The next stop on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s world travels will reportedly be Nigeria.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are scheduled to visit the country in May, following an invitation from the Nigerian Chief of Defense Staff. While visiting the African country, the couple will participate in native cultural activities and meet with various service members.
The invitation to visit was reportedly sparked by Harry’s Invictus Games, a sporting event he designed after discovering how “sports could help wounded servicemen and women in their recovery — physically, psychologically and socially.” Considered to be one of the prince’s few remaining ties to the royal family, the games hosted 500 athletes across 21 nations last year in Germany, where Nigeria was cheered on by the duchess herself. Though the 2025 Invictus Games are scheduled to take place in Canada, Nigeria is expressing its interest in hosting a future event.
“The visit is to consolidate Nigeria’s stronghold at the game and the possibility of hosting the event in later years,” said Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, Nigeria’s acting director of defense information in a statement, per People magazine.
During last year’s event, the couple grew a special affinity for the Nigerian team. In 2022, after learning that she is 43% Nigerian by taking a genealogy test, Markle revealed her newfound heritage on her award-winning podcast “Archetypes.”
“I’m going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I’ve told, especially Nigerian women, are like, ‘What!’” she shared on the show.
In light of this discovery, Markle and her husband reportedly spent time with Nigeria’s team at the 2023 Invictus Games, during which the Duchess of Sussex received a new nickname. Like her royal title, her Nigerian name, “Amira Ngozi Lolo,” holds a royal meaning, with “Amira” meaning warrior princess from a legend, “Ngozi” meaning blessed and Lolo meaning “royal wife.”
“Now, I’m not saying we play favorites in our home, but since my wife discovered she’s of Nigerian descent, it’s likely to get a little bit more competitive this year,” Prince Harry said in his 2023 opening speech, teasing about which team the Duchess would be rooting for.