Meghan Markle previously explored her family heritage, including a visit to Malta in 2015. The former Suits actress wrote about her great-great-grandmother for Elle magazine at the time, as she traveled to the European country to delve into her ancestry.
In 2015, a year before Meghan and Prince Harry are believed to have started their romance, Meghan researched her family tree and wrote about finding her voice as a mixed-race woman in the United States for the magazine.
Meghan’s great-great-grandmother, Mary Bird, was born in Malta in the middle of the 19th century, according to records. She was the daughter of Thomas Bird, a private in the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment, who lived with his Irish wife in a garrison on Malta, which was then a British colony.
Kurt Arrigo, a photographer commissioned by the Malta Tourism Authority to take photos of Meghan during her 2015 visit, told MailOnline how different it was back then while Meghan explored her history.
He explained: “It was a pleasant time. She was easy to work with because she had done modelling and photoshoots before. She knew what to do and how to pose and how to hold herself.”
Meghan has previously explored her ancestry, revealing on her Archetypes podcast that she has Nigerian heritage, comprising 43% of her background. Harry has also acknowledged his wife’s newly discovered ancestry, referencing it during his opening speech at last year’s Invictus Games.
He joked: “Now, I’m not saying we play favourites 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.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex completed a three day trip to Nigeria earlier this month, in what many have likened to a royal tour. Despite Meghan and Harry stepping back from royal life in 2020, the couple’s recent Africa appearance has drawn comparisons to royal tours including those they made to Australia and New Zealand.
