The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a busy year as royals, with a wedding, a baby, tours of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, as well as visits to Ireland, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa, and the Invictus Games.
Read on for more about Harry and Meghan’s royal year!
January
Harry and Meghan continued their tour throughout the UK in the run-up to their May wedding. Meghan’s first engagement of the new year was on 9 January, when she accompanied Harry to Reprezent 107.3 FM in Brixton.
They visited Wales on 18 January, visiting Cardiff Castle for the Welsh Culture Festival and Star Hub, a leisure centre to hear about how sport is helping the community. The couple also attended the Endeavour Award Ceremony Judging Panel at Kensington Palace before attending the awards themselves on the first of February.
Prince Harry made a private trip to Botswana and South Africa for his conservation work the week of 22 January.
February
Harry and Meghan visited Edinburgh, travelling to Edinburgh Castle, Social Bite (a café), and attending a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse for young people to mark Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018.
The couple also visited the Transition Intervention and Liaison Service at the Lakes Mental Health Hospital in Colchester, and the Royal Foundation Forum with William and Kate to discuss the work of The Royal Foundation.
Harry attended a few rugby matches and events: he attended both women’s and men’s Six Nations England vs. Wales matches and the England Rugby Team Open Training Session. Harry also attended a meeting with his father for The Prince of Wales’ International Sustainability Unit; attended an Invictus Games Foundation trustee meeting, and a roundtable discussion on youth violence.
March
Harry and Meghan visited Northern Ireland for a series of engagements, including visiting the Eikon Centre, The Crown Liquor Saloon, Catalyst Inc., and Titanic Belfast. They also attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey and marked International Women’s Day with a visit to Millennium Point to see the work of women in STEM. Harry and Meghan also visited Nechells Wellbeing Centre in Birmingham.
Harry attended the Royal Marines Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall, delivered the keynote speech at the Veterans’ Mental Health Conference, and visited the Army Aviation Centre to present wings to new graduates.
April
April was a busy month for Harry and Meghan, the last month before their wedding. They marked it with Commonwealth Heads of Government events, Invictus Games trials, and the ANZAC Day service at Westminster Abbey.
Harry and Meghan attended the Invictus Team Trials at the University of Bath.
Harry received the Prime Minister of Fiji and the Prime Minister of Dominica; as well as the Presidents of Malawi, Rwanda and Botswana during CHOGM. He also attended the Youth Forum Round Table and Opening Session, where he gave a speech, and its closing session, which he attended with Meghan. The couple attended the CHOGM Women’s Empowerment reception at the Royal Aeronautical Society. Harry attended the official opening of CHOGM and its banquet at Buckingham Palace solo.
Harry and Meghan attended a reception for the upcoming Invictus Games and The Queen’s 92nd Birthday Concert at Royal Albert Hall; as well as the ANZAC Day service at Westminster Abbey, with Prince William. They also attended a service of commemoration for Stephen Lawrence.
Harry attended the London Marathon, opened the Greenhouse Centre with his brother, and launched Walk of America.
May
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married on 19 May at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. They became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day.
It was a quiet month for the newlyweds otherwise. Prince Harry attended the Field Army Health Conference on the 10th and met with staff and beneficiaries of OnSide Youth Zones; and after the wedding, the couple postponed their honeymoon by a few days to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in honour of Prince Charles’s 70th birthday.
June
Harry once again made a trip to Africa – this time to Lesotho and South Africa for his work with Sentebale. He and Meghan also attended a reception for The Queen’s Young Leaders at Buckingham Palace with The Queen; and a board meeting of The Royal Foundation.
Harry played in a few polo matches for charity: British Polo Day Charity Match for Sentebale and the Royal Foundation; and the Audi Polo Challenge match for Tusk Trust, WellChild and Sentebale.
Meghan’s first month as a member of the Royal Family included one important milestone: an away-day with the Queen. Meghan and The Queen travelled to Cheshire for a series of engagements, including lunch, a theatre performance and opening a new bridge.
Otherwise, Meghan and Harry settled into traditional family events, like Trooping the Colour and attending Royal Ascot in a quiet summer month.
July
July saw the Sussexes in Ireland for their first official visit as a married couple. The whirlwind two-day tour came hours after the couple had attended RAF 100 events in London with other members of the Royal Family.
Harry and Meghan also attended the ‘Your Commonwealth’ Youth Challenge Reception and the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup and visited the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition in London. The couple also attended the christening of their nephew, Prince Louis.
Harry played in a few more polo matches, including the Audi Challenge Charity Polo Match (in support of Support The Walk, The Gurkha Welfare Trust and the Household Cavalry Foundation), the King Power Charity Polo Match (in support of The Irish Guards Appeal and the RFU Injured Players Foundation), the Xerjoff Royal Charity Polo Cup (in support of WellChild and Map Action) and the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup (in support of Sentebale).
Harry made a solo visit to the Netherlands in support of the International AIDS Conference and attended the RFU Injured Players Foundation Client Forum.
Meghan attended the Ladies Championship at Wimbledon with Kate, watching her old friend Serena Williams play.
August
August was a very quiet month for the Royal Family, the Sussexes included. Harry and Meghan attended a performance of Hamilton on the West End in support of Sentebale. Harry’s only other engagement that month was a visit to Botswana for a meeting of Rhino Conservation Botswana.
September
Harry and Meghan began a busy fall together in September. They attended the WellChild Awards at the beginning of the month, as well as a concert for 100 Days to Peace at Central Hall Westminster, and the CoachCore Awards at the end of September.
Meghan launched Together: Our Community Cookbook on the 17th, her first solo project as a member of the Royal Family. Over the month, she visited the Hubb Community Kitchen and hosted a book launch party at Kensington Palace that Harry and her mother, Doria, also attended.
Meghan also undertook her first solo engagement when she opened the Oceania Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.
October
October was perhaps the biggest month of the year for Harry and Meghan, with many milestones and engagements.
First: Harry and Meghan announced that they’re expecting a baby in 2019!
The couple also visited their duchy, Sussex, for the first time, and attended the wedding of Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, to Jack Brooksbank at St George’s Chapel.
Harry attended events for the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference alongside William, and then it was off for his and Meghan’s tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
The biggest reason for their tour: the 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney. More details about their engagements in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand can be found by clicking the links.
November
Harry and Meghan attended several events to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, including visiting the Field of Remembrance (Harry), attending the Festival of Remembrance, the Cenotaph service on Remembrance Sunday, and a service at Westminster Abbey.
The couple also attended the Royal Variety Performance; attended Prince Charles’s 70th birthday celebrations; attended a Mental Health Innovation volunteer workshop with the BBC; and the autumn dinner of the Royal Foundation (alongside William and Kate).
Harry attended the Autumn International Test Rugby Match between England and New Zealand and a roundtable discussion on knife violence. Harry also undertook a visit to Zambia on behalf of the government.
Meghan visited the Hubb Community Kitchen to see its progress since the Together cookbook was published.
December
A slower December saw Harry and Meghan attending the Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial Fund carol service, a Christmas reception for the Royal Foundation, and a Commonwealth Trust board meeting.
Harry attended board meetings for the Royal Foundation and the Invictus Games Foundation, as well as a performance of Bat Out of Hell; a reception for the Walk of America endeavour of the Walking with the Wounded organisation; and a roundtable on youth violence with Prince Charles.
Meghan visited the Royal Variety Care Home at Brinsworth House and made an unannounced visit to the Hubb Community Kitchen.
The couple attended the Queen’s pre-Christmas luncheon at Buckingham Palace and spent the holiday with the Royal Family at Sandringham, where they attended church on Christmas Day.
