Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s whirlwind 24 hours in Nigeria as Duchess looks radiant

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reunited following the Duke of Sussex’s short visit to the UK as they travelled to Nigeria together on a 72-hour whistle-stop tour.

The Duchess of Sussex did not join her husband as he attended a service to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral in London but met him at Heathrow Airport where she landed from Los Angeles on Thursday. The Sussexes then boarded the British Airways overnight flight to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The flight was delayed as the scheduled pilot was sick and a replacement had to be found.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were sat in First Class and were kept apart from other passengers by a curtain. When they arrived in Abuja, other travellers were held back as they were escorted off the plane. Here, we look at the couple’s first 24 hours in Nigeria.

Official welcome
Harry and Meghan were welcomed by Nigerian officials who met them at the airport. The couple were taken out of a side door onto the jetty and into a waiting minibus.

The Sussexes were invited to the country – located on the western coast of Africa – by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who met Harry last September at the games in Düsseldorf, Germany. However, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria confirmed Harry and Meghan do not represent the UK during the trip and are not visiting the country on official business.

He said: “It’s great that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting Nigeria, which I understand is at the invitation of Defence Headquarters. But they are visiting in a private capacity, not an official one.”

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria, Richard added: “So, the British High Commission is not involved in arranging or facilitating their programme. They are not representing the work of His Majesty’s Government on this visit.”

Harry’s speech
On their first day in Nigeria, Harry gave a passionate speech about mental health. Addressing the room at the Lights Academy in Abuja, Harry said: “In some places around the world, more than you would believe, there is a stigma against mental health. Too many people don’t want to talk about it because it’s invisible, it’s in your mind and we can’t see it.”

Meghan smiled as she stood next to her husband as he spoke, nodding along to his comments. Harry continued to say that mental health is “still something we are relatively unsure of”. He added: “But guess what, every single person in this room, the youngest, the oldest, every single person has mental health.

“So therefore, you have to look after yourself in order to be able to help other people, other people have to look after themselves in order to be able to look after you. That’s the way it works.”

The Duke of Sussex continued: “There is no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day. Okay? If you woke up this morning feeling sad, if you left school feeling stressed, if you’ve lost a loved one in your family who you usually turn to or speak to, all of these things you may be led to believe are not for conversation. We are here today to tell you that that is not the case.

“Every single one of those things is completely normal. It is a human reaction, whether it’s grief, stress, whatever the feeling is, it comes from experiences you have had.” Harry stressed how anyone can suffer from mental health issues “on any given day”.

He concluded: “If you take anything away from today, just know that mental health affects every single person.” Meghan didn’t speak during the speech as she let her husband take the lead.

Wellness expert and mental health mentor Sara Goode praised Harry for his openness. She said: “This statement is key, if each of us learns to process and deal with our own emotional needs first, we stop projecting our feelings and therefore thoughts and judgements onto others. As the saying goes, ‘healed people heal people, hurt people hurt people’.

“Taking responsibility for how we feel, and being brave enough to ask for help when we need it shows everyone around us that it is OK to not be OK, we are all vulnerable in different ways, but we can find collective strength in that vulnerability when we take ownership of it.”

Outfit choice

Harry and Meghan wore casual outfits during their first few hours in Nigeria. The Duke of Sussex wore a light grey top, while the Duchess opted for a peach-coloured dress. They both wore traditional African necklaces, with Meghan adding a simple gold necklace.

Harry and Meghan are visiting Nigeria to promote the Invictus Games and have a packed itinerary for their trip, which lasts until Monday. Among their plans is a trip to the country’s military headquarters and a visit to Lagos.

The couple will also watch a volleyball game and visit military hospitals and charities in Abuja and Lagos. The Defence HQ revealed their itinerary in a press conference on Thursday, May 9, saying they are also scheduled to meet injured armed forces personnel and their families.