Prince Harry and Meghan Markle release never before seen pictures of Grenfell kitchen outing
10 January 2020, 20:11
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released pictures from their recent visit to Grenfell kitchen, just days after announcing that they will be "stepping back" as senior royals.
The pictures are the first thing released by the couple following their bombshell announcement made this week which included a new media strategy involving removing themselves from the royal rota system and choosing to only release items via their website and choosing to work with only a small number of hand-picked journalists.
The couple can be seen laughing and embracing the staff when they visited the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London.
The kitchen is run by a group of women whose recipes were featured in a cookbook backed by the Duchess.
The Instagram post was captioned: "Earlier this week, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to visit the women of The Hubb Community Kitchen and “Together, Our Community Cookbook.”
"These women came together in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy to cook meals for their families and neighbours who had been displaced from the fire.
"With funds from the successful cookbook, they have now been able to share their spirit of community with so many more.
"The Hubb continues to work with local organisations to build hope, bring comfort and provide not simply a warm meal, but with it, a sense of togetherness.
"The Duke and Duchess were so happy to reconnect with the women and hear about the projects they continue to develop to help those in their community and beyond."
The Queen and other members of the family were said to be left "hurt" by Harry and Meghan's decision to issue a personal statement, which outlined their future lives as financially independent royals who will divide their time between the UK and North America.
The royal family will talk to multiple governments, which suggests US and Canadian officials may be involved.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be "hopeful" discussions to find workable solutions for their future roles in the monarchy can be concluded "sooner rather than later", a source has said.
The source said: "They, like everyone, are hopeful this can all be worked out, sooner rather than later.
"It is in everyone's interest for this to be figured out, and figured out quickly, but not at the expense of the outcome."
Harry is expected to join his wife after attending a Buckingham Palace event at the end of next week, the Telegraph reported, but he is likely to be in the country when a way forward for the couple's future role is announced.
Speaking about Harry and Meghan's future public engagements a source said "We're operating under business as usual, we've got a programme and a schedule".
The couple attended a diary meeting with their team earlier this week, where they chatted through their engagements up until June.
The future role for the Duke and Duchess has been described as royal "disruptors", according to the Evening Standard, with the newspaper reporting sources as saying they see themselves along the lines of tech innovators who have shaken up their industry.
Broadcaster Tom Bradby, a friend of Harry and Meghan, claimed the couple were made aware, while away in Canada for six weeks, that the monarchy's focus in the future would be on those at the top of the line of succession.
The ITV News At Ten anchor, appearing on a news programme on his channel, said: "It had been made clear to them in their absence there was going to be a slimmed-down monarchy and they weren't really a part of it."
But the Times reported the royal family has moved to reassure the couple about their position, to counter the claims of the broadcaster.
