Harry and Meghan: Surprise proposal fails to take spotlight off ‘torn’ Sussexes

It was a full royal arrival for a couple who’ve had enough of royal life.

With the roads cleared and flanked by police outriders, Harry and Meghan were driven up to the front of Mansion House.

What met them was a barrage of camera flashes.

Some of the photographers had put their ladders outside the building the night before so they could get the best shot.

The fact that Meghan has been absent and in Canada for the past two months has only ramped up the interest in the Sussexes and everyone was desperate for those photos.

Holding onto Prince Harry tightly, Meghan still managed to flash a smile towards the bank of lenses, as her husband looked straight ahead and guided them towards the door.

You couldn’t have picked a more perfect first event back for the couple.

The Endeavour Awards was a friendly crowd. Celebrating the achievements of wounded, sick and injured service personnel, who’ve taken on incredible challenges.

You could call them Harry’s military family. His support for them through his charity work is without question and now they’re more than ready to support him as he embarks on a new life with his wife. As Prince Harry said in his speech: “A lot of you tonight have told me you have my back, well I’m also here to tell you, I’ve always got yours.”

We haven’t seen Meghan for two months, and a lot has happened since then.

Stepping on stage at the awards she clearly wanted to move the attention back onto the worthy winners, but as she spoke about watching the videos of the nominees over in Canada, it was a reminder that she hasn’t been around for the challenging conversations that Harry has been having with his family.

The fallout from their announcement and their desire to be financially independent has felt sour and upsetting for the Royal Family.

As the Queen has tried to show that they are a family working together, the Sussexes have made it clear on their website that it hasn’t entirely played out how they wanted it to.

In his speech Harry said, “Being able to serve Queen and country is something we all are rightly proud of, and it never leaves us. Once served, always serving!”

It was again a reminder of how torn he must feel. He wanted to keep carrying out engagements to support his grandmother, but their wish to be financially independent means they can’t have one foot in and one foot out. You’re either a working royal or you’re not.

In a welcome distraction for the couple, the award ceremony was the perfect setting for Danny Holland, a veteran who won the recognising achievement award, to propose to his girlfriend.

But even that wasn’t enough to draw attention away from the couple of the moment, with Harry and Meghan’s engagements over the next few days likely to be their last official royal outings, as they prepare for their own new start.

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(c) Sky News 2020: Harry and Meghan: Surprise proposal fails to take spotlight off ‘torn’ Sussexes