After a night flight from London, where they met, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed this Friday, May 10 in the early morning in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. On the program for their three days in this West African country, the first on the continent to participate in the Invictus Games, visits to schools and military hospitals as well as institutional, cultural and sporting meetings. A royal program!
Upon their arrival at Lightway Academy Primary School in Abuja, their first engagement on Nigerian soil, Prince Harry and Meghan were welcomed like rock stars with a guard of honor, traditional necklace gifts and warm applause. For this first unofficial visit of the couple abroad since they left their functions within the British royal family to settle in the United States, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appear all smiles and have taken care to match their outfits, in a variation of warm and neutral tones – with for Meghan a silk dress whose model is surprisingly called ‘Windsor’. For a bit, one would still believe they were on a mission in the name of the English crown… Of course, this is not the case.
If Prince Harry and his wife are traveling to this Commonwealth member country, it is in a private capacity, at the personal invitation of the country’s Chief of Defense Staff. The aim of this 72-hour mini tour is above all to promote the Invictus Games, following on from Prince Harry’s visit to London earlier this week.
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During a thanksgiving service organized on Wednesday May 8 at St Paul’s Cathedral, the king’s youngest son celebrated with great fanfare the tenth anniversary of this sporting competition which he initiated in 2014. Nigeria is indeed the first African country to have joined the competition, a Source of pride for the athletes as much as for the country. The couple also planned to take advantage of their visit to meet wounded soldiers and war veterans who are preparing their second participation in the Games during the next edition.
On the program for the first day of this visit, after a morning dedicated to children and students in a partner school of their Archewell foundation, Harry and Meghan were welcomed at lunchtime by General Christopher Musa at the Headquarters of Defense of Nigeria. Later in the afternoon, the Sussexes are expected at a military hospital to speak with the injured soldiers and discuss with them the importance of sport in their reconstruction, but also to support the morale of their families.
The next day, Saturday May 11, the couple must attend a training session in the morning within the Nigeria: Unconquered association, partner of the Invictus, before going to a reception organized by the chief of staff in the honor of the families of representatives of the armed forces. Finally in the afternoon, the Duchess of Sussex will be expected to co-host a round table dedicated to the place of women in leadership, where she will meet Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian politician and director general of the World Organization Trade.
Through the voice of its Minister of Defense, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, present in Düsseldorf alongside his team for the 2023 edition of the Invictus Games, Nigeria has not hidden its desire to one day host this international competition on its ground. However, after this royal invitation, his wish could well come true in the years to come…
