Prince Harry and Meghan Markle embarked on a whirlwind journey to Nigeria over the weekend, but it meant they were away for a significant day with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Sunday was Mother’s Day in the US, a day the Duchess of Sussex surely would have cherished spending with her young ones.
Despite missing Archie, who is five, and two-year-old Lilibet, the former actress expressed feeling “humbled” to be in the African country.
During a visit to the Lagos State Governor’s Office, Meghan told guests: “I am very, very grateful, I am very humbled, and today is Mother’s Day.”
In a TikTok video shared by Arochukwu Network, the Duchess added: “So it feels appropriate, but though of course, we are missing our children, I’m missing my babies, but it feels very appropriate to be in the motherland and amongst family.
“So thank you so much for the kindness and for these beautiful names. I’m very grateful and we can’t wait to come back.”
During the occasion, Meghan honored her children by wearing the same vibrant yellow Carolina Herrera dress she had previously worn for her son Archie’s first birthday celebration in 2020.
This meaningful gown, custom-made for Meghan during her pregnancy with Archie, also made an appearance in her pregnancy announcement for her daughter, Lilibet. Clearly, Archie and Lili were on their parents’ minds throughout the visit.
During the first day of their brief tour, while visiting Lightway Academy in Abuja, a school supported by Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation, the couple made a stop at a kindergarten class. There, children aged two to five danced and sang songs for them.
Prince Harry asked them: “Is singing and dancing your favourite class?” “That’s Lili’s favorite class,” Meghan said of their two-year-old daughter. “Maybe it’s all the jumping around.”
The Sussexes were then taken to a STEM class where a group of youngsters showed the robot cars they’d created, with one proudly saying he was called M-Bot. As Harry asked the class whether they enjoyed electronics, Meghan revealed that their son Archie liked construction.
During their time at the school, Harry and Meghan helped to launch an inaugural mental health summit run by local non-profit, GEANCO, which the couple’s Archewell Foundation is linked with.
Meghan also opened up about her Nigerian heritage when she was asked how she felt about being Nigerian. “Well, firstly, thank you all so much for being here. I am just flattered and honoured and inspired,” she said at a Q&A event for Women in Leadership.
“It has been a whirlwind 24 hours since we arrived, and I very quickly got the memo than I need to wear more colour so I can fit in with all of you in your incredible fashion.
“I am very overwhelmed. So I want to start by saying thank you very much for just how gracious you’ve all been in welcoming my husband and I to this country, my country.”
Mo Abudu, the panel’s moderator and chief executive of EbonyLife media group, asked attendees to pick a Nigerian name for Meghan.
One member proposed “Ifeoma” a name used by the Igbo tribe meaning “a treasured thing.” Other attendees suggested, “Omowale”, meaning “the child has come home”.
The former actress added the first thing she did when she found out her heritage was “call my mum, because I wanted to know if she had any awareness of it”.
“It was exciting for both of us to discover more and understand what that really means,” she said. Meghan then continued: “And every single moment that I hear anyone so far talk about what it means to be a Nigerian woman, it is the most flattering thing to be in that company, to be in your company.”
