Royal fans gutted after baby Archie is left out of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Africa tour schedule
ROYAL fans hoping to catch a glimpse of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s four-month-old son Archie were disappointed yesterday after the parents revealed their upcoming Africa tour schedule.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to fly to South Africa with Archie in just two weeks time – but it’s reported they will not be showing off the newborn royal during a public airport arrival.
According to a royal source, Meghan and Harry “hope to” give fans a glimpse of their son during the tour, but baby Archie has not been included in the official schedule released yesterday.
This is said to be down to Archie’s age, with a palace insider telling ITV: “The couple hope to include Archie at some point in the programme but its difficult to schedule. He’s five months old.”
Buckingham Palace revealed the parents would fly with baby Archie to Cape Town on September 23.
ROYAL AFRICA TOUR
Day One: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will visit a workshop in Cape Town that teaches children about their rights and provides self-defence classes
The couple will also tour District Six Museum to learn about the work done to reunite people affected by the apartheid.
Day Two: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will travel to Monwabisi Beach to learn about Waves for Change.
They will also see the work of the Lunchbox Fund, which provides meals to schools across towns and rural areas.
Prince Harry will then join the City of Cape Town Marine Unit to learn about the work done to combat poaching.
In the afternoon, Meghan and Harry will visit the oldest mosque in the country and finally attend a reception at the British High Commissioner’s Resident.
Day Three: The Sussexes will meet the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs Tutu at their legacy foundation.
Meghan will then stay in South Africa, visiting the Woodstock Exchange that encourages female entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry goes to Botswana where he will join school kids to plant trees.
Day Four: Meghan Markle will take part in a Women in Public Service breakfast.
Day Five: Prince Harry will go to Angola, seeing the legacy that his mother Princess Diana started in raising awareness for the threat of landmines.
He will also visit where his mother was famously photographed.
Day Six: Prince Harry will meet with President Lourenco at the Presidential Palace.
He will then visit a maternity hospital before travelling to Malawi.
Day Seven: Prince Harry will visit a local college that supports women obtaining and education.
He will also meet wiith President Peter Mutharika.
Day Eight: Prince Harry will fly to a national park to pay tribute to guardsman Mathew Talbot, who lost his life while on an anti-poaching patrol.
Day Nine: The Duke will visit the Mauwa Heath Centre before heading back to South Africa
Day Ten: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will again join up, meeting with inspiring local youth
They will also meet with Grace Machel, the widow of the late President Nelson Mandela
Announcing the tour, the palace said: “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”.
As part of the tour, Prince Harry, 34, will also meet a British military unit who are working alongside the local rangers to help combat the threat of the illegal wildlife trade in Malawi.
The new dad will also make a “significant and poignant” trip to Angola to see his mum Princess Diana’s legacy, who helped raise awareness for the threat posed by landmines in 1997.
Harry’s first trip to Africa was when he was just 13, just months after Diana’s death when his father the Prince of Wales took him to the continent “to get away from it all”, the duke has said.
Diana famously walked through a cleared minefield in Angola in 1997 to highlight the plight of those maimed by military munitions.
The palace said that while Prince Harry is eager to “support young people across Africa to reach their potential”, wife Meghan will also be “working with organisations to promote women’s education, health, entrepreneurship and leadership”.
The couple are also expected to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs Tutu at their legacy foundation.
They will also speak with Grace Machel, the widow of the late President Nelson Mandela, before the tour finishes on October 2.
Royal fans have already been speculating over whether they will get a glimpse of Archie.
One wrote on Instagram: “I hope we will see one new picture of Archie on this tour” while others said they “couldn’t wait” to see the young royal.
Another tweeted: “Seeing them arrive carrying Archie would be really nice.”
In other royal news, we told you how Meghan Markle delighted royal fans with birthday thank you cards – but the notes were sent in Kensington Palace envelopes despite Sussex split.
We also revealed Princess Charlotte’s hair flip was hailed the ‘cutest thing ever’ as she arrived for her first day of school.
And we showed you Meghan Markle’s tribute to Vogue photographer Peter Lindbergh following his death at 74.