By Milo Pope
Social media users have joked that Prince Harry looks like African royalty after he was snapped accepting a picture of Princess Diana.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took Nigeria by storm today, posing for selfies, playing with children and being mobbed by fans as they kicked off their three-day tour in a royal fashion.
The pair of them received a military welcome in the afternoon as onlookers flooded to try and catch a glimpse of the glowing couple – after a morning visit where Meghan told schoolgirls: ‘I see myself in all of you.’
After visiting children at a school and meeting officials at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, the pair headed to Kaduna State where they were welcomed by Governor Uba Sani and other government officials.
Governor Sani presented Harry with the framed portrait of Diana holding him as a child along with another portrait of him and Meghan on their wedding day and other gifts before decorating him with traditional Hausa attire.
Responding to the picture of Harry on social media, one person joked: ‘They’ve adopted Henry lol,’ while another said: ‘Prince Harry is now a Nigerian prince.’
Yet, many pointed out how the picture was just a traditional ceremony with Harry dressed in Nigerian attire called Agbada
One person wrote: ‘Agbada, it’s an honor for them to actually offer and dress a person in it! Very few are so accepted.’
Another added: ‘It’s called an Agbada, very elegant I love it!’, while a third commented: ‘Prince Harry in agbada [laughing face emoji]’.
Prince Harry’s tour of Nigeria with his wife Meghan Markle comes 34 years after Princess Diana visited the country with Prince Charles.
Back then, the Princess of Wales displayed the kindness which she became famous for when she held the hand of a leprosy patient as her husband initially stood by awkwardly.
Today, after his and Meghan’s arrival in Abuja, Harry evoked memories of his suffering following his mother’s death when he spoke to a group of school children.
The Duke of Sussex, who was 12 when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, told the pupils there is ‘no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day.’
His and Meghan’s visit will be seen by the Duke as another effort to continue his mother’s ‘unfinished’ work.
He said in 2022 that he felt ‘obligated’ to live out her legacy ‘as much as possible.
Earlier today there was another comical moment on their Nigerian tour when Meghan took a picture with pupils at Wuse Lightway Academy and Harry put his arms up and pulled a cheeky grin behind her.
The couple spoke about mental health at the school supported by their Archewell Foundation, with Meghan encouraging them to ‘just be honest with each other’.
Harry also said: ‘If you see your friend in your class not smiling, what are you going to do? Are you going to check in on them? Are you going to ask them if they’re OK? Because it’s OK not to be OK.’ Handing the mic to Meghan, she added: ‘Do you see why I married him? He’s so smart. And so inspiring because he speaks the truth.
They visited the school about five hours after their arrival in Abuja – before heading onto the Nigerian Defence Headquarters for their next engagement from noon.’
Meghan – who was wearing a long Heidi Merrick ‘Windsor’ dress worth an estimated £450 – told the pupils: ‘As I look around this room, I see myself in all of you as well. So it is a complete honour to have our first visit to Nigeria, be here with all of you.
“‘We believe in all of you, we believe in your futures, we believe in your ability to continue telling your stories and to just be honest with each other. There is no need to suffer in silence. Just make sure that you’re taking care of yourselves.”
Meghan also praised James Holt, the executive director of the Archewell Foundation who has joined them on the trip, for his work – adding that his ‘birthday is today’.
The Duke asked one child their age, and when they said they were five, he replied: ‘You’re five? Our son Archie is five.’ Meghan added: ‘That’s right, he turned five.’ She also said that Lilibet loved dancing, adding: ‘Maybe it’s all the jumping around.’
The Sussexes were greeted by a dancing troupe and a crowd of excited students and teachers. Student Nnenna Okorie said of Meghan: ‘She is the prettiest human being ever. I admire her so much and then Harry. I love how he is so supportive.’
At the Defence HQ, the couple spent an hour inside before emerging to cheers from and shaking hands with well-wishers amid chaotic scenes. An uncomfortable looking Harry quickly ushered Meghan into their car as onlookers almost overwhelmed them.
The couple arrived together in Abuja just before 5am following a secret reunion at Heathrow’s VIP Windsor Suite yesterday after the Duchess arrived from Los Angeles.
They boarded the British Airways overnight flight to Abuja, which was slightly delayed after the scheduled pilot went sick and a replacement had to be scrambled.
The Sussexes, visiting Nigeria together for the first time, were seated in the first class section of the Boeing 777 and were kept apart from other passengers by a curtain.
Meghan revealed on her Spotify podcast Archetypes in 2022 that she found out she has Nigerian ancestry, describing herself as ’43 per cent Nigerian’.
Harry had been in London since Tuesday, attending various events relating to the Invictus Games, before he made the trip to Nigeria.
Yesterday, he chatted and played games with bereaved military children as he made a surprise visit to a charity event.
The 39-year-old spent the afternoon with 50 children and young people, aged between six and 22, who have experienced the death of a military parent.
He took part in games – including one which saw the duke use a straw to transport Smarties as quickly as possible – and spoke to the youngsters as part of the fun-filled event hosted in London by Scotty’s Little Soldiers.
Source: Daily Mail
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