Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speaks during the annual Endeavour Fund Awards. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speaks during the annual Endeavour Fund Awards. Photo / Getty Images
In one of his final appearances as a senior royal, Prince Harry has given a heartfelt, emotional speech saying he will "always" serve the Queen.
The Duke of Sussex was speaking at an awards ceremony for the Endeavour Fund, of which he is a patron, at Mansion House, overnight in London.
In an impassioned seven-minute speech he spoke of the crippling impact leaving the military can have on service men and women, and he appeared to make a thinly veiled reference to his own struggles.
"Being able to serve the Queen and country is something we're all rightly proud of," Prince Harry said.
"Leaving the military and hanging up your uniform is an incredibly hard thing to do. But being forced to hang it up due to injury beyond your control can be even more difficult to accept.
The awards night is the first of three joint engagements the couple will undertake together before closing their Buckingham Palace office. Photo / Getty Images
"It can take time and effort to recognise the fact it is something that happened to you rather than something that's wrong with you, so please don't ever forget that."
He also said he was comforted by many people on the evening who said they had his back, "Well I'm also going to tell you, I've always got yours," Harry added.
The Duchess of Sussex presented an award earlier in the evening, where she said they had watched videos of the nominees for the Celebrating Excellence Award "all the way from Canada".
"I'll say when we were watching the videos all the way from Canada, we had the same moment as you, 'How are you going to choose?'
"So we did our best."
It was their first official royal engagement together since news they would be stepping back as senior members of the royal family, which was announced in January.
Meghan stunned in a blue Victoria Beckham dress. Photo / Getty Images
Meghan, 38, looked stunning in a $2800 blue dress by Victoria Beckham, while Harry was smiling for cameras and the crowd of about 200 people as the pair walked hand-in-hand carrying an umbrella.
The awards night is the first of three joint engagements the couple will undertake together before closing their Buckingham Palace office on April 1 ahead of their new life in Canada.
Their couple's last official public appearance in the UK will be Monday's Commonwealth Day services, three weeks before they head back to Canada.
Tomorrow Harry will attend the official opening of the Silverstone UK Experience Museum.
Next, it'll be Mountbatten Music Festival which the pair will attend together.
On Sunday, Meghan will make a solo public appearance for International Women's Day, and the couple will round out their week of appearances with the Commonwealth Day service on March 9.
