Harry and Meghan to make first joint official visit to Sussex

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to make their first joint official visit to Sussex – the old English county that inspired their royal titles.

Harry and Meghan will head to the coast to the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex for a special away day on Wednesday October 3.

Harry, who was given the title the Duke of Sussex by his grandmother the Queen on the morning of his wedding, will tour Brighton’s historic Royal Pavilion with the duchess.

In Brighton, Harry and Meghan will also visit Survivors’ Network, a charity that supports survivors of sexual violence and abuse.

They will also head to the coastal town of Peacehaven and meet young people at the JOFF Youth Centre to hear their strategic plans and priorities around mental health and emotional wellbeing.

On the busy day of engagements, the couple will travel to Bognor Regis to officially open the University of Chichester’s Engineering and Digital Technology Park.

The duke and the US-born former actress will also visit Edes House in Chichester, West Sussex, to see the rare Sussex copy of the American Declaration of Independence.

Before Harry, the title the Duke of Sussex was last used 175 years ago by Prince Augustus Frederick – an eccentric son of King George III who had his two marriages deemed illegal.

Meghan is history’s first Duchess of Sussex.

The old English county of Sussex – now made up of East and West Sussex – is located predominantly on the south coast of England, with around 90 miles of shoreline from Camber in the east to Chichester Harbour Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the west.

Spanning 1,461 square miles, Sussex shares borders with Kent, Surrey and Hampshire.

Key locations include Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne, Worthing, Hastings, Crawley, the South Downs National Park, and the white cliffs at Beachy Head.