The Best Photos of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s Royal Visit to Nigeria in 1990; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won’t be the first royals to travel to the West African country, but the Duchess of Sussex is the first with a personal connection to Nigeria

Later this month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit Nigeria on a trip connected to the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games.

They won’t be the first royals to travel to the West African country, but the Duchess of Sussex is the first with a personal connection to Nigeria. On her Archetypes podcast, she shared that a genealogy test revealed she had Nigerian heritage. At the Invictus Games last September, the first time Team Nigeria competed, Harry said, “I’m not saying we play favorites in my home, but since my wife discovered that she is of Nigerian descent it’s likely to get a little bit more competitive this year.”

More than three decades ago, Prince Harry’s parents, then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana, undertook a five-day royal visit to Nigeria. It was Diana’s first time in the country, and Charles’s second—he went in 1956 with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. King Charles would return three more times (in 1999, 2006, and 2018). Ahead of Harry and Meghan’s visit, take a look back at the best photos of Charles and Diana’s trip.

Diana, in a mint green Catherine Walker dress (and Philip Somerville hat), stands with Nigeria’s First Lady, Maryam Babangida as she arrives in Lagos. “The West African tour was officially meant to be for Prince Charles, as future head of the Commonwealth, to get to know the region; in reality it was very much more about getting the right kind of coverage in the British press,” reflected reporter Elizabeth Blunt.

At Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Charles and Diana were greeted by the people waving the flag of Nigeria and the Union Jack. “Looking back, this was a low point in the royal couple’s popularity; the glamour and novelty of their marriage had worn off; the problems in their relationship had not yet become public; the palace press office was keen to revive flagging public interest in the future King and Queen,” Blunt said.

Princess Diana’s fashion on the 1990 trip reflected the climate of the West African nation. Here, she wears a suit by Catherine Walker.
Charles and Diana didn’t carry out many joint engagements together. As Blunt reflected, “Princess Diana visited children’s hospitals, traditional hand loom weavers and women’s development projects. And wherever Diana went, the royal press pack followed. I had Prince Charles’s engagements virtually to myself; no-one else was in the slightest bit interested.”