Meghan Markle probably suspected she wouldn’t gain anything by accompanying Prince Harry to London this week for the 10th anniversary celebration of the Invictus Games, before traveling with him to Nigeria, where she certainly found a much more hospitable welcome on Friday, with even the usually critical Daily Mail saying the couple took “Nigeria by storm.”
On Thursday, the British media made it clear that Harry was snubbed by his own father, King Charles III, and the rest of the British royal family. Charles, still undergoing treatment for cancer, had other “priorities” this week, including a garden party at Buckingham Palace, and wasn’t able to make time to see his younger son, Harry’s spokesperson revealed in a somewhat pointed statement.
Speculation also was rampant that Meghan, who has become pretty unpopular the U.K., wanted to avoid the possibility of being booed outside St. Paul’s Cathedral Wednesday, where the Invictus Games celebration was held.
But that doesn’t mean that the American Duchess of Sussex avoided the U.K. altogether on her trip from California to Nigeria. The Daily Mail reported that Meghan flew into Heathrow Airport from Los Angeles, meeting up with her husband at the airport’s VIP Windsor Suite Thursday evening. From there, the couple boarded a British Airways overnight flight to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
Britain’s Prince Harry (2nd L), Duke of Sussex, and Britain’s Meghan (L), Duchess of Sussex, look at people dancing as they arrive at the Lightway Academy in Abuja on May 10, 2024 as they visit Nigeria as part of celebrations of Invictus Games anniversary. (Photo by Kola SULAIMON / AFP) (Photo by KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty Images)
When the Sussexes arrived in Nigeria just before 5 a.m. Friday, they were welcomed by Nigerian officials, as Daily Mail photos show. The couple turned up later Friday for the first stop in their three-day visit to the West African nation: a mental health summit at the Lightway Academy, a school in Abuja that provides critical health and education services.
At the school, Meghan and Harry received a rapturous welcome, which may have taken away the sting that Harry felt by the king’s “snub” in London. The fact that the king couldn’t find 15 minutes to see Harry on Wednesday, when his son was but two miles away at St. Paul’s Cathedral, is an indication that “the palace gates remain firmly closed” to both the duke and his wife, author Richard Kay wrote in the Daily Mail.
Still, Harry found a crowd of enthusiastic supporters outside St. Paul’s on Wednesday and went up to them to shake hands, TMZ reported. He also told a BBC correspondent at another Invictus-related event in London that it was “great” to be back in his home country.
Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex greets well-wishers as he leaves after attending a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at St Paul’s Cathedral in central London, on May 8, 2024. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Nigeria was very excited about bringing the globally famous couple to their country. Harry and Meghan are visiting Nigeria at the invitation of the country’s Defense Ministry, ostensibly to promote the Invictus Games, which offers wounded veterans the challenge of competing in an international sporting event, similar to the Paralympics.
Gen. Christopher Musa, the country’s highest-ranking military official, told CNN that Meghan also was keen to accompany her husband on the visit “as part of her lineage and heritage.” Meghan revealed in 2022 that she discovered she was 43% Nigerian from a genealogy test.
The defense ministry also said the couple’s visit would include cultural activities that are not necessarily related to the Invitus Games. One of those events took place at the Lightway Academy, where the couple “took Nigeria by storm,” the Daily Mail reported.
They were greeted by waiting lines of school children and a banner fringed with flowers that read, “We Are Honored To Have You!” The couple also were presented with wooden beaded necklaces and treated to a performance by local singers and dancers.
In an address to the students, Meghan said that she and Harry were “honored” to be visiting Nigeria, The Telegraph reported. The mental health summit at the school was hosted by the GEANCO Foundation, which has links to the couple’s Archewell Foundation, People reported.
After Harry delivered an uplifting speech on mental health, Meghan said, “You see why I’m married to him?” While taking the microphone, Meghan also said, “It’s so inspiring because he speaks the truth.”
During her address, Meghan told the students, “We believe in you, we believe in your futures, we believe in your ability to continue to tell your stories and just be honest with each other.”
“There is no need to suffer in silence,” she continued. “Just make sure you’re taking care of yourselves and your mental health by really talking about whatever is coming up for you.”
When Nigeria’s Defense Ministry announced Meghan and Harry’s visit, observers of the British royal family said it appeared that the couple were trying to stage a “quasi-royal tour.” The couple ceased to be working members of the royal family in 2020 when they quit royal duties and moved to California to seek new careers in media and philanthropy.
These remarks from royal commentators certainly highlight the tensions between the royal establishment and the couple, whose criticisms of the monarchy and a insider revelations about specific family members have been a feature of their various media endeavors, including their Netflix series and Harry’s memoir “Spare.”
The couple’s visit to Nigeria has indeed been described as a “private” one, with UK’s high commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, telling the media there that they wouldn’t be meeting with the country’s president, Bola Tinubu, CNN reported. Montgomery said the Sussexes are “visiting in a private capacity, not an official one.”
CNN also reported that the couple will have a busy itinerary in Nigeria, a former British colony which is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Sussexes will visit a military rehabilitation center and local organizations that support veterans’ welfare, Marquis said. On Saturday, Harry also is scheduled to join wounded veterans during a sitting volleyball game and later, while Meghan is expected to co-host a women’s leadership event with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization.