Meghan-Harry join Queen for church service

London, March 9 (IANS) The UK's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle joined the Queen for a church service in Windsor, as they were wrapping up their last engagements before stepping back as senior royals on March 31.

The service on Sunday was the first time Markle and the Queen were face-to-face since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced in January that they were stepping back as royals in order to become financially independent, the Metro newspaper said in a report.

The couple were seen smiling as they pulled in to The Royal Chapel of All Saints following the Queen's "sweet gesture" of asking them to accompany her.

When the details of the couple's departure were finalised, the Queen issued a statement saying Harry, Meghan and great-grandson Archie "will always be much loved members of my family".

Last week, Prince Harry reportedly had a "heart-to-heart" during a four-hour lunch at Windsor Castle during which the Queen was said to have told him he would "always be welcomed back".

The Duke and Duchess are in the UK for their final few engagements as working royals, the Metro newspaper reported.

They were given a standing ovation as they arrived at the Royal Albert Hall for the Mountbatten Festival of Music on Saturday night.

Meghan also paid a surprise visit to pupils at Robert Clack School in Dagenham, east London, to mark International Women's Day and met one of the women who fought an historic equal pay battle in the nearby Ford car plant.

The couple is set to meet Kate and William for the first time in months at the Commonwealth Service on Monday.