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Meghan Markle will be reuniting with her royal in-laws this month! The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry are set to join Kate Middleton and Prince William at the annual Commonwealth Service held at London’s Westminster Abbey on Monday, March 9. Queen Elizabeth , Prince Charles and Camilla will also be in attendance. The outing will mark Meghan’s first public appearance with Kate since last November when the two Duchesses attended the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph.
The former American actress, who has been residing in Canada since January , is returning to the UK to carry out her final string of engagements before her royal duties officially come to an end on March 31 . Harry and Meghan will both attend the Endeavour Fund Awards on March 5, as well as the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall on March 7. It was also confirmed that the Duchess of Sussex will mark International Women's Day on March 8.
Meghan and Harry announced their decision to step back as senior members of the royal family back in January. Following a summit with Queen Elizabeth, it was agreed that the Sussexes would no longer be working members of the royal family, nor receive public funding. It was previously announced that the couple will also stop using Sussex Royal and “any iteration of the word ‘Royal’” post-spring 2020 since there are specific UK government rules concerning the use of the word “royal.”
Last Thursday, the Government of Canada confirmed that they would cease to provide security assistance to the Duke and Duchess in the coming weeks. In a statement to CBC News, the Office of Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said, “At the request of the Metropolitan Police, the RCMP has been providing assistance to the Met since the arrival of the Duke and Duchess to Canada intermittently since November 2019. The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status."
Meghan and Harry’s “revised” roles will be reviewed after 12-months. On their official website last month, Sussex Royal stated, “The Royal Family respect and understand the wish of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a more independent life as a family, by removing the supposed ‘public interest’ justification for media intrusion into their lives. They remain a valued part of Her Majesty’s family.”