Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released new details about their upcoming trip to Nigeria this month.
The couple will arrive in the African nation on Friday, with their first stop being at a school. The duo will then meet the Chief of Defence Staff before heading to visit injured service personnel in hospital during the afternoon. On Saturday, the Duke and Duchess will attend a training session for Nigeria: Unconquered as well as a reception where military families will be honoured.
Meghan is also due to co-host an event of Women in Leadership with Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation on Saturday. Their final day will be Sunday, and Harry and Meghan will attend a basketball clinic with Giants of Africa as well as a cultural reception. Their final engagement will them attend a polo fundraiser for Nigeria: Unconquered.
The trip comes just days after the Duke of Sussex marked the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Wednesday.
The couple also celebrated Prince Archie‘s fifth birthday on Monday, and will no doubt have made it very special before Harry’s visit to the UK and their joint trip to Nigeria.
Why Prince Harry and Meghan are going to Nigeria
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been invited by the West African country’s chief of defence staff, who met Harry in Germany last September at the Invictus Games Dusseldorf.
The Invictus Games was founded as a sporting event for injured and sick military personnel and veterans. Prince Harry and Meghan are expected to meet service members and their families and participate in traditional cultural activities.
Why is Nigeria special to the couple
This will be their first visit to Nigeria as a couple, with the pair having strong links to the country. During last year’s Invictus Games, Meghan spent a lot of time bonding with the Nigerian team, who even gave her her own Nigerian name Amira Ngozi Lolo.
The name holds a special royal meaning; “Amira” translates as warrior princess from a legend, “Ngozi” means blessed and “Lolo” symbolises royal wife.
During a chat with Bobby Ojeh, the team leader for the Nigerian team, he opened up about their decision to give Meghan a Nigeran name. “She has the sentimental attachment to Nigeria, so it dawned on us as a team to say why don’t we just give Meghan a name,” he told HELLO! last year.
“She’s wonderful, she’s just wonderful. The way she embraced [her Nigerian heritage] meant a lot to us as Nigerians and this is the message we take back to Nigeria.”
At the time, Meghan had told Bobby she wanted to pay Nigeria a visit with her children Archie and Lilibet, and her mother, Doria Ragland. He said: “Behind every successful man is a woman, and trust me Megahn has been amazing, contributing to the success story of Invictus. The sky is the limit but trust me they are going to the heavens.”
Prince Harry referred to Meghan’s Nigerian heritage at the opening ceremony of the Dusseldorf Invictus Games last September after Nigeria entered the games for the first time.
Harry said that while the Sussexes do not “play favourites”, the discovery means that things are likely to get “a little bit more competitive” between the couple.
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“We’re also very excited to have new nations join us,” the Duke told the packed arena. “Let’s hear it for Colombia, Israel, and Nigeria.”
He added: “Now I’m not saying we play favourites in our home… but since my wife discovered that she is of Nigerian descent, it’s likely to get a little bit more competitive this year.”
Meghan Markle’s Nigerian heritage
The country holds a special place in Meghan’s heart as the mum-of-two has Nigerian heritage, she revealed on her former podcast, Archetypes.
Talking with celebrity interviewer Ziwe, the former actress said: “I just had my genealogy done a couple years ago… [and I’m] Forty-three percent Nigerian.”
Meghan went on: “I’m going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I’ve told, especially Nigerian women, are like ‘What!'”
Other links to Nigeria
In 2022, Prince Harry and Meghan donated an unspecified amount to charities working in Nigeria to “help provide relief following devastating flooding” that ravaged parts of Nigeria, killing more than 600 people.
Save the Children Nigeria tweeted: “More than 1.5 million children are at risk after devastating flooding in Nigeria. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation has donated to Save the Children in Nigeria as our teams deliver life-saving supplies to affected families.”
