The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been cheered as they appeared together in public for the first time since they made a surprise return ‌to Britain, returning to the city where they made their maiden joint official engagement nine years ago.

Prince Harry 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, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.

In their first joint public outing since then, the couple returned to Nottingham in central England, which they visited in 2017, shortly after it was announced they were getting married.

They began by visiting a recording studio run ‌by a youth ‌and community charity that ⁠has received support from a £1.1 million ($A2.1 million) donation announced by Harry in 2025.

Harry and Meghan posed for selfies with well-wishers during their joint visit to Nottingham. Photo: AP

Later ​they were to visit a charity that tackles food poverty run by a group called Himmah to which Meghan donated £10,000 from sales of a cookbook released to raise money following London’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster.

The engagements conclude with a visit to another charity the couple have backed, which supports young people and is linked to their previous visit in 2017.

Harry ⁠and Meghan have become deeply polarising ‌figures since ​they stepped down from royal duties to move to California in 2020, going on to deliver scathing criticism of both the prince’s ​family and the ‌royal institution itself.

Opinion polls show a majority of Britons hold a negative opinion of them, although young people are far more ​sympathetic.

On their visit to Nottingham nine years ago they were met by large flag-waving cheering crowds.

Harry and Meghan expressed happiness at being back in the UK, but their return has had problems. Photo: AP

Thursday’s visit was a much lower-key affair, but the couple chatted with about 100 excited schoolchildren and cheering well-wishers – smiling, shaking hands, giving hugs and taking selfies – joined by large numbers of media.

The duchess was heard telling one woman in the crowd: “Oh, it’s great to be back.”

Her sentiment came after Harry declared it was “good to be back on British soil” during his first solo public appearance since their relocation, but their return has not been without difficulties.

The location of their new home has been kept private amid security concerns and they are not ​living in a royal residence.

They had to move their children to a new school not long after they started term because ​of concerns about security, with the ⁠couple’s spokesperson also condemning the actions of “certain European paparazzi” intruding into their privacy.