Afrigather Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are set for his or her first go to to Nigeria!
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will kick off their go to to the west African nation on Friday, Could 10, PEOPLE confirms.
PEOPLE’s chief overseas correspondent Simon Perry will be part of the journey to Nigeria, protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s varied outings.
Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, had been invited to by Nigeria’s Chief of Protection Employees, the nation’s highest-ranking army official. Upon their arrival on Friday morning, the couple will go to a college. They’ll then meet with the Chief of Protection Employees. Within the afternoon, Harry will meet injured servicemembers at a army hospital.
On Saturday, the couple will attend a coaching session for the group, Nigeria: Unconquered and a reception hosted by the Chief of Defence Employees in honor of army households.
Within the afternoon, Meghan will co-host an occasion of Girls in Management with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director Normal of the World Commerce Group.
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP through Getty
On Sunday, The Duke and Duchess will attend a basketball clinic with Giants of Africa, a cultural reception, and a polo fundraiser for Nigeria: Unconquered.
Prince Harry spent a few days in London this week to mark the tenth anniversary of his Invictus Games, the competitors for wounded, injured and sick veterans and serving armed forces members, and the commemoration was highlighted by a Service of Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Notably, whereas his celebration was happening on the Cathedral, his father King Charles was solely two miles away at Buckingham Palace, the place he hosted a garden party. The daddy and son didn’t meet within the two days that Harry was within the metropolis, because of what was said to be the King’s “full schedule. The prince was “understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and varied different priorities and hopes to see him quickly,” a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex mentioned.
The go to to Nigeria will proceed with the Invictus Video games theme, highlighting the adaptive sports activities competitors for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans which Nigeria participated for the primary time on the newest cycle in Germany in September 2023.
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The Nigerian Minister of Protection, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Badaru additionally attended the occasion, and has expressed willingness to host the video games sooner or later ought to Nigeria be granted the chance.
PEOPLE confirmed Harry and Meghan’s journey on April 28, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are anticipated to fulfill with service members and take part in quite a lot of cultural actions through the go to, which can be particularly poignant for Meghan.
In 2022, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that she had discovered via a geneology check that she was 43% Nigerian. Speaking about it in her Archetypes podcast, she instructed comic Ziwe, “I’ll begin to dig deeper into all this as a result of anyone that I’ve instructed, particularly Nigerian ladies, are like ‘What!’ ”
“That is large for our neighborhood,” Ziwe, 30, mentioned. “No, truthfully, you do appear to be a Nigerian, you appear to be my Aunt Uzo. So that is nice.”
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Prince Harry and Meghan additionally frolicked with the Nigerian crew on the newest Invictus Video games, the place they posed for photographs and gave Meghan a special nickname that means “royal spouse.”
