,type=downsize)
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are set to embark on their first royal tour as a family of three this month. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit Africa on September 23 with their four-month-old son Archie Harrison. The royals’ trip will focus on community, grassroots leadership, women’s and girls’ rights, mental health, HIV/AIDS and the environment. Meghan and Harry are “eager to focus their energies on the great work being done in Southern Africa.” The tour will begin in Cape Town on September 23, where the royals will spend three days. Harry will undertake an official visit to Angola and Malawi during the tour, as well as a private working visit to Botswana. The Sussexes’ tour will end on October 2 in Johannesburg.
The couple and their son Archie will kick off their tour of Africa on September 23
“The Duke of Sussex’s love for Africa is well known. He first visited the continent at the age of 13 and more than two decades later, the people, culture, wildlife and resilient communities continue to inspire and motivate him every day,” the couple’s private secretary Samantha Cohen told reporters at a briefing on Friday. “As Her Majesty’s Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, the Duke now has a platform to be able to support young people across Africa in reaching their full potential.”
MORE: Prince Harry says 'no one is perfect' following his and Meghan Markle's private plane backlash
During her first trip to South Africa, Meghan will be working with local organizations to promote women and girls’ health and education, entrepreneurship and leadership. Meanwhile, Harry is “especially proud” to continue the legacy left by his late mother Princess Diana with her work in Angola as he joins Halo Trust again in an effort to rid the world of landmines. The Duke will be met by the Governor of Huambo, Joana Lina, who was also the official host for the late Princess Diana's visit. Harry will visit the location where his mother was famously photographed and see how an area that was a dangerous minefield in 1997 is now a busy street with schools, shops and houses. In Malawi, the new dad will check in on the British Army’s partnership with African Parks and will deliver an exciting new initiative, a Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy three-country partnership, which he designed and consulted with governments in Namibia, Botswana and Angola to protect forest and wildlife corridors around the Okavango Delta.
Harry will visit the site where his mother was famously photographed
As for whether we'll see Archie during the tour, a royal source told HOLA! USA’s sister brand HELLO! that Meghan and Harry “hope to include Archie at some point in the program, but it's difficult to schedule. He's five months old. But they hope to." Another source told HELLO! that the couple’s program was designed to allow the Duke and Duchess to be with their son at bath time, bedtime and key times in his routine. The royals are taking a nanny as part of their entourage.
GALLERY: MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY'S SECRET CELEBRITY VISITS REVEALED
Archie's cousin Prince George embarked on his first tour back in 2014 when he was eight months old visiting Australia and New Zealand with his parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton. However, Archie is no stranger to flying. The royal baby racked up plenty of frequent flyer miles this summer jetting off to Ibiza for mom Meghan’s 38th birthday, as well as a holiday in the South of France.