CELEBRITY
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are starting off their first trip to Nigeria with a lively fun visit to a school.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Lightway Academy in Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday during the visit as part of celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.
Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, met with students and faculty, took part in activities and watched performances upon their arrival. Harry and Meghan’s other plans for their weekend Nigeria trip include meeting with the country’s chief of defense staff and attending a reception in honor of military families. Harry is set to meet with injured service members at a military hospital as well.
The duchess is also set to co-host an event for women in leadership, and both will attend a polo fundraiser for the charity Nigeria: Unconquered. Harry is just coming off a trip to his hometown of London for its own Invictus Games celebration, after first bringing the games to the city in 2014.
To mark the milestone, he attended a panel discussion with the organization on Tuesday and on Wednesday, he attended a celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral along with veterans involved in the various Invictus Games sports. Harry notably did not meet with his father, King Charles III, during the trip back to his home country. A spokesperson for Harry said a reunion amid Charles’ cancer diagnosis “unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full” schedule.
They did have a private reunion in February after the palace confirmed the king was diagnosed with an undisclosed “form of cancer.” “I spoke to him. And I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could,” the Duke of Sussex said on “Good Morning America” in a segment about the moment he learned about his father’s health.
He continued, “I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane, go and see him, and spend any time with him – I’m grateful for that. … I’ve got other trips planned that will take me through the U.K., or back to the U.K., and so I’ll stop in and see my family as much as I can.”