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Prince Harry and his wife Meghan appeared together \u200bin public on Thursday for the first time since they made a surprise return to Britain, revisiting the city where \u200cthey made their maiden joint official engagement nine years ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and Meghan shocked the monarch and other members of the royal family when they relocated from California to England two months ago with their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.<\/p>\n In their first joint \u200bpublic outing since then, the couple returned to Nottingham in central England which they visited in 2017, shortly after it \u200bwas announced they were getting married.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great to be back,\u201d Harry said. \u201cWonderful and great to be back \u2060in Nottingham, too.\u201d<\/p>\n They began by visiting a recording studio run by a youth and community charity which has received support from a \u00a31.1 \u200bmillion ($1.46 million) donation announced by Harry last year.<\/p>\n At their next stop at the Himmah charity, which tackles food poverty, Meghan was reunited with \u200bfour contributors to a charity cookbook released to raise funds in the wake of London\u2019s Grenfell Tower fire disaster. She had donated \u00a310,000 from the book\u2019s proceeds to help the Himmah hub.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel very protective of her. We absolutely love her,\u201d said one of the four women, Leila Hedjem.<\/p>\n The engagements concluded with a \u200bvisit to another charity the couple have backed which supports young people and is linked to their previous visit in 2017.<\/p>\n HARRY AND \u200bMEGHAN DIVIDE PUBLIC OPINION<\/strong><\/p>\n Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have become deeply polarising figures since they stepped down from royal duties to \u200cmove \u2060to California in 2020, going on to deliver scathing criticism of both the prince\u2019s family and the royal institution itself.<\/p>\n Opinion polls show a majority of Britons hold a negative opinion of them, although young people are far more sympathetic.<\/p>\n On their visit to Nottingham nine years ago, when they were \u201cworking royals\u201d, they were met by large flag-waving cheering crowds.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s visit was a much lower-key affair, as the couple are now \u200bofficially private citizens. But they were \u200bgreeted by about 100 excited \u2060schoolchildren and well-wishers, along with large numbers of media.<\/p>\n Meghan looked emotional as one woman handed her a large bouquet of flowers and gave her a hug.<\/p>\n \u201cI love seeing them, I\u2019m pleased they\u2019re back,\u201d said \u200bRobin Warrener, who had also been among the crowd in 2017. \u201cThere\u2019s far too much of the \u200bnegative stuff. Every \u2060time you put the television on the news, there are snide remarks from the media, and I don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n When Harry made his first solo public appearance since their relocation, he declared it was \u201cgood to be back on British soil\u201d, but their return has not been without difficulties.<\/p>\n The location \u2060of their \u200bnew home has been kept private amid security concerns and they are not \u200bliving in a royal residence.<\/p>\n They had to move their children to a new school not long after they started term because of concerns about security, with the couple\u2019s spokesperson \u200balso condemning the actions of \u201ccertain European paparazzi\u201d intruding into their privacy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n