The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made their final public appearance as working members of the Royal Family at a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
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Prince Harry and Meghan joined the Queen – who is head of the Commonwealth – the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the central London church.
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On Saturday, the couple attended the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where they received a standing ovation.
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AFP
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From 31 March they will no longer carry out duties on behalf of the Queen. The arrangements made will be reviewed in 12 months.
On Friday last week, Meghan met school students in Dagenham in east London to mark International Women’s Day.
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She is seen below making an equal sign with students, to symbolise equality.
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In a speech, she told pupils at the school: “No matter how small you may feel, how low you may feel on the ladder or the totem pole, no matter what colour you are, no matter what gender you are you have a voice and you certainly have the right to speak up for what is right.”
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On the same day, Prince Harry met Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton during a visit to officially open the Silverstone Experience at Silverstone motor racing circuit.
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The previous evening, the Sussexes were in the media spotlight as they attended the Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House in London, with crowds of photographers jostling for a shot.
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The image above by Samir Hussein of Harry and Meghan looking into each other’s eyes earned praise on social media.
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The couple attended the ceremony to celebrate the sporting and adventure achievements of sick and injured service personnel.
It was their first official appearance together since announcing in January they would step down as senior royals.
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They are seen below with nominees and Endeavour participants.
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The couple presented awards, including to one winner who celebrated by proposing to his partner at the event. Harry, Meghan and actor Ross Kemp are seen reacting to the proposal below.
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Harry, who had a 10-year military career, will retain the ranks of Major, Lieutenant Commander, and Squadron Leader when he steps down, but his honorary military positions will be suspended.
The couple intend to split their time between the UK and North America and their spokesperson said they would be in the UK “regularly”.
They will formally retain their HRH titles but will not use them. The Sussexes will also stop using their “SussexRoyal” brand from spring 2020.
At another recent engagement, the prince met Jon Bon Jovi on 28 February at Abbey Road Studios in London, where they recreated the famous Beatles album cover on a pedestrian crossing.
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Bon Jovi and the prince got behind the microphone to re-record the US rocker’s song Unbroken with the Invictus Games Choir.
Prince Harry is also expected to be at the London Marathon in April in his capacity as patron, while he and Meghan will attend the Invictus Games in the Netherlands in May.
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