Prince Harry says he 'can't wait' to bring Meghan and Archie on South Africa trip
Prince Harry and Meghan are preparing to embark later this month on their first official overseas trip since the birth of their son, Archie, in May.
Harry took to social media Sunday to share his excitement about introducing Meghan and Harry to Africa, a place he described as a "second home."
"In just a few weeks our family will be taking its first official tour to Africa, a region of the world that over the past two decades has been a second home to me," Harry wrote in a post shared by the @SussexRoyal Instagram account. "Our team has helped create a meaningful programme that we’re so excited to share with you."
"On a personal note, I can’t wait to introduce my wife and son to South Africa! We’ll see all of you very soon," he wrote.
The dates of Harry and Meghan’s trip to South Africa have not been confirmed, but a countdown clock shared by @SussexRoyal indicates the Sussexes will start their trip the last week in September.
The @SussexRoyal account started September by changing its followers to highlight a cause important to Harry and Meghan, as it does every month. This month, the account is following 22 organizations and groups that support work in Africa.
"These selected groups are a small representation of the incredible work being done in Africa today from countless people, local communities and organisations," reads the caption on a post announcing the accounts.
Both Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will visit South Africa on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, according to Buckingham Palace, which announced the family's trip in June.
Harry will also visit Malawi and Angola at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office during the family's trip, and will also undertake a "working visit" to Botswana.
Archie will be one of the youngest royals to travel on an official trip overseas. Harry and Meghan's first child will be around 4 months old during the trip.
Meghan has technically been on maternity leave since Archie's birth in May but has continued to work behind the scenes. She guest-edited the September issue of British Vogue and is working on an upcoming capsule fashion collection in partnership with the charity Smart Works.
It is no surprise that Harry and Meghan are making Africa the destination of their first official trip overseas as a royal family of three.
Meghan, 38, was named in March as vice president of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust, an organization that supports and connects young leaders in the Commonwealth, which includes countries in Africa. Harry, 34, was named Commonwealth Youth Ambassador last year by Queen Elizabeth.
Africa is also where Harry whisked Meghan away to a few weeks after the couple's first date in 2017.
"I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars," Harry said in a post-engagement interview last year. "She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic, so then we were really by ourselves, which I think was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to know each other."
Harry, who established his charity, Sentebale, in the African country of Lesotho in 2006, also included a piece of Botswana in Meghan's engagement ring. The main stone in Meghan's ring is sourced from Botswana, while the diamonds surrounding it are from the jewelry collection of Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana.
Harry has also said in previous interviews that Africa will always have sentimental value to him because Africa is where he and Prince Charles and Prince William went to "get away from it all" after Diana's death in 1997.
The tour of Africa this month will be Harry and Meghan's first major overseas tour since shortly after their wedding, when they completed a 16-day tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga. It was at the start of that tour that Kensington Palace announced Meghan was pregnant with their first child.
