The Duke and Duchess of Sussex marked the anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales’ death by joining a gardening session with pre-school children.

Harry and Meghan helped the youngsters sow forget-me-nots – one of Diana’s favourite flowers – when they visited the project run by the Assistance League of Los Angeles.

The duke was 12 and older brother the Duke of Cambridge was 15 when their mother was killed in a car crash in Paris on August 31 1997.

Harry and Meghan visited a pre-school learning centre run by the league and spent Monday morning with the children replanting their garden.

They worked with the youngsters to restock their learning garden for the autumn – an annual activity for the centre.

The Sussexes and the young gardeners planted a mix of flowers and vegetables, including petunias, California wildflowers, tomatoes, squash and sweet peas. A mix of herbs were already growing in the open space.

Images of the activity were posted on the official Instagram account of the Assistance League of Los Angeles, an organisation helping impoverished children through philanthropy, dedicated service and compassionate programmes.

Harry, Meghan and the children were wearing face masks as they crouched down to dig holes in the soil for the new plants and seeds.

The pre-school learning centre provides childcare to youngsters aged three to five from low-income families.

In the past the duke and duchess have volunteered at the centre which is a few streets away from where Meghan went to middle and high school.

As they worked they listened to children’s nursery music and some of the youngsters danced and sang.

The couple also spent some time reading to the students from books featuring gardening, vegetables and planting, including the fairytale Jack And The Beanstalk, which had everyone laughing about magic beans.

Harry and Meghan, who moved to America with son Archie for personal and financial freedom just before the lockdown, have recently bought a £11 million house in the celebrity hotspot of Santa Barbara.