Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are set for their first visit to Nigeria!
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will kick off their visit to the west African country on Friday, May 10, PEOPLE confirms.
PEOPLE’s chief foreign correspondent Simon Perry will join the trip to Nigeria, covering the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s various outings.
Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, were invited to by Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff, the country’s highest-ranking military official. Upon their arrival on Friday morning, the couple will visit a school. They will then meet with the Chief of Defense Staff. In the afternoon, Harry will meet injured servicemembers at a military hospital.
On Saturday, the couple will attend a training session for the organization, Nigeria: Unconquered and a reception hosted by the Chief of Defence Staff in honor of military families.
In the afternoon, Meghan will co-host an event of Women in Leadership with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organization.
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via 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 competition 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, while his celebration was taking place at the Cathedral, his father King Charles was only two miles away at Buckingham Palace, where he hosted a garden party. The father and son did not meet in the two days that Harry was in the city, due to what was said to be the King’s “full schedule. The prince was “understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon,” a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said.
The visit to Nigeria will continue with the Invictus Games theme, highlighting the adaptive sports competition for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans which Nigeria participated for the first time at the latest cycle in Germany in September 2023.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The Nigerian Minister of Defense, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Badaru also attended the event, and has expressed willingness to host the games in the future should Nigeria be granted the opportunity.
PEOPLE confirmed Harry and Meghan’s trip on April 28, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to meet with service members and participate in a variety of cultural activities during the visit, which may be especially poignant for Meghan.
In 2022, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that she had discovered via a geneology test that she was 43% Nigerian. Talking about it in her Archetypes podcast, she told comedian Ziwe, “I’m going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I’ve told, especially Nigerian women, are like ‘What!’ ”
“This is huge for our community,” Ziwe, 30, said. “No, honestly, you do look like a Nigerian, you look like my Aunt Uzo. So this is great.”
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Chris Jackson/Getty
Prince Harry and Meghan also spent time with the Nigerian team at the latest Invictus Games, where they posed for photos and gave Meghan a special nickname meaning “royal wife.”
