Prince Harry appeared to relive a familiar UK ritual as he stepped away from his celebrity-focused Montecito lifestyle to watch rugby with a pint in hand.
Yet the welcome was not universally warm. The 42-year-old was met with boos from parts of the crowd when his image appeared on the stadium’s big screen.
“A face in the crowd, Prince Harry, back home and enjoying some rugby again,” TNT commentator Nick Mullins said. “Some boos there.”
The broadcast moved away from the Duke of Sussex just seconds later.
The appearance was Harry’s first solo public outing since he returned to the UK in August with Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet.
From the stands, the royal watched Leicester Tigers face Gloucester Rugby in a closely fought match at Welford Road on Friday night.
Clearly absorbed in the game, Harry punched the air and high-fived a friend as Leicester pulled ahead to secure a 38-31 victory.
His appearance came as Meghan was seen dining at Claridge’s in London with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. It was Meghan’s first public appearance since the family, including seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet, returned to the spotlight after years of privacy in California.
Footage recorded by a fellow diner at the luxury restaurant showed Meghan and Malala seated together at a table in a corner of the room.
Prince Harry chatted with a friend while holding a pint as he watched Leicester Tigers face Gloucester Rugby at Welford Road Stadium
The Duke of Sussex appeared to celebrate excitedly during one of the match’s most thrilling moments
Prince Harry watched the Slater Cup match intently from the stands
Harry stepped into the spotlight alongside friends and Andrea Pinchen, Leicester Tigers’ chief executive, as he attended the match.
The teams were competing for the Slater Cup, named in honour of Ed Slater, who captained both clubs before being forced to retire in July 2022 after receiving a motor neurone disease diagnosis.
A lifelong rugby fan, Harry attended the fixture without Meghan and the children, who remained at home in the Cotswolds.
The family had travelled back to the UK from their Montecito residence in August, ahead of the new school year.
However, the move does not appear to have immediately eased tensions between Harry and the wider royal family, particularly his brother, Prince William.
The Sussexes were reportedly not planning to spend Christmas with royal relatives. Instead, they were said to be considering a trip to California or a quieter festive break at home rather than joining the traditional celebrations at Sandringham.
It also emerged this week that Harry received more than $100,000, along with a share of subscription revenue, for his 99-minute online masterclass about grief.
During the seminar, the Duke of Sussex spoke openly about the death of his mother, Princess Diana, as well as his experiences with depression and feelings of uselessness after Megxit.
A source close to the prince told the Daily Mail: ‘I’d encourage everyone to watch it before casting any judgment,’ adding he should not be criticised at length for ‘speaking from the heart’.
A spokesman for Harry confirmed he was paid by MasterClass – which gets celebrity experts and industry icons to teach pre-recorded classes about their craft, art or business – for taking part in Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss but they declined to comment further.
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MasterClass instructors can expect an upfront payment of at least $100,000 (£75,500), plus 30 per cent of any subscription revenue generated by their courses, according to Forbes.
Harry is listed as a co-instructor alongside American neuroscientist Dr Mary-Frances O’Connor, where they hope the class will help viewers ‘discover new ways to process grief and loss so you can find your way back to you’.
Access to the full online lecture costs between £10 and £19 a month through a subscription to the San Francisco-based tech company, which is valued at $2.75billion.
A source close to Harry reportedly said no one has the right to judge him for how he has dealt with the grief of losing his mother at the age of 12 and added that the interview with Dr O’Connor was simply Harry speaking ‘from the heart’ about his life and family, according to royal reporter Tom Sykes.
At times during the close match at Mattioli Woods Welford Road Stadium, the Prince looked tense
It is his first public solo outing since he and his family moved back to the UK
MasterClass stars in the past have included Martin Scorsese, Gordon Ramsay, Serena Williams and Hillary Clinton.
In his interview Harry revealed he felt depressed and ‘useless’ immediately after Megxit, and now refuses to spend more than ten days away from Meghan and their children.
In a new video released yesterday, the Duke of Sussex claims life in the Royal Family left him unable to properly grieve the death of Diana, adding his official duties triggered panic attacks.
Harry, 42, said getting dressed for royal engagements in a shirt and tie frequently left him feeling as though he was being strangled or suffocated.
‘You would think I had the best help in the world. I’m a prince, for God’s sake, but I was still grieving and didn’t have any place to put those feelings,’ he said, describing emotions he carried for ’15 or 20 years’.
He revealed therapy eventually helped him and described the extraordinary moment when spraying himself with Diana’s perfume prompted his hidden memories and emotions to come flooding back.
Speaking about grief in a video for the American education platform MasterClass, Harry said despite finding happiness with Meghan, he ‘slipped into depression’ after they quit royal life and left Britain.
‘We moved to Canada to get some space away from everything and simply think,’ he said. ‘Within two or three days of leaving that stressful environment, I experienced an adrenaline crash unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
‘It was as though I needed stress for my brain to function. I became useless around the house. I slipped into depression for about two weeks and felt like I couldn’t function without adrenaline.’
His frank comments about mental health and PTSD came as Meghan stepped back into the spotlight for the first time in years, wearing a £28,000 outfit to take afternoon tea with Malala Yousafzai in London.
Meanwhile, Harry has been seen in London, including earlier this month when he made a surprise appearance at a black-tie gala for Ukraine.
The gala was held to raise money for organisations supporting Ukraine as the war entered its fourth year in February.
He spoke at the event about the historical ties between Britain and Ukraine before sharing his own experience during recent trips to the war-torn nation.
The Duke has also attended the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards at the Old Royal Naval College in the capital.
And in September, Harry was pictured smiling at the Tower Bridge Studios in London and signing a mural on a wall during a pseudo-royal engagement.
He is reportedly working on a ‘mystery project’.