June 8, 2018

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle return from honeymoon: What's next for the royal newlyweds

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Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Prince of Wales's 70th Birthday Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London, May 22, 2018.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are wasting no time getting back to work after their honeymoon.

The couple, who wed on May 19, returned to London on Thursday.

Later that night, Harry, wearing his wedding ring, was the guest of honor at a black-tie gala at Kensington Palace for the charity OnSide Youth Zones.

Harry, who made a heartwarming speech at the event, smiled as he was introduced by comedian David Walliams as a newly-married man.

Meghan did not attend the event with her new husband.

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Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, exit St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after their royal wedding ceremony, in Windsor, England, May 19, 2018.

She will make her first post-wedding appearance without Harry next week when she travels on the royal train with Queen Elizabeth from London to Cheshire.

The June 14 visit will also mark Meghan's first solo appearance alongside the queen. The pair are scheduled to meet with young people, lead the official opening of a bridge and attend a theater performance in Cheshire.

Newlyweds' 1st appearance with the royal family

Meghan and Harry will make their first official appearance as a couple with members of Britain's royal family Saturday at the annual Trooping the Colour parade.

They are expected to join other members of the royal family in carriages through the streets of London, while Prince William, Prince Charles and Princess Anne are expected on horseback.

The family will gather on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, marking Meghan's first Buckingham Palace balcony appearance since marrying Harry.

Princess Kate, who gave birth to her third child, Prince Louis, in April, is expected at the event. She, like Meghan, made her first Buckingham Palace balcony appearance at Trooping the Colour not long after her April 2011 wedding to William.

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The royal family stands on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after returning from the Trooping the Colour ceremony marking the Queen's official birthday in London, June 11, 2011.

It is unlikely that Kate will bring along Louis, the youngest member of the royal family at just 6 weeks old. Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 3, are expected to attend.

George and Charlotte, until now, have joined their parents for the balcony appearance but have not joined the carriage ride. Kensington Palace has not announced whether this might be their first carriage ride at Trooping the Colour.

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Members of Britain's Royal family watch a plane fly past as they appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, after attending the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony in London, June 17, 2017.

The public will likely see Prince Louis next at his christening later this summer.

Diving into charity work and travel

Kensington Palace is also expected to shortly announce Meghan's first charitable patronage since becoming the fourth member of the Royal Foundation started by William, Kate and Harry.

While the palace has not given any indication how Meghan will focus her charitable work, given her previous interest in women’s empowerment, she may select a charity that benefits from her experience on that issue.

Meghan and Harry have stated their desire to jump right in and get to work as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

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Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace, their first royal engagement as a married couple, in London, May 22, 2018.

“Both of us have passions for wanting to make change, change for good, and, you know, with lots of young people running around the commonwealth, that's where we’ll spend most of our time hopefully," Harry said shortly after the couple's engagement was announced in November.

Harry and Meghan's first major tour as husband and wife will be in October as part of Harry’s Commonwealth Youth Ambassador role.

They are expected to travel to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

In Australia, Meghan and Harry will visit Sydney for the 2018 Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style sporting event Harry founded for service men and women.

Starting a family

Meghan and Harry started talking about their next big milestone -- children -- in the months leading up to their wedding.

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Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Prince of Wales's 70th Birthday Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London, May 22, 2018.

While at a royal engagement with Harry in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in March, Meghan gave a hint of what the future may hold for the young couple when they met a husband and wife team who make baby products.

Meghan pointed to the product range and said, "I'm sure at some point we'll need the whole [lot]."

Harry also alluded to children being in the couple's future in an interview last November.

"I think you know one step at a time, and hopefully we’ll start a family in the near future," he said.