The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended an awards ceremony for Coach Core, a program that helps unemployed and marginalised young people to become sporting coaches.

Funded by the young royals’ Royal Foundation, it built on the legacy of the 2012 London Olympics, and is supported by the likes of marathon superstar Paula Radcliffe, tennis champion Laura Robson and top English netballer Eboni Beckford-Chambers.

Wearing an Oscar de la Renta navy blouse and Altuzarra trousers, which flared at the bottom, Meghan tried her hand at netball, while Prince Harry watched on.

Participants undergo master classes from the sports stars, who provide training and mentoring, and encourage them to see sport as a way of changing lives and empowering young people.

It is a key interest area for Prince Harry and Meghan, who will visit Sydney next month to attend the Invictus Games, the global sporting competition founded by Prince Harry for injured and ill military personnel and veterans.

Harry and Meghan visited Loughborough University in the English midlands, where more than 200 young people were undertaking a full day’s Coach Core activities, followed by an awards ceremony.

The program is designed for young people who are not working or studying, and helps produce the next generation of sports coaches.

Kensington Palace said Coach Core trained hundreds of young people across the UK through its scheme, which connected apprentices to the biggest sports clubs in the country, “providing unrivalled tuition, paying them a wage, and setting them up for an exciting future.”

As well as presenting the awards, Prince Harry was set to give a speech to this year’s graduates from the program.