When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were working members of the royal family—during the all-too-brief time period of May 2018 to January 2020—they undertook only a handful of royal tours. Limited though they were, they were certainly memorable, like Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga in October 2018 (where Meghan announced she was expecting the baby that would become Prince Archie, born in May 2019), Morocco in February 2019, and South Africa from late September on into early October 2019 (Harry also visited Malawi, Angola, and Botswana solo).
Last weekend, the Sussexes were back in Africa, this time to Nigeria, where they undertook a three-day visit that felt reminiscent of their royal tour days. And, according to Harry, we as the public should expect more trips from him and Meghan in the future, he told People.
“These trips are about us being able to go out and go and focus on the things that mean so much to us,” Harry said. “And being able to be on the ground, to us, is what it’s all about.”
Indeed, Harry continued, face-to-face meetups just pack a heftier punch than Zoom calls. “It is hugely important for us to meet directly with people, supporting our causes and listening, in order to bring about solutions, support, and positive change,” he said. “There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom, so we look forward to traveling more because the work matters. Whether it’s the Archewell Foundation, Invictus, or any of our other causes, there will always be reasons to meet the people at the heart of our work.”
In particular, Meghan found the Nigeria trip to be very meaningful, especially after learning recently that she was 43 percent Nigerian, revealed after taking a genealogy test. “It had so much personal meaning for me,” Meghan said of the couple’s visit to Nigeria. She told People she found it poignant to learn more about “my heritage, that I’m able to share with my children,” she continued. “That’s such a special thing as a mother to know you can do. And also to be surrounded by so many incredible mothers in this country and the women that I’ve met, especially at the leadership conference,” she said, referring to the women’s leadership panel she co-hosted with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization.
Meghan told the publication “I always reflect back on myself as a young girl and the type of inspiration that I wanted to see in other women,” she said. “I hope in some small way I can be a part of that for a lot of these young girls, especially. I see the potential in all of these young girls—and, by the way, in these young boys, as well.”
Meghan missed Mother’s Day with her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as the couple remained in Nigeria on May 12. Of Archie and Lili, Meghan added “It’s what we see in our own children—to give them that promise and excitement for their future.”
When pondering what the best souvenir was that she and Harry were bringing home to them, Meghan told People it was something intangible: “It was such warm hospitality and it was a really meaningful trip,” she said. “It was incredibly memorable and special. That alone is the best souvenir to take with us—all the memories we’ve made.”
