It would appear that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning on adding even more stamps to their passports in the name of helping others.
On the tail end of their recent three-day trip to Nigeria for engagements related to the Invictus Games and more, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke with People about their future plans. In short, the couple plans to continue to lend their efforts—and physical presence—to the causes important to them.
“There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom, so we look forward to traveling more because the work matters,” Harry said in the interview, published Wednesday. “Whether it’s the Archewell Foundation, Invictus, or any of our other causes, there will always be reasons to meet the people at the heart of our work.”
He added, “It is hugely important for us to meet directly with people, supporting our causes and listening in order to bring about solutions, support, and positive change.”
The couple certainly doesn’t have a wealth of leisure time as it is. In addition to being parents to two small children, 5-year-old Prince Archie and the nearly 3-year-old Princess Lilibet, the Sussexes are juggling their charitable Archewell Foundation, the military personnel-focused Invictus Games competition, which this year marks its 10th anniversary, multiple in-progress projects with Netflix, and, of course, Meghan’s American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand, which so far has manifested as cute jars of strawberry jam in the pantries of high-profile pals like Kris Jenner.
Meghan called the couple’s time in Nigeria “incredibly memorable and special.”
“That alone is the best souvenir to take with us: All the memories we’ve made,” she said.
The couple also visited military personnel to discuss mental health and well-being, in connection with the Invictus Games. Harry said that he saw “very low morale” amongst the men he visited at a military hospital there, with the exception of two who had been involved in Invictus.
“That experience of knowing what life post-injury is like gives people so much hope,” he said. “And hope, hope, hope is a huge part of this.”
“I’m so happy with the growth of Invictus and to include Nigeria,” he explained. “You know what Africa means to me over the years. It is a very, very special place, and to be able to include Nigeria now [in Invictus], I’m very happy.”
Meghan, too, discovered a special connection with Nigeria, thanks to an online DNA test revealing that she is 43 percent Nigerian. At a solo engagement Saturday, she told a crowd of women about the experience.
“Being African-American, part of it is really not knowing so much about your lineage or background, where you come from specifically,” Meghan said, adding that she first reached out to her mother, Doria Ragland, when she got the test results. “It was exciting for both of us to discover more and understand what that really means.”