‘My country’: Meghan Markle reveals results of DNA test during Nigeria visit
While visiting Nigeria with Prince Harry this week, Meghan Markle thanked Nigerians for welcoming her and Harry to “my country,” sharing that she recently discovered she is “43 per cent Nigerian.”
On an unofficial three-day ‘royal’ tour that commenced on Friday, the royal Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended numerous events that included: the Wuse Lightway Academy in Abuja, where Harry spoke about mental health; a women in leadership summit where Meghan discussed the importance of representation in leadership roles; and a volleyball match with wounded military personnel.
The Daily Mail reports that the Duchess arrived almost an hour late to the summit, dressed in a red spaghetti-strapped dress and told the audience: “I want to start by saying thank you very much for just how gracious you’ve all been in welcoming my husband and me to this country … my country.” She revealed she’d recently discovered her Nigerian heritage by doing a genealogy test, saying the first thing she did was “call my mum because I wanted to know if she had any awareness of it.”
“It has been a whirlwind 24 hours since we arrived, and I very quickly got the memo that I need to wear more colour, so I can fit in with all of you and your incredible fashion,” she said.
Earlier in the day Prince Harry joined Meghan at a charity lunch with the Nigerian defence minister; the reason for the Duchess’ late arrival to the summit.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were both dressed in white; Meghan dazzled in a shoulderless St Agni full-length white dress and Prince Harry wore a cream linen suit.
Earlier in the day Prince Harry joined Meghan at a charity lunch with the Nigerian defence minister; the reason for the Duchess’ late arrival to the summit.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were both dressed in white; Meghan dazzled in a shoulderless St Agni full-length white dress and Prince Harry wore a cream linen suit.
Harry and Meghan visited the Wuse Lightway Academy on Friday, which is supported by the couple’s Archewell Foundation.
Harry made a heartfelt speech about mental health.
“If I say mental health do you know what it means?” Harry said, according to People.
“In some cases around the world, in more than you would believe, there is a stigma when it comes to mental health. Too many people don’t want to talk about it because it’s invisible. It’s something in our minds that we can’t see. It’s not like a broken leg, it’s not like a broken wrist.”
“It’s something that we are still relatively unsure of. But guess what? Every single person in this room, the youngest, the oldest, every single person has mental health.”
“So therefore, you have to look after yourself to be able to look after other people. And other people have to be able to look after themselves, to look after you. That’s the way it works. And there is no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day, okay?”
Today the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will travel to Lagos where they will watch a basketball match and attend a fundraising event at the city’s polo ground before returning to Britain on Monday and later to California.