The Duke and Duchess of Sussex honoured Britain’s war dead today during a poignant ceremony at the Field of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey at which Meghan was making her first appearance.

Prince Harry, wearing his Household Division ceremonial uniform, and Meghan planted tiny crosses to pay their respects to servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in conflicts across the decades. 

The couple bowed their heads after placing a cross on a larger version made of poppies, as they looked out at a sea of crosses erected by military units and other groups associated with the First World War and other conflicts. 

Meghan cut a demure figure in a navy textured coat, nipped in at the waist with a slim belt over a black dress. She teamed the ensemble with Victoria Beckham boots and a navy Philip Treacy hat, with an elegant veil detail. 

Harry and Meghan also visited the plots for regimental and other associations, meeting veterans from all areas of the Armed Forces, including 20 D-Day veterans, and stood still as the Last Post was played by a bugler. 

Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met survivors of terrorist attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire today as they visited personnel from across the emergency services at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in London. 

William and Kate attended the launch of new charity the National Emergencies Trust, with Kate wearing what appeared to be a £29.99 Women of the First World War poppy brooch. She wore the same design during the poppy campaign last year as well. 

The Duchess of Sussex has also been involved with projects to help the victims of Grenfell, including a cookbook which she launched after a visit to a kitchen in North Kensington, West London.

They were also due to have been joined by his stepmother, the Duchess of Cornwall, who is patron of The Poppy Factory in South West London where remembrance poppies are made.

But Camilla had to reluctantly pull out of the engagement on the orders of her doctor after going down with a chest infection which has got progressively worse over the last few days.

Harry has represented the Royal Family at the annual event since 2013, but today was the first time that his wife has joined him.

It comes as the Sussexes also shared details this morning about life with baby son Archie as he turns six months old – telling a group of military families during a visit yesterday that he is beginning to crawl and has two teeth. 

Today, Harry wore his Household Division ceremonial uniform of a black frock. Frock coats are a form of undress, which is one formality level below full dress, and can be worn by certain officers of the Household Division. 

The coats, worn at formal occasions by those not on parade in command of troops, are single-breasted and dark blue with black braiding and loops. Harry’s peaked black and red cap featured the Blues and Royals badge.

This contains the letters ER – Elizabeth Regina – and the maxim ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’, which means ‘may he be shamed who thinks badly of it’.  

From just two crosses, laid during the first event at the Abbey in November 1928, the Field of Remembrance is now covered with around 70,000 symbols in more than 360 plots for regimental and other associations.

During the poignant ceremony, the duke and duchess, surrounded by elderly soldiers, recent veterans and others associated with the armed forces, stood still as the Last Post was played by a bugler.  

The Exhortation to Remembrance was spoken by Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis, president of the Poppy Factory, who said: ‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.’

As the chimes of Big Ben rang out at 11am, a two-minute silence was observed by all those present. Harry, a former Army officer, wore a military frock coat and peaked cap, while Meghan was dressed in a stylish winter coat and hat.

The Duchess of Cornwall pulled out of the event due to ill health, having also missed an event in London last night.

A Clarence House spokesman said: ‘The Duchess of Cornwall has been told by her doctor to cancel her engagements owing to a chest infection which has got progressively worse over the last few days.’

Among the crowds were a group of men from Royal Marines 45 Commando based in Abroath, Scotland.

Major Sam Hughes, Officer commander of X Ray Company, said it was a proud moment for them to have been chosen to represent the Royal Marines at such a ‘hugely special event’.

‘It’s also a very special event for me personally as I have done two tours of Afghanistan and lost men out there. My grandfather lost an arm at Anzio.

‘In Italy, my great-grandfather was injured at the Somme and my great- great- grandfather was killed at the same battle.

‘Having the Duke as Captain general of the Royal Marines is a great honour. He’s of our peer group and has served on the frontline. He knows what modern theatre is like.

‘His grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh was very popular and I’m sure his grandson will do a a wonderful job. He’s a great ambassador.’ 

Ex-service men and women, as well as members of the public, can plant a cross carrying a personal message in memory of those who have lost their lives in the service of others.

The Field is opened every Thursday before Remembrance Sunday and stays open for a further ten days. Each of the three royals laid a Cross of Remembrance today before the ‘Last Post’ was sounded.

This was followed by the ‘Exhortation to Remembrance’, the chimes of Big Ben and a two-minute silence and reveille. 

Harry and Meghan then visited the plots for regimental and other associations, meeting veterans from all areas of the Armed Forces, including 20 D-Day veterans.

The engagement will be among a number conducted by the Royal Family as they lead the country’s annual remembrance events.

The Queen, who is patron of the Royal British Legion, yesterday visited the Royal British Legion Industries’ Village in Aylesford, which provides accommodation and welfare support to veterans and the wider Armed Forces community.

On Saturday the monarch and all the senior royals – including Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, Harry and Meghan – are due to attend the annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

This will be their first joint public appearance since Harry and Meghan’s bombshell documentary in which she talked about her struggle to adapt to life as a royal.

The Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Kent will also be present. 

On Remembrance Sunday the Queen will, for the third year running, watch the annual Remembrance Day Service at The Cenotaph from the balcony of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office building, after aides finally admitted the ceremony had become too arduous for the 93-year-old sovereign.

Instead a wreath will be laid on her behalf by the Prince of Wales. An equerry will also lay a wreath for the Duke of Edinburgh, 98, who has retired from public life.

The Service at the Cenotaph will be attended by all other senior members of the royal family, and following the service Prince Andrew will take the salute at a march past of veteran organisations on Horse Guards Parade.

On Monday the Duke of Kent will also attend The National Memorial Arboretum Armistice Day Service in Staffordshire.

Prince William and Kate Middleton meet victims and emergency service heroes from Grenfell blaze and terror attacks as they launch national crisis response trust

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will meet Grenfell Tower and terror attack victims today as they visit personnel from across the emergency services.

William and Kate began their day at the launch of the National Emergencies Trust at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in Central London.

The new independent charity will provide an emergency response to disasters in the UK, and has been set up after several terror attacks since 2017.

Kate was believed to be wearing a Women of the First World War poppy brooch worth £29.99 for at least the second year in a row. 

The Duchess of Sussex has also been involved with projects to help the victims of Grenfell, including a cookbook which she launched after a visit to a kitchen in North Kensington, West London.

They will meet victims of disasters, including Grenfell and the Westminster Bridge attack, and make a short speech marking the official inauguration of the charity.

Kate wore Princess Diana’s glittering earrings at the engagement, pairing the dazzling diamond and sapphire drops with a cobalt blue dress.

The earrings, which can be adapted and worn as studs or as drops, are a favourite pair of Kate’s and have been worn by the Duchess on a number of high profile occasions.

The Duchess plumped for a tailored blue fit-and-flare dress for the occasion, which featured a knee-length hemline and flattering 3/4 length sleeves.

The dress boasts a wide waist belt in the same colour as the dress, which served to accentuate the royal’s svelte frame.

Typically polished, the Duchess finished the look with a pair of black patent heels and a matching black patent leather clutch bag. She wore her brunette locks in her signature bouncy blow dry.

The duke was joined by his grandmother, the Queen, during a visit to the Grenfell site shortly after the blaze in June 2017.

In the evening, William will attend the London Air Ambulance charity gala in central London.

The duke worked as a pilot for the East Anglia Air Ambulance, and became a patron of the London organisation in January.

The charity is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and will hear a speech from William after he meets crew members, former patients and other supporters. 

Archie is CRAWLING and has two teeth! Proud Harry and Meghan share details of six-month-old son as they pay tribute to military families who ‘hold it together back home’ while partners serve abroad

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared details about life with baby son Archie as he turns six months old – telling a group of military families that he is beginning to crawl and has two teeth.

Prince Harry also praised those who maintain a home life while their partner is away on operations and sympathised with service personnel missing out on their child’s development while serving abroad.

The couple met families from the Welsh Guards, Coldstream Guards and Household Cavalry when they visited a coffee morning at Windsor’s Broom Farm Community Centre yesterday, in the heart of an Army housing estate.

Photographs and details of Harry and Meghan’s visit were released at 9am this morning in an Instagram post on the couple’s Sussex Royal account, which told how they ‘surprised their neighbours in Windsor’.

Harry – who returned from his visit to Japan for the Rugby World Cup final on Sunday – wore a Royal British Legion poppy on a blue jumper on top of a shirt and animatedly received a cake from a young girl called Poppy Dean. 

Meghan, who wore a white blouse and black skirt, sported her poppy on a khaki green coat – and crouched down as she spoke to the children. 

It comes after Harry sent the England rugby squad a picture of Archie in a Red Rose jersey in a good luck message last week, before the final which they lost to South Africa. 

Today, the Duchess of Sussex will make her first visit to Westminster Abbey’s ‘Field of Remembrance’ as she joins her husband and mother-in-law, the Duchess of Cornwall, to honour the nation’s war dead. 

The majority of the Coldstream Guards are on exercise in Kenya and a large proportion of the Welsh Guards are coming to the end of a long deployment to the Falklands.

Harry, who served for 10 years as an Army officer, said he was in awe of military families holding it together back home, saying: ‘It’s unbelievably hard. I have so much respect and admiration for anyone who has to deal with that.’

The Sussexes took Archie to southern Africa last month for their first official tour as a family and the duke empathised with service personnel who are away from their children. 

He said: ‘I can’t imagine what it’s like to miss so much as they change so quickly.’

Meghan chatted to parents about her son, who was six months old yesterday, and shared stories about his development with Amy Thompson, whose husband Brad is attached to the Welsh Guards.

Ms Thompson said: ‘My daughter Aeris is the same age as Archie and we talked about weaning and the children beginning to crawl – she’s just a normal mum and it was like talking to a friend.’

During the visit, Harry was pictured holding a little girl while Meghan high-fived a toddler.

Army spouse Leigh Smith took her eight-year-old daughter Molly to meet the royal visitors and the youngster said: ‘Meghan promised not to tell anyone that I was off school. She asked me who my best friend was.’

Ms Smith added: ‘We had a party when Harry and Meghan got married and we’ve followed their story ever since, so it was an amazing experience for Molly to shake hands with them. It’s really special and a lovely boost for the whole community.’

Coldstream Guards welfare officer Captain Colin Lewis said the visit was a welcome tonic after a tough 18 months.

The officer said: ‘The regiment are really appreciative of the support the families provide by picking up the burden when the service person is away.

‘It’s great for the duke and duchess to take the time to truly understand the challenges they face.  

‘They are very down to earth and they’ve had a snapshot of the entire community here by talking to lots of people from different backgrounds.’

Tariq Baksh, from the Household Cavalry welfare team, also felt that the couple could relate to many of the families as young parents, saying: ‘They’re a modern family and completely empathised with people – our families realised that they’re no different.’

Helen Llewelyn-Usher, wife of Welsh Guards Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Henry Llewelyn-Usher, said the visit will help families to make new friends.

She said: ‘It’s amazing that Harry and Meghan found time to fit this in to their busy schedule – they shook hands with every single person. It brought together lots of people and now they will always have this amazing memory in common.’