Prince Harry Steps Out for the First Time Since Announcing Royal Resignation

• This morning at Buckingham Palace, Prince Harry stepped out for a royal event (opens in new tab): Rugby League World Cup 2021 draws.
• Harry looks relaxed and happy; Royal reporters wondered if this was Harry's last royal engagement.
• ICYMI, the Queen's (very personal) statement (opens in new tab) about Meghan and Harry spoke about the plan going forward and the "complex matters" the Royal Family is still working out.

This morning, Prince Harry is at Buckingham Palace, which is hosting the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draws for the men's, women's, and wheelchair tournaments. You can see video of him below, but he's chatting with kids and looks relaxed and happy (which I absolutely love for him). Harry's patron of the Rugby Football League, so it makes sense that he would make a formal appearance—although, of course, the timing is interesting considering his and Meghan's recent resignation as senior royals (opens in new tab).

Questions of patronages are probably likely part of the "complex matters" within this new arrangement, as the Queen mentioned earlier this week that it'll take time for the transition to happen fully. Matters like whether Harry will remain patron of certain charities, whether he and Meghan will retain titles, where they'll live permanently (Canada and the U.K. for now, according to the statement) are still being hashed out.

Meanwhile, lest anyone be worried that Meghan and Harry won't be doing charitable events in future (I certainly wasn't, since they've made a commitment to it on their website), it was reported that Meghan made a second appearance (opens in new tab) in Canada yesterday to talk to a women's rights group to “discuss climate justice for girls and the rights of Indigenous peoples.” So both parents are really busy right now, despite everything going on in their lives.

The rota (reporters from select British outlets who are the go-to sources for royal stories) was there, and some of them wondered aloud if Harry would ever do another royal event like this again:

Especially since Meghan and Harry have explained they won't be working with the rota system (opens in new tab) moving forward. Stating the potentially obvious here, but since they're in the middle of a transition, I wonder that we'll at least see Harry at royal events a few more times? But the question's a valid one—this is unprecedented in the Royal Family, and no one on the outside has any clue when the shift will officially take place.

Harry met with the 21 countries taking part in the draws as well as adorable local kids playing (British) football on the grounds. Here's more video if you want to take a look at the event:

The kids are so cute, and it's great to see Harry looking happy.

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