Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a splash in their three-day visit to Nigeria last weekend, in what felt like the closest brush with a royal tour we’ve seen from the couple since they visited South Africa together back in 2019.
Royal commenter Kinsey Schofield told GB News (per OK) that the visit “was great PR for them, because if you just Google Meghan Markle today, 90 percent of the headlines are about how glamorous her wardrobe was, how beautiful she was,” Schofield said. “I lost count of how many times I saw the word ‘glam,’ and obviously they wanted positive press out of this, and they wanted people to start saying some nicer things about them.”
As for their work in the country on behalf of Harry’s Invictus Games—which turn 10 years old this year—“I understand that their objective is to court Nigeria for a future Invictus Games,” Schofield said. “I think that they probably did a great job doing that.”
Schofield did notice, though, that while on engagements—of which there were many over the course of their three-day trip—“Harry has a bit of a problem hiding some of his anxiety sometimes,” Schofield said. “Meghan being by his side certainly calms him down and helps him out throughout that process.”
This weekend, Harry and Meghan—who returned home to the U.S. earlier this week—will mark six years of marriage on May 19 in a very romantic but low-key way, former royal butler Grant Harrold said, per The Mirror. Think roast chicken and reconciliation: “Celebrations will probably be behind closed doors, maybe a dinner party with some friends or maybe just the two of them,” he said. “Maybe they’ll recreate that roast chicken dinner they had on the night they got engaged at their cottage in Windsor.”
Harrold—who was in attendance at the royal wedding—said that Harry has “always worn his heart on his sleeve,” and added “Prince Harry was always very romantic. When he used to go on dates, he was very sweet and kind, a true gentleman. Harry is very traditional and very romantic at heart.”
This anniversary could also bring an opportunity for the royal family to heal some wounds from earlier this month, where Harry reportedly didn’t see any members of the family while he was in the U.K. celebrating a decade of the Invictus Games. “Typically, the royal family do acknowledge wedding anniversaries,” Harrold said. “We usually see social media posts, so it’ll be interesting to see if that happens this year. If they don’t, once again it goes to show the ongoing division. If it does happen, then I see that as an olive branch.”
Still riding the wave of their successful visit, Harry told People “You know what Africa means to me over the years. It is a very, very special place, and to be able to include Nigeria now [as a part of the Invictus Games], I’m very happy.” (Nigeria, as well as Colombia and Israel, became the latest country to take part in the Games during its latest iteration in Dusseldorf, Germany last September.)
To that, Meghan added “We’re just doing great. And happy to be watching our family grow up and evolve,” referring to life at home in Montecito with Prince Archie, who turned five years old earlier this month, and Princess Lilibet, who will turn three next month. “Of course I’m happy,” she said. “We’re really happy.”
