We are back with a post covering the Sussex family’s upcoming South Africa tour.
We’ll begin with background from this morning’s news release:
At the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Their Royal Highnesses will together visit South Africa. The Duke of Sussex will also visit Angola and Malawi at the request of the FCO and will undertake a short working visit to Botswana while in the region
This will be Their Royal Highnesses’ first official tour as a family. Not only will this visit serve as an opportunity for The Duke and Duchess to highlight many of the causes they have been involved with for many years, it will demonstrate a modern UK-Africa partnership in action.
The release also speaks to Meghan’s work on the tour:
The Duchess of Sussex is particularly looking forward to the opportunity to learn from inspirational women in the region. As Patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Her Royal Highness will meet female entrepreneurs, academics and community leaders, and join discussions with Southern African young women about the future of their countries.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The tour begins in Cape Town on Monday, the 23rd of September.
- The final engagements are in Johannesburg on Wednesday, October 2nd.
- The tour showcases the couple’s interest in conservation, sustainable tourism, as well as mental health issues and young people.
- Meghan will have two solo engagements in Cape Town and two in Johannesburg.
- The couple hopes to include Archie at some point in the program but point out that “It’s difficult to schedule because he’s five months old.”
More on the schedule from this Hello story:
Another source told HELLO! the programme had been designed to allow the couple to be with Archie at bathtime and bedtime and for other key times in his routine.
Now for a detailed look at the itinerary.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 (Cape Town, Joint Engagements)
- For their first engagement, the Duke and Duchess will visit a workshop in Cape Town teaching children about their rights and self-awareness, providing female empowerment training to young girls in the community
- Meghan and Harry will then visit the District Six Museum which celebrates the multiracial area shattered during apartheid when 60,000+ residents were forcibly removed from the neighborhood. Below, a 1966 front page from the Cape Argus newspaper.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (Cape Town, Joint Engagements)
- The Duke and Duchess will visit the resort area of Monwabisi Beach where they will learn about Waves for Change, a non-profit that trains surf mentors providing mental health support to young people
- They will also see the work of The Lunchbox Fund, one of the organizations they suggested as a donation recipient when Archie was born. The Lunchbox Fund provides nearly 30,000 meals daily to Waves for Change programs and schools in South Africa’s townships and rural areas.
- Meghan and Harry will learn about the Commonwealth Litter Program, an initiative working to eliminate plastic waste in six Commonwealth countries.
- The Duke then travels to Seal Island to see some of the efforts underway to stop abalone poaching.
- In the afternoon the Duke & Duchess visit the Bo-Kaap area to mark Cape Town’s Heritage Day. Bo-Kaap was formerly known as the Malay Quarter; its “origins date back to the 1760s when numerous “huurhuisjes” (rental houses) were built and leased to slaves,” per this Cape Town Travel piece. “To this day, the houses are a mix of Cape Dutch and Georgian architecture, in distinctive multi-coloured rows on steeply cobbled roads.” Below, a photo of the area via Wikimedia.
- In the Bo-Kaap neighborhood, Meghan and Harry will see the Auwal Mosque, the first mosque in South Africa. They’ll also meet residents and be hosted for tea. (Photo via Wikimedia.)
- The final engagement of the day is a reception at the British High Commissioner’s residence.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 (Cape Town, Joint Engagements, Meghan Solo Engagement)
- The Duke & Duchess meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs. Tutu at their foundation.
You may remember Meghan and Harry recently featured a quote by the Archbishop on the Sussex Royal Instagram page.
- Following their meeting with the Tutus, Meghan has a solo engagement at the Woodstock Exchange, where she will meet female entrepreneurs and investors working in the technology sector.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 (Cape Town, Meghan Solo Engagement, Harry to Botswana)
- Meghan has a solo engagement in Cape Town where she will take part in a private “Women in Public Service” breakfast at the High Commission.
- Harry begins his trip to Botswana. He will visit the Chobe Forest Tree Reserve, where he will join schoolchildren in planting trees and “raising awareness of the fragility of these vital ecosystems.”
- He will then see a project run by Sentebale which focuses on improving the mental health of young people affected by HIV.
- The Duke then goes to Chobe National Park, where he will dedicate an area of forest to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. He will travel to Angola and will spend the evening at a new HALO Trust camp.
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 (Harry in Angola)
- The Duke will be in Dirico, in southeastern Angola, for an engagement with the HALO Trust. The Trust is starting a program of de-mining for conservation, funded by the Angolan government, which has the ambition to become landmine free by 2025. Harry will remotely detonate a mine, deliver remarks, and meet members of the community.
- The Duke travels to Huambo and will be met by the Governor of Huambo, Joana Lina. Accompanied by Ms. Lina, he will visit the location where the iconic photos of his mother, the late Princess of Wales, were taken during her HALO Trust work in 1997. Governor Joana Lin also hosted Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997. Below, Harry at a HALO Trust site in 2013.
- The Duke will unveil a three-country Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy project that he designed. The project includes Angola’s Luengue-Luiana National Park, the site of the de-mining initiative. Representatives from Botswana and Namibia will join Angolan Ministers to celebrate the new collaboration.
- Harry then has an engagement in at the Huambo Orthopaedic Centre, also visited by his mother in 1997. The Duke will unveil the centre’s new name honoring Princess Diana.
- That evening Harry attends a reception at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Luanda.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 (Harry in Angola, Malawi)
- The Duke will have an Audience with President Lourenço at Angola’s Presidential Palace. This is followed by a visit to the Maternity Hospital Lucrécia Paim, where work is being done to prevent HIV/AIDS transmission from mothers to babies.
- Harry travels to Malawi for the next leg of his tour.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 (Harry in Malawi)
- Prince Harry visits Nalikule College of Education and meets young women receiving aid from the help of UK Aid bursaries through the Campaign for Female Education. The project is supported by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust of which the Duke is President and the Duchess Vice-President.
- The Duke then has an audience with President Peter Mutharika. That evening he will attend a reception hosted by the British High Commissioner.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (Harry in Malawi)
- Harry flies to Liwonde National Park where he will pay tribute at the memorial site for Guardsman Mathew Talbot of the Coldstream Guards, who lost his life in May 2019 on a joint anti-poaching patrol with local park rangers.
- The Duke then visits Liwonde National Park Headquarters and watches an anti-poaching demonstration exercise, followed by the dedication of Liwonde National Park and the adjoining Mangochi Forest to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. Below, Meghan and Harry in Auckland last year where they dedicated an area of donated land to the Canopy.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1 ( Meghan in Johannesburg for Solo Engagements, Harry in Malawi)
- The Duchess will attend a roundtable discussion with the Association of Commonwealth Universities in Johannesburg where she will meet academics and students to discuss the challenges faced by young women in accessing Higher Education. Below, the Duchess at an ACU event in January.
- Meghan then visits a school to learn about the work of a local charity which receives UK Aid funding for its work to raise awareness of and tackle sexual violence in schools.
- At the same time, Harry travels to Mauwa Health Centre, Pharmacy in a Box and Youth Reproductive Health Outreach programs.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2
- The Duke and Duchess will visit a township near Johannesburg and meet with inspiring local young people and entrepreneurs and see initiatives addressing the rising unemployment challenge faced by young people in South Africa.
- The couple meets with Mrs. Graça Machel, widow of the late former President Mandela.
- Harry and Meghan will attend an afternoon reception where they will celebrate the UK and South Africa business and investment relationship, looking ahead to the Africa Investment Summit the UK will host in 2020.
- For their final engagement of the tour, the Duke and Duchess will attend an audience with President Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Dr. Tshepo Motsepe.
This is sure to be an amazing tour, in a region that holds deep meaning for the couple. Both of us are excited to cover it and know we are going to learn a great deal about the countries, people, and cultures in the next several weeks. We are already enjoying the runup to the tour and are eager to cover the events while the Duke, Duchess, and Archie are in South Africa.
ElizaMo says
I’m so looking forward to this!! I’m also afraid I’m guilty of being a teensy bit disappointed that we have a whole group of Meghan-free days together, having hoped Harry might be doing separate trips interleaved with Meghan sightings. Looking at this now I can see what a very daft idea that was and welcome the many adventures he will be on, assuming we still follow him while Meghan lies low. And I’m more than mollified that we have an evening reception at the British High Commissioner on day two. It’s just going to be wow to see them meet the Tutus!
Jmae says
I can’t remember where I read it (maybe he answered a tweet?)but Omid Scobie said that there are a few embargoes events for Meghan. I’m assuming it will be while Harry is away. So we might still see Meghan in between Harry’s events ?
MaryAnne says
Lots to look forward to!
Paula Egan says
so looking forward to seeing Meghan out and about again for royal duties