Meghan Markle pictured for the first time in Canada since royal split

Meghan Markle has been spotted for the first time in Canada since she and Harry announced that they are taking a step back as "senior royals," to the reported dismay of the royal family.

In recent weeks, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left baby Archie in Canada with Meghan's mother as their six-week break came to an end, returning to the United Kingdom to kick off their visit to Canada House in London "to thank them for the warm Canadian hospitality and support during their trip." Two days later, the couple took to Instagram to announce they were taking a break from public life and intend to become "financially independent" from the crown.

Meghan and Harry also revealed that they intend to split their time between North America and the United Kingdom. Soon following that announcement, Prince Harry stayed back in London to discuss the matters with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the senior royals, while Meghan returned to the Commonwealth country to join Archie.

On Tuesday of this week, the duchess was seen boarding a seaplane from Vancouver Island to Vancouver. Published by The Sun, the photographs show the royal hiding from the snow in a large green parka. It's not known if baby Archie was also on the plane, but reports say that the duchess is heading back to the mainland to prepare for Prince Harry's arrival later this week.

It was also reported that the duchess paid a visit to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside's Women's Centre to discuss issues affecting women in the community.

The community center, which supports over 500 women and children every day, shared a photo of Meghan meeting its staff to its Facebook page.

“Look who we had tea with today! The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, visited us today to discuss issues affecting women in the community,” the center wrote.

It's been a rocky week for the royal family, but on Monday, Queen Elizabeth announced that she supports Meghan and Harry's "desire to create a new life as a young family" and that the "complex matters" require a "period of transition" for the couple.

"These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days," the queen continued.