Nice to be back, says Meghan as she joins Prince Harry at UK conference for young leaders

Duchess of Sussex to give speech on equality at global event in Manchester

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made an appearance on stage in Manchester at a global conference for young leaders after returning to the UK for the first time since the platinum jubilee.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex who will give a key address on equality, was dressed in a vivid red, high-necked sleek trouser suit.

She smiled and held hands with the duke as they made their way through the auditorium to huge cheers.

The couple sat centre stage on a bench as they joined One Young World counsellors to watch the flag bearers enthusiastically parade the flags of more than 200 countries during the opening ceremony.

The duchess, with her hair in a ponytail and a clapper her hands, swayed in time to the music, which included Dancing in the Streets and Respect.

The former Suits star’s opening speech was her first in-person address in the UK since quitting as a senior working royal amid the "Megxit" crisis more than two years ago.

Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years — in pictures

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in June. Here 'The National' looks back through her life in pictures. Getty Images

Meghan places flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse in Texas, in May, after the shooting of 19 children at Uvalde elementary school. AFP

Meghan speaks during the Invictus Games opening ceremony at Zuiderpark in the Netherlands, in April. Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum for the Salute to Freedom Gala in New York, in November 2021. AP

Meghan appears on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' at the Warner Bros lot in Burbank, California, in November 2018. PA

Prince Harry and Meghan appear on the cover of 'Time' magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters

Prince Harry and Meghan speak during a Global Citizen Live event in New York, in September 2021. AFP

Prince Harry and Meghan leave the UN headquarters in New York after a visit in September 2021. AFP

Meghan and Prince Harry pause while getting a tour of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, in September 2021. AP

Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters

Meghan and Prince Harry shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP

Meghan and Prince Harry attend the Commonwealth Day Service in London, in March 2020. Getty Images

Meghan and Prince Harry arrive to attend the Mountbatten Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in March 2020. Getty Images

Meghan holds her baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor during a royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty Images

Meghan and Prince Harry visit Auwal Mosque, the first and oldest mosque in South Africa, in the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town, in September 2019. Reuters

Meghan meets Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z as they attend the European Premiere of Disney's 'The Lion King' at Leicester Square in London, in July 2019. Getty Images

Meghan and Prince Harry pose with their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty Images

Meghan, joined by her mother Doria Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Meghan arrive to attend a Christmas Day church service on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty Images

Prince William, Catherine, Prince Harry and Meghan attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey, in November 2018. Getty Images

Meghan poses in Sydney during a tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, in October 2018. Getty Images

Meghan holds an umbrella for Prince Harry as he addresses the public during a Community Event in Dubbo, Australia, in October 2018. Getty Images

Meghan helps to prepare food at an event to mark the launch of a cookbook with recipes from a group of women affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, at Kensington Palace, in September 2018. Getty Images

Catherine and Meghan attend the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in London in July 2018. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and Catherine watch the RAF 100th anniversary flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty Images

Meghan, Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth at the Queen's Young Leaders Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace in June 2018. Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth sits and laughs with Meghan during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge in Cheshire, in June 2018. Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan leave St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty Images

Meghan and Prince Harry wave as they leave Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, in May 2018. Getty Images

Meghan and her mother, Doria Ragland, arrive at Cliveden House Hotel in Berkshire to spend the night before her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018. Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghan during a photo call to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace, in November 2017. Getty Images

Meghan appears as character Rachel Zane in American TV show 'Suits', in 2011. Getty Images

Meghan while working as a host on American quiz show 'Deal Or No Deal' in 2006. Getty Images

The Duchess of Sussex declared it was “very nice to be back in the UK” as she took centre stage in Manchester to tell young leaders: “You are the future … you are the present."

Meghan told the 2,000 delegates how her life had changed when she last joined the summit in London in 2019, singling out her role as a wife and a mother but making no mention of becoming a senior royal the year before.

“I joined you in London in 2019 and by that point, it’s fair to say, my life had changed rather significantly," she said.

"I was now married, and I was now a mum,” she said, leaving a pause at the end, which was filled with huge cheers from the audience.

“My world view had expanded exponentially, seeing the global community through the eyes of my child [Archie]."

Meghan is a counsellor for the organisation and the conference brings together about 2,000 young leaders from more than 190 countries.

The couple also met a group of delegates doing “outstanding work on gender equality”, One Young World said.

The trip comes days after Meghan’s interview with The Cut magazine, in which she said it takes “a lot of effort” to forgive and hinted that she can “say anything”.

She said that “just by existing”, she and Harry were “upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy” before they stepped down as senior working royals in 2020.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan arrive for jubilee thanksgiving service — video

The couple travelled by train from London to Manchester and flew commercial from the US to the UK.

Their next stop will be Germany for the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023 One Year To Go event, which is taking place on Tuesday.

They will then return to the UK for the WellChild Awards in London, where Prince Harry will deliver a speech on Thursday.