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Harry and Meghan to make first official appearance together since ‘Megxit’

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will celebrate the achievements of wounded servicemen and women when they attend their first joint UK event since announcing their decision to step down from royal duties.

Harry and Meghan will attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House in London on March 5 to honour sick and injured military who have taken part in sporting and adventure challenges over the past year.

The couple were last seen together 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 Harry and Meghan plunged the royal family into a period of crisis when they announced they wanted to step back as senior royals and become financially independent – a move dubbed Megxit by the press.

The duke asked to be introduced just as Harry before his speech at a sustainable tourism summit in Edinburgh. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
The duke asked to be introduced just as Harry before his speech at a sustainable tourism summit in Edinburgh (Andrew Milligan/PA)

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.

It was later 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 HRH, and their lives as working royals would end on March 31.

The duke ushered in his new future status on Wednesday when he told travel industry delegates attending an Edinburgh conference about his sustainable travel project to simply call him Harry.

Meghan and Harry attended the Endeavour Fund Awards last year when she was pregnant with son Archie. Tolga Akmen/PA Wire
Meghan and Harry attended the Endeavour Fund Awards last year, when the duchess was pregnant with son Archie (Tolga Akmen/PA)

The Endeavour Fund event will be the first of a series of royal engagements that are likely to be among the couple’s last major engagements in the country as working royals.

Four awards will be given out on the night: Recognising Achievement Award, Celebrating Excellence Award, Henry Worsley Award and the new Community Impact Award.

The Endeavour Fund is a body set up by the Royal Foundation to finance inspiring sporting and adventure projects aiding the recovery of veterans.

Senior royals pictured at last year's Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey - Harry and Meghan are due to attend again. Richard Pohle/The Times
Senior royals pictured at last year’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey – Harry and Meghan are due to attend again this year (Richard Pohle/The Times/PA)

The day after the awards ceremony, Harry will join 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 on March 7 and the following day the duchess will mark International Women’s Day.

The duke and duchess will attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9, likely to be their last official appearance with the Queen and other senior royals.

The event is normally attended by the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and is a major engagement in the Queen’s calendar.