Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seen holding hands during Cotswolds pub lunch
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were photographed walking hand-in-hand to a historic pub in the Cotswolds, their first public appearance together since returning to the United Kingdom.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were photographed walking hand-in-hand to The Falkland Arms, a 16th-century pub in the Cotswolds, on Thursday. The couple, who have been in the United Kingdom for a few days, dressed casually; Harry wore a Santa Barbara fire department baseball cap and both ordered meals typical of the venue.
Inside, Markle, 45, chose a gluten-free beer-battered haddock with chips, while Harry, 42, ate a chicken, ham and leek pie with seasonal greens and mashed potatoes. A pub employee told reporters that staff and other patrons treated the pair like any other customers, saying, "Everyone here gets the royal treatment — it doesn’t matter who you are. We’re lucky to get lots of different people visiting us, and everyone is treated like a local. When they visited, Harry and Meghan just acted like locals."
The outing follows recent security concerns involving the couple’s children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, who briefly attended a private preparatory school before being withdrawn over travel-security issues. The Sussexes have also complained about paparazzi monitoring the school grounds, with a spokesperson describing the activity as "extraordinarily reckless" and "concerning".
Harry previously said his children are "happy in school" and expressed that it has been "great to be back on British soil" in a recent interview.