Prince Harry makes first public appearance since he and Meghan Markle split from Royal Family

The past week has seen England pitted against Canada amid furious speculation about the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ royal future.

So perhaps it was only fitting that what may turn out to be Prince Harry’s last royal engagement played witness to the two countries being drawn against each other in the Rugby League World Cup.

Thankfully Prince Harry was spared the embarrassment of having to choose between the two - although eyebrows were raised when the Sussex Royal Instagram account later released a video of his supposed last hurrah accompanied by a Stone Roses hit that includes the line "I'd like to leave the country for month of Sundays". It later emerged the indie track is the song choice of the tournament

The behind the scenes footage showed grinning Harry making the crowd chortle as he helped with the draw and cracking jokes with guests, including Australian comedian Adam Hills who he praised for his 'beautiful beard', after watching schoolchildren play tag rugby on his 93-year-old grandmother's lawn.

Facing the outside world for the first time since he and Meghan announced they were stepping back as senior royals, the 35-year-old appeared in surprisingly good spirits as carried out the engagement at Buckingham Palace, his first - and possibly last - official royal duty since they dropped their bombshell announcement last Wednesday.

As he hosted the draws for the Rugby League World Cup 2021 with Olympic rowing champion Dame Katherine Grainger and 2005 Rugby World Cup winner Jason Robinson, he betrayed no sign of the turmoil which has engulfed the monarchy.

He told the year 6 children from St Vincent de Paul Catholic primary school: “Look after the grass though, yeah? Otherwise I'll get in trouble'.

Then, as he walked back into the palace for the draw, a reporter from the one of the British tabloids Harry has accused of “bullying” behaviour, shouted: “How are the discussions going about your future?”

Ordinarily such an outburst would have prompted a glowering stare but in this case he simply laughed out loud and walked on.

His unexpectedly good mood remained on display as he met representatives from the 21 nations taking part in the world cup, and looked on as Dame Katherine picked Canada to play England in the women's competition.

As Harry joined  Hills, who hosts The Last leg on Channel 4, he looked at the comedian’s beard and said: “The beard is fantastic! I love the fact that it is manicured in the middle. It is so beautiful!

“I’ve never seen that. And I’ve seen some beards!” Hill said he plans to shave it off when the UK leaves the EU on January 31.

Asked about Harry’s frame of mind, Hills said: “I don’t know what it has been like for him this week, but... I have never seen him not in a good place. He is always friendly, always chatty.”

Robinson said it was “brilliant” to see Harry. “What happens between him and his good wife is nothing at all to do with me. What’s great about this is that it does not matter what is going on in the background, wherever he goes he still delivers. He is very respectful, very warm, very endearing.”

After a family summit at Sandringham on Monday, the Queen announced there would be a “transition period” during which the couple would divide their time between Britain and Canada.

The Duchess is on Vancouver Island with their eight-month-old son Archie, and the duke is expected to join her there soon. He has a private engagement with his charity Sentebale at the weekend, and other meetings next week.

Palace aides are currently working on a blueprint for the couple’s future life, in which the Sussexes plan to be financially independent and no longer reliant on taxpayer money.

Sources have said that they are optimistic that a solution can be found “within days”.

Prince Harry supports rugby league's stance on mental health

Prince Harry has given his support to the Rugby League World Cup 2021's decision to adopt a mental fitness charter for the tournament.

The charter is a five-point initiative aimed at training players, officials and volunteers to look after their own mental health and the mental health of those around them.

The programme will include mental health awareness workshops for 8,000 young rugby league players and their families and training for grass roots coaches to deliver their own mental fitness workshops outside the tournament.

In a video to mark the launch of the mental fitness charter, the duke said the initiative builds on the sport's strong legacy of mental health awareness.

"Rugby league isn't just a sport, it's a community. And one that takes care of its own," he said.

"For many years, it has been at the forefront of promoting and supporting good mental fitness, working hard to build a positive mindset for everyone involved in the sport.

"So I am proud to support the Rugby League World Cup 2021 mental fitness charter.

"This charter will build on the brilliant work already happening in rugby league by committing to training and educating all those involved in the tournament, and the wider rugby league family, not only in how they can look after their own mental fitness but also support others to do the same."

The sport has been united in recent weeks by Leeds Rhinos legend Rob Burrow, 37, who was diagnosed with incurable motor neurone disease in December.

He fought back the tears as he made his final appearance for Leeds with a cameo performance in front of a sell-out crowd at Headingley.

The former Great Britain scrum-half then went on for the last five minutes of a pre-season game to play his first rugby since hanging up his boots in 2017, and afterwards echoed the duke's sentiments about the sport.

Burrow, who enjoyed a glittering career for Leeds, told a post-match press conference: "It's hard to put into words. I've been struggling with my words anyway. I'm overwhelmed and humbled. It really meant something.

"In rugby league we stay together and look after our own. Today was an example of what our game is all about.

Who did Meghan visit in Vancouver?

The Duchess of Sussex posed for a photograph with staff from the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre in her first public appearance since she and her husband announced they were stepping back from royal duties.

But it has now been revealed she made a second trip on Tuesday - to another charity called Justice for Girls.

Black and white photographs emerged of her visit sitting around a table and posing in a huddle with staff.

Zoe Craig-Sparrow, the charity's co-director, said: "The duchess met with our co-directors as well as representatives from our board of directors and staff.

"The duchess put everyone at ease and had a really engaged discussion with us for 90 minutes about our work and the rights of teenage girls who live in poverty.

"The duchess inquired about the status of our work and what could be done to best support improvement in the lives and rights of girls in poverty.

"We were honoured that she chose to have this conversation with us and is interested in the work we do."

Justice for Girls (JFG) is a non government organization located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. JFG was founded in 1999 to promote the rights of teenage girls who live in poverty.