentially’ after seeing ‘the global community through the eyes of my child.’
‘And I would ask what is this world that he would come to adopt and what can we do, what can I do, to make it better?’ she said.
The couple are in Germany today to start the countdown to the Invictus Games being held in Dusseldorf next September and their visit will include an hour-long scenic cruise along the Rhine on a ‘party boat’ usually packed with tourists.
The afternoon jaunt on the £13m MS Rhein Galaxie will take them along the Rhine to Duisburg and end at the Merkur-Spiel sports stadium where the sports event for disabled military veterans will be held.
Dusseldorf city officials insist the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is private and they will be protected by their own security team with the couple footing the bill.
But German police will also be involved primarily on crowd control in the market square where Harry and Meghan begin their visit around 12.30pm.
A police source said temporary roadblocks will be set up along the route from Dusseldorf airport to the city centre to allow the convoy of vehicles transporting Harry and Meghan to avoid being stuck in traffic.
As the visit is private there will be no police motorcycle outriders and accompanying police cars will not turn on their flashing blue lights.
But the source said a vehicle carrying a doctor and medical equipment will be part of the convoy for the three-mile drive into the city.
A source with the city of Dusseldorf told Mail Online: ‘Of course this is a private visit, but we do not want anything to go wrong or there to be any incident. We are showcasing the city.
‘They will have their own security teams, but the police area being consulted and will be involved. We are hosts for the Invictus Games and we want everything to run very smoothly.
‘There have been lots of consultations and plans have changed, but we are confident it will be a trouble-free visit.’
The Duke and Duchess had spent their first nights in the UK less than half a mile from Prince William, Kate and their three children – but the families are not expected to meet, in a decision that underlines the deep rift between the brothers.
Monday’s event was their first public appearance in the UK since returning for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June as Harry’s legal battle with the Home Office rumbles on after they were denied 24/7 taxpayer-funded armed police bodyguards.
Meghan and Harry pictured at Manchester train station, presumably heading back to London ahead of their next stop in Dusseldorf, Germany
Harry and Meghan at Manchester station moments after the Duchess gave her first speech in Britain for more than two years
Meghan and Harry applaud the flag-waving ceremony as they attend the annual One Young World Summit at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester
Harry and Meghan smile as they take centre stage at the start of the One Young World summit opening ceremony
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, made the PR-friendly speech on Monday night as she addressed the 2,000-strong crowd at the One Young World summit at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, as her smiling husband watched on
The couple’s decision to use at least two private security firms and dog teams to form a ring of steel around Bridgewater Hall came just days after Meghan told The Cut magazine in the US that it takes ‘a lot of effort’ to forgive and hinted that she can ‘say anything’, in what has been translated as a veiled threat to the Royal Family.
It is understood the couple and event organisers had arranged private security after Harry was told he was no longer entitled to taxpayer-funded official armed police bodyguards.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed its officers were not involved, adding that security for the event had been ‘privately sourced’.
Harry is suing the Home Office, claiming that the removal of his taxpayer-funded armed police protection bodyguards since they quit as frontline royals is ‘unfair’, ‘illegal’ and puts his family at risk.
After the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023 One Year To Go event, they will return to the UK for the WellChild Awards in London where Harry will speak on Thursday.
As well as not seeing William and Kate, the couple also declined an ‘open invitation’ to stay with Prince Charles at his Scottish holiday house on the Balmoral estate. The Prince of Wales told the couple they were ‘always welcome’ at his home ahead of their trip to the UK, palace sources confirmed.
It emerged Monday that Prince William has ‘no plans’ to see his younger brother Prince Harry until after the California-based royal releases his bombshell memoir this winter, even though the pair are currently staying around 380ft apart, as the crow flies, from each other in Windsor.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave the One Young World 2022 Summit at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Prince Harry leaves the One Young World summit in Manchester on Monday night, almost immediately after Meghan’s first speech in Britain in more than two years
The Duke Sussex leaves the One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit at Bridgewater Hall on Monday evening
William, 40, and his wife, Kate Middleton, are said to be avoiding contact with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex until they know what the couple plans to disclose in their Netflix documentary and Harry’s forthcoming book.
‘They have lost their chance of being trusted as the chance is they will record any conversation and use it against them,’ Royal biographer Angela Levin told The Sun.
Levin alleged William does not have faith that Harry, 37, will not repeat their conversations. The author said William’s hesitance to interact with the Sussexes is their ‘own fault for vastly exaggerating and being rude.’
Harry and Meghan are believed to have arrived at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor on Saturday ahead of their European tour. The property is located just 380 feet away from the Cambridges’ new four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, where William and Kate spent the weekend with their children.
The insiders told The Mirror that Charles had thought the Sussexes staying with Prince Charles would be a ‘good opportunity for everyone to take stock and relax.’
‘But the invitation was declined, as it has been before,’ the source said, adding that Charles hasn’t ‘wavered’ on his attempts to have a relationship with his son ‘despite the attacks which seem to be coming with increased vigour.’
News of the declined invitation surfaced after Charles, 73, was pictured heading to church in Balmoral alone Sunday morning. Insiders allege he continues to find Harry and Meghan’s jibes at the Royal Family ‘painful’ and is ‘completely bewildered’ by their behaviour.
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