Prince William and Kate Middleton Make First Public Appearance After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Exit

Last week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their decision to step back as senior members [...]

Last week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their decision to step back as senior members of the royal family, leaving that designation to the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camila, Duchess of Cornwall, Princess Anne, Prince William and Kate Middleton. On Wednesday, Jan. 15, William and Middleton stepped out for their first royal appearance since the announcement, traveling to Bradford's City Hall for their first joint outing of the year.

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(Photo: Getty / Neil Mockford)

For the day, Middleton wore a dark green Alexander McQueen coat over a black and white patterned Zara dress with emerald drop earrings by Zeen, a black bag and black suede pumps, while William teamed a navy coat with a maroon sweater over a button down shirt and a tie.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are visiting the city of Bradford, and their Twitter account shares that the trip will include stops at "a number of projects which support the community and promote cohesion within it" including one of the city's Khidmat Centres, a session at the charity BetterStart Bradford and a workshop run by Near Neighbours, Town & Country reports. Royal reporter Omid Scobie added that the couple enjoyed lunch at British Asian kitchen MyLahore.

On Monday, Jan. 13, William met with Harry, Charles and Queen Elizabeth II at Sandringham, where the group discussed Harry and Markle's future. After the meeting, the Queen issued a statement saying that while she "wished" the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have chosen to retain a more prominent royal role, she fully supports their decision.

"Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family," the statement began. "My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family."

"Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives," the monarch continued. "It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will spend time in Canada and the UK. These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days."

Photo Credit: Getty / Oli Scarff

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