Meghan and Harry were so delighted with the reception they received on their trip to Nigeria that they are planning more quasi-royal tours, a source has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the country for three days last week to promote mental health initiatives and the Invictus Games, the sporting event Harry, 39, founded for wounded military veterans.
The couple visited a local charity and met military leaders, wounded soldiers and schoolchildren, who greeted them with smiles and enthusiasm.
The Sussexes now have “other trips planned for the rest of the year” and hope to “share more details in the coming weeks,” a source close to them said. Mirror.
The source added: “It’s definitely possible they could return to Africa for more tours after that.”
Prince Harry and Meghan visit army wives at Defense Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, May 10, 2024.
The Duchess of Sussex shakes the hand of a girl in a wheelchair during the African Giant Foundation Dream Big Basketball clinic in Lagos, Nigeria, Sunday, May 12, 2024.
Meghan takes a selfie with students as she arrives with Harry during their visit to Lightway Academy in Abuja, Nigeria, Friday, May 10, 2024.
The Sussexes, who are in Nigeria for the first time at the invitation of their military, arrived last Friday amid pomp and dancing.
The couple began their three-day visit by attending the Lightway Academy school, which is supported by its Archewell foundation to train girls affected by conflict in Nigeria, before meeting with the country’s military officials.
Harry and Meghan, 42, visited a local charity, Giants of Africa, which uses basketball to empower young people. There, they enjoyed another round of dancing before revealing a partnership between the organization and their Archewell Foundation.
They later attended a fundraiser for Nigerian soldiers injured in the country’s fight against Islamic extremists and other armed groups in the country’s conflict-torn north. The event was linked to Harry’s Invictus Games, which Nigeria is looking to host in the future.
The couple were also welcomed at the Lagos State Government House, where Meghan received another hand-woven Nigerian fabric and enjoyed a trip to a polo club.
At the end of the tour, Harry said he and Meghan “hope to travel more because work matters,” the newspaper reported.
“Whether it’s the Archewell Foundation, Invictus or any of our other causes, there will always be reasons to get to know the people who are at the heart of our work,” the Duke said.
He also described Africa as a “very, very special place” and said he was “very happy” to now include Nigeria in the Invictus Games.
Prince Harry (right) and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (left) attend an exhibition sitting volleyball match at Nigeria Unconquered, a community charity dedicated to helping wounded, injured or ill service members, as part of the Invictus Games anniversary celebrations. in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11, 2024
Dr. Abike Sabri-Erewa in her office in Abuja, Nigeria. Dr. Abike met with Prince Harry and Meghan over the weekend.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit Lightway Academy on May 10, 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend a polo fundraising event in Lagos, Nigeria, on May 12, 2024.
Meghan and Harry greet the children on their visit to the Polo Club on May 12, 2024 in Lagos
The couple seems quite found in Africa, having visited Botswana for their third date in 2016. Harry, the following year, proposed to Meghan with a diamond from that country.
The Sussexes returned to Africa to celebrate Meghan’s 36th birthday and went on their first royal tour together to South Africa, Botswana, Angola and Malawi in 2019.
However, his recent royal-style trip to Nigeria has been heavily criticized by experts who allege that the quasi-royal tour is a “bold statement that they refuse to accept that they are no longer working royals.”
speaking to MirrorAuthor Tom Quinn commented that the 72-hour visit “confirmed the worst fears” of the Duke of Sussex’s family, and has left the King and Prince of Wales “absolutely furious”.
“Everything you would expect from an official royal visit was there: the receptions, the visits to schools and charities, to wounded and disabled soldiers,” he explained.
“Meghan and Harry’s speeches and their entire attitude have been designed to give the impression that they are still fully paid-up royals and William and his father, King Charles, don’t like that at all.”
Quinn said Harry and Meghan appear to have gone “rogue” and alleged the firm was concerned about “trying to do something quickly.”
“For Charles and William, it’s as if Meghan and Harry are saying, ‘We don’t need your permission to work as royals; “We will do it on our own terms whenever and wherever we want,” she added.
While much of the Sussexes’ visit resembled a royal tour, the Duke and Duchess set foot in the West African nation on their own terms after being invited by its military for the three-day trip.
Sources at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office have confirmed to MailOnline that Harry and Meghan were “visiting Nigeria in a private capacity”, and that the UK Government was “not involved in organizing or facilitating their programme”.
Meghan and Harry arrive at the Lightway Academy in Abuja on May 10, 2024 as they visit Nigeria as part of the Invictus Games anniversary celebrations.
Harry and Meghan visit the Giants of Africa charity at Ilupeju Primary School on May 12, 2024 in Lagos, Nigeria.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Lagos State Governor’s Office on May 12, 2024 in Lagos, Nigeria
But while Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals in 2020, their visit had several similarities to overseas trips taken by working members of the Royal Family.
Royal expert Michael Cole told MailOnline that although the couple were on “a private visit from two royal figures”, they “exploited their royal status to the limit and in every way, trying to give the impression that it was real”.
He said that although the Sussexes’ trip was “not a state visit, an official visit or a royal tour”, it appeared to be a “tour proposed by Buckingham Palace and sanctioned by the British government”.
He added that the couple “succeeded to such an extent that they will return to California very satisfied with their three days in Nigeria.”