How Meghan and Harry Spent Their Final Days in the U.K.

On Monday, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made their final appearance representing Queen Elizabeth at Commonwealth Day services at Westminster Abbey. By the end of the day, Meghan was already heading back to Canada to be reunited with Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who remained on Vancouver Island with a nanny and Meghan’s friend Jessica Mulroney while his parents were across the pond. According to the Telegraph, Harry stayed behind and attended meetings at Buckingham Palace to plan for his future work and visits and will head back to Canada soon. Though we might not hear anything else about the couple’s plans until April, the trip was an opportunity for the couple to reminisce about the chapter of their life that is ending.

According to the Daily Mail, it also confirmed for Meghan that leaving the royal family was the correct choice. “She said [the trip] has been a confirmation that they made the right choice in parting ways. There’s no warmth between the family members and she wants to raise Archie in a household that is filled with laughter and joy and lots of hugs,” a friend of Meghan’s told the tabloid. The friend also said that Meghan feels judged by Kate Middleton and Prince William.

Some of the other tasks on their list were a bit more logistical. Starting on April 1st, Meghan and Harry will no longer have an office based in the palace, so the couple honored their staff with a farewell lunch at the Goring Hotel Thursday, according to Page Six. “They toasted the team and thanked them for everything they have done. Some of the staffers cried,” a royal source said, adding that the couple has thrown parties for their valued staffers in the past. “They’ve all been through so much together and the staff have been working around the clock to make sure this last visit was as seamless as possible. Meghan and Harry really wanted to show their appreciation. They know how hard everyone has worked.”

Once Meghan and Harry announced their intention to leave the royal family—partially because of their desire to stop taking taxpayer money to support their office—major changes to their staff were inevitable. Weeks after the announcement, the staff was told of impending layoffs, though some were offered alternate positions in the palace and others may be continuing to work with the couple in a different capacity. The Daily Mail reported that two of them will work full-time for Harry’s sustainable travel initiative Travalyst in a London-based office.

The couple also used the trip to help clarify some of their charitable roles going forward. On Tuesday, the Instagram for the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust posted footage of a meeting between Meghan, Harry, and youth leaders from the U.K. and Nigeria. Initially when they struck a deal to leave the family, Harry announced that he would also be stepping down as the Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, but on Tuesday, the Daily Mail reported that they will keep their roles as president and vice-president of the trust. While in Britain, Meghan also attended a meeting for the Association of Commonwealth University and the National Theatre, both patronages that she will try to keep a connection to.

The couple has said that they will keep Frogmore Cottage, their Windsor house a stone’s throw away from the castle where the queen spends her weekends, and Harry already has plans to return to England for the London Marathon in April and Trooping the Colour in June, according to the Times. Regardless of how involved they stay with some of their British causes, it’s clear that they have already mentally committed themselves to a very different life. If you measure by the smiles on their faces over the last week, they’re happy with their choice.

More Great Stories From Vanity Fair

— Exclusive: After 28 years and five Grand Slams, Maria Sharapova says goodbye to tennis
— Here’s what Harry and Meghan can learn from Princess Diana’s post-royal career
— Amandla Stenberg, Jameela Jamil, and eight other rising stars put an opulent spin on the Roaring Twenties
— Inside the Prince Charles art-forgery scandal
— Can the monarchy cope after Harry and Meghan’s exit?
— Daniel Humm turns the tables on fine dining to reimagine haute cuisine for the future
— From the Archive: If the Brooke Astor trial met Watergate, it would be the Bettencourt affair—a L’Oréal dynasty scandal

Looking for more? Sign up for our daily newsletter and never miss a story.