Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have been spotted enjoying a relaxed pub lunch together in the Cotswolds, marking their first joint public appearance in Britain since relocating from the United States.
Photographs captured the Duke and Duchess of Sussex walking hand in hand on Thursday afternoon as they made their way to The Falkland Arms, a historic pub in the Oxfordshire village of Great Tew.
The couple both sported sunglasses for the outing. Harry, 42, was photographed studying the menu board outside the 16th-century establishment while wearing a cap bearing the Santa Barbara fire department logo, a reference to their former home near Montecito, California.
Meghan, 45, kept things understated in a black outfit paired with white pumps, carrying her purse. Their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, were not present, as both were attending school.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have been spotted enjoying a relaxed pub lunch together in the Cotswolds, marking their first joint public appearance in Britain since relocating from the United States (stock picture)
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Once inside the pub, which retains its original flagstone floors and low beamed ceilings, the pair opted for hearty British fare.
Meghan selected the gluten-free beer-battered haddock and chips, served with mushy peas and tartare sauce, priced at £18.25.
Harry went for a chicken, ham and leek pie accompanied by seasonal greens, creamy mash and gravy, costing £17.95.
A source at the pub described the couple as blending in effortlessly. “Everyone here gets the royal treatment; it doesn’t matter who you are,” the insider told The Sun. “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.”
Photographs captured the Duke and Duchess of Sussex walking hand in hand on Thursday afternoon as they made their way to The Falkland Arms, a historic pub in the Oxfordshire village of Great Tew
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The insider also noted: “We’re a proper traditional English pub with black Labradors, but our ale is served cold. We have folk nights and Sunday roasts.”
The pub takes its name from Lucius Cary, the 2nd Viscount Falkland, a Royalist commander during the English Civil War who was killed in 1643. His family continues to own the Great Tew Estate to this day, the same estate where Harry and Meghan resided before their departure to the United States.
The establishment has also earned a place in popular culture. In the television crime drama MobLand, Pierce Brosnan’s character Conrad Harrigan references the venue directly, saying: “Change the venue to Falkland Arms, Great Tew. They serve a nice pint there.”
The pub sits just a short distance from Soho Farmhouse, the private members’ club where Meghan is known to attend Pilates sessions. David and Victoria Beckham’s £12million property is also situated nearby, making Great Tew something of a celebrity enclave in the Oxfordshire countryside.
Prince Harry pictured at the Imperial War Museum on October 1
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The outing comes amid the Sussexes’ continuing legal fight to secure taxpayer-funded armed police protection, a dispute that has intensified in recent weeks.
The couple, who relinquished their roles as working royals, saw the row flare up again after an incident involving paparazzi outside Archie and Lilibet’s school.
Two men, thought to be operating on behalf of a European photo agency, were observed in a white van near the school premises. A spokesman for the Sussexes condemned their conduct as “reckless” and “irresponsible.”
It was the family’s return to Britain that first brought the security question back into sharp focus. The Sussexes arrived on August 26, and the photographs from Thursday’s pub visit represent the first time the couple have been pictured together in the UK since their move back, six years after stepping down from royal duties.
Despite having been back on British soil since August 26, Harry and Meghan are yet to pay an in-person visit to King Charles. The pair are understood to have been in contact with the monarch by telephone, however.
Meghan has been a regular presence at local establishments in recent weeks.
She visited The Falkland Arms last week with close friend Kelly McKee Zajfen and her young son, and was also spotted at The Three Horseshoes in Asthall, roughly 16 miles away, in the company of chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia de Rossi.
A friend of the couple said Meghan had been devoting much of her energy since the move to ensuring Archie and Lilibet are settled, while also developing her As Ever brand. “When they aren’t working, like most couples, they like to spend time together,” the friend added.