The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent the Easter break helping deliver meals to vulnerable and housebound people in Los Angeles.

Harry and Meghan decided to help out after Meghan’s mother Doria told them of a charity that needed extra pairs of hands, a source said.

The couple worked on Easter Sunday and the following Wednesday with Project Angel Food, which cooks and delivers food to people with life-threatening illnesses who are too ill to shop and cook for themselves.

Originally set up during the Aids crisis for people living in fear of discrimination, it expanded its mission in 2004 and now delivers 600,000 meals a year.

One recipient told a local newspaper: “I thought that tall red-headed guy looked pretty familiar, and that girl was pretty,” but added that it took a minute to work out who they were.

A source told the PA news agency it was Doria – a social worker – who alerted the couple to the fact Project Angel Food needed more volunteers as its staff have been working long hours during the Covid-19 crisis.

Project Angel Food’s executive director Richard Ayoub told PA the couple had worn personal protective equipment and stuck to social distancing guidelines while they helped out.

Mr Ayoub said: “I gave them a tour of the kitchen, they talked to our chef, they asked them questions about the meal production and how we make medically tailored meals and what kind of clients we have.

“They were really simply lovely and very engaged and inquisitive and curious about the whole process.

“For them to choose Project Angel Food as their first charity, not only in Los Angeles but in the US, is just a huge honour to us.

“These are real deal down-to-earth folks who care about other human beings and want to make a difference.

“It is very obvious to me that they are genuine and they wanted to see the people who are often forgotten in our community and make sure they knew they were not forgotten and they were hoping to put a smile on some faces.

“They did it with no fanfare, they did it with no big entourage – they did it as single individuals doing an act of service.”