The Duchess of Sussex made a secret visit to the National Theatre in London yesterday after returning to Britain for her final engagements as a senior royal.
American former actress Meghan wore a £29 organza puff-sleeved blouse from Topshop as she visited the Southbank theatre’s Immersive Storytelling Studio.
The Duchess also wore a white bodycon pencil skirt, small gold hoop earrings and a gold coin pendant from Missoma for her trip to the Theatre, where she is patron.
The Duchess of Sussex laughs during a visit to the National Theatre in London yesterday
The Duchess wore a Topshop blouse, a white bodycon pencil skirt, small gold hoop earrings and a gold coin pendant from Missoma for yesterday’s trip to the Theatre, where she is patron
Meghan later joined her husband Prince Harry at the Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House on their first joint royal engagement since the Megxit crisis began.
The Duchess will stay on as patron despite moving to Canada, with bosses confident she will remain ‘engaged’ as they continue working with her and her ‘star reach’.
Artistic director Rufus Norris said last month theatre chiefs were not told in advance of her plans to move – but she ‘understands the nature of what we’re trying to do’.
Mr Norris was seen with Meghan – was made a patron of the National Theatre in January 2019 – shortly before her move to Canada was announced.
Prince Harry and Meghan at Mansion House in London for last night’s Endeavour Fund Awards
The Duchess of Sussex leaves London’s National Theatre after a previous visit on January 8
At the same time Meghan become the Theatre patron, she also took on roles with The Mayhew, Smart Works and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
Meghan at the Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House in London yesterday
Last month, top West End producer Nica Burns told the Daily Mail that the Duchess may only have until Easter to prove her mettle as patron of the Theatre.
Mr Burns, who co-owns The Nimax Group which comprises six London West End theatres including The Palace, the Apollo and the Vaudeville, has said that the Duchess should not hold the position indefinitely.
‘I think we should give Meghan until Easter to be able to say what she thinks is possible with her patronage,’ Ms Burns said at a fundraising gala for the King’s Head 50th anniversary.
‘We have to give her a chance, forget who she is, and give her some space.
‘If she is not going to be doing any work with The National then she should step down, but as she is a role model we would rather she didn’t.’
Earlier yesterday, Meghan was seen back in the UK for the first time since Megxit as she left the exclusive Goring Hotel – the Queen’s favourite restaurant.
Her Majesty annually visits the five-star luxury hotel – located next to Buckingham Palace, with exclusive dining rooms and frequented by royals and celebrities alike.
Meghan will stay on as patron of the National Theatre, which is on London’s Southbank (file)
The Duchess of Sussex is shown around the National Theatre in London in January 2019
Meghan wore a camel coat and £615 Aquazzura black heels and smiled as she left the London hotel yesterday, where rooms cost up to £8,400 a night.
Her husband Harry was also spotted leaving the hotel just moments earlier as a member of the concierge team held an umbrella over his head in the rain.
It is understood the couple were at the hotel for a private lunch but did not stay there. Instead they will be residing at their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage.
Meghan and Harry, who are thought to have left their nine-month-old baby Archie in Canada, later attended the Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House in London.
National Theatre artistic director Rufus Norris has said that bosses were not told in advance of Meghan’s plans to move – but she ‘understands the nature of what we’re trying to do’
Prince Harry and Formula One world champion driver Lewis Hamilton talks to children at the Silverstone Experience in Northamptonshire today as the Duke officially opens the museum
The annual event celebrates the achievements of wounded, sick and injured servicemen and women who have taken part in sporting and adventure challenges.
The evening marked the first joint official royal engagement by the Duke and Duchess since revealing that they would step down from royal duties on March 31.
The Goring is a long-time favourite of the royals, with the Duchess of Cambridge staying in its Royal Suite on the night before her wedding to William in 2011.
Harry waved to well-wishers outside Buckingham Palace on Wednesday as he was driven away in a Range Rover after a series of internal meetings with his team.
The Duke and Duchess were pictured leaving the exclusive Goring Hotel in London (file image)
It came after they had a ‘heart to heart’ for four hours in her private apartments at Windsor Castle on Sunday about his imminent departure from the Royal Family .
Countdown to Megxit: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s final three events before they step down as senior royals
Tomorrow: Mountbatten Music Festival (Harry and Meghan)
Harry and Meghan will attend the Mountbatten Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall, which see the Royal Marines showcase their musicianship and pageantry.
The Duke of Sussex at the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall in London in March 2019
The festival takes places over two days – today and tomorrow – at the venue in London, with the couple expected to attend tomorrow evening’s performance.
This event will also be Harry’s last engagement as Captain-General of the Royal Marines, before he loses this title as he steps down as a senior royal.
Sunday: International Women’s Day (Meghan)
Meghan is expected to undertake an engagement to mark International Women’s Day on March 8, although no specifics have yet been revealed.
Speaking on a panel to mark International Women’s Day last year, she said she would like her first child to be a feminist, regardless of whether they are a girl or a boy.
Speaking on a panel to mark International Women’s Day, Meghan said she had recently been watching a documentary on feminism.
She told an audience at King’s College London last March: ‘One of the things they said during pregnancy was ‘I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism’.’
Next Monday: Commonwealth Service (Harry and Meghan)
Harry and Meghan will both attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey the next day with the Queen and other senior members of the Royal Family.
Earlier this month it was revealed that the Queen had requested that Harry and Meghan attend the annual service with the rest of the royals.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (left) with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (right) as they attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 11 last year
The event will likely see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reunite with Prince William and Kate, a year after they were pictured smiling together at the 2019 service.
But the Sussexes have severed professional ties with the Cambridges by pulling out of the Kensington Palace household and their joint charitable foundation.
Harry is said to have requested the meeting, and the Queen – who last saw her grandson during their showdown at Sandringham in January after Harry broke the news that he and Meghan were quitting – was happy to agree.
The Queen is believed to have told her grandson that she was keen to keep the door open for him and Meghan to return and stressed that he would be welcomed back from Canada at any time.
Harry, who has always enjoyed a warm relationship with his grandmother, was apparently keen to ‘clear the air’ before he and Meghan formally step down as working royals on March 31.
He has been staying at Frogmore Cottage, the couple’s home on the Queen’s Windsor estate, since returning to the UK last week to undertake a handful of final official engagements.
He and Meghan have agreed to pay back £2.4million in taxpayer funds used to rebuild the property in light of their decision to relocate to North America.
It is understood that he and his grandmother shared a light lunch and tea on Sunday as they discussed his future.
The Queen was left deeply upset after Harry and Meghan decided to suddenly announce their plans to step down and move abroad in early January in an apparent effort to bounce the Royal Family into agreeing to their demands to retain the trappings of royal life, while pursuing independent commercial careers.
And the couple were taken aback when Buckingham Palace made clear its displeasure and insisted that Harry would have to relinquish his HRH title as a non working royal and hand back their official patronages and his military positions, as well as dropping their plans to market themselves as ‘Sussex Royal’.
The Queen is said to be ‘very sad’ that she sees so little of Harry and Meghan’s son Archie, her great-grandson.
The meeting at the weekend was said to have been ‘productive and positive’. One source said Harry was seen leaving ‘deep in thought’.
But the couple have decided to leave Archie in Canada, meaning his British family haven’t seen him for more than four months.
Last autumn, American ex-actress Meghan opened up about her struggles with royal life in an ITV documentary filmed on their Africa tour.
She said she had tried to cope with the pressures by putting on a ‘stiff upper lip’ but she was not prepared for the intensity of tabloid interest.
‘It’s not enough to just survive something, that’s not the point of life. You have got to thrive,’ she added. Meghan told presenter Tom Bradby: ‘Not many people have asked if I’m OK.’
The Sussexes attended the previous annual Endeavour Fund Awards ceremony in February 2019, when the duchess was heavily pregnant with Archie.
They were last seen together on an official engagement on January 7 when they visited Canada House in London to thank the nation for hosting them during their festive break in the Commonwealth country.
The following day, sixth in line Harry and former Suits star Meghan plunged the royal family into a period of turmoil when they announced they wanted to step back as senior royals and become financially independent – a move dubbed Megxit by the press.
A summit of senior royals was later convened by the Queen at Sandringham to discuss the issue, with Harry sitting down for talks with his grandmother, father the Prince of Wales and brother the Duke of Cambridge.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pictured at Canada House in London during what was their last official royal engagement on January 7
It was eventually announced they would give up royal duties, split their time between Canada and the UK, with the majority spent in North America, no longer be known as HRHs, and their lives as working royals would end on March 31.
Today, Harry joined Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton at the official opening of the Silverstone Experience, a museum about British motor racing.
Harry and Meghan will attend the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall tomorrow and the following day Meghan will mark International Women’s Day.
The duke and duchess will join the Queen and other royals at the Commonwealth Day service in Westminster Abbey on Monday, their last official appearance as HRHs.