Notepad++ RegEx doesn't recognize unicode (Emoji) characters

Description of the Issue

I had a large text file and did a regex search to identify all lines not starting with < (Regexp ^[^<]) and it missed all lines which contained an emoji at the start of the line.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue

1. Add the lines << 😇 //
2. Search for RegExp ^[^<]

Expected Behavior

The RegExp should recognize also unicode characters as emojis correctly

Actual Behavior

Look at results (below I searched for ^[^<] and ^[<]; neither matches the emoji line

Debug Information

Notepad++ v8.1.9.2 (32-bit)
Build time : Nov 21 2021 - 04:27:12
Path : C:\Program Files (x86)\Office\Notepad++\notepad++.exe
Command Line :
Admin mode : OFF
Local Conf mode : OFF
Cloud Config : OFF
OS Name : Windows 10 (64-bit)
OS Version : 2009
OS Build : 19044.1348
Current ANSI codepage : 1252
Plugins : AnalysePlugin.dll AutoSave.dll ComparePlugin.dll CSVQuery.dll DSpellCheck.dll JSMinNPP.dll LightExplorer.dll LocationNavigate.dll LuaScript.dll mimeTools.dll nppAutoDetectIndent.dll NppBplistPlugin.dll NppMenuSearch.dll NppQCP.dll NppSaveAsAdmin.dll NppTextFX.dll RegexTrainer.dll ReloadButton.dll XmlNavigator.dll XMLTools.dll _CustomizeToolbar.dll

Reproduce the problem in Notepad++ using the sample lines and the regular expressions ^[^<] and ^[<]. Start by tracing the regular-expression search path for a line beginning with the supplied emoji. Done means the emoji line is handled correctly by the relevant searches, with regression coverage for the reported case.