Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are embarking on a three-day trip to Nigeria to advocate for causes they hold dear, ranging from sports and the Invictus Games to mental health.
Opting to leave their young children, Prince Archie, who recently turned five, and Princess Lilibet, who will be three in June, at their home in Montecito, California, raises the question: who is caring for the royal children?
Meghan and her husband Harry share a strong bond with the Duchess’ mother, Doria Ragland. Although Doria resides in Los Angeles, she frequently travels to Montecito to spend time with her grandchildren.
The Sussexes reportedly have a two-bedroom, two-bathroom guest house on their £11 million property, which provides a comfortable space for Doria during her visits.
Their expansive estate also boasts an adventure playground equipped with two slides, a climbing frame, a tightrope, a helter-skelter, and two types of climbing walls, ensuring ample entertainment for the children while Harry and Meghan are away.
Additionally, the Sussexes employ a nanny to assist with childcare, ensuring that Archie and Lili are in capable hands between the nanny and the family.
Although physically separated from their children, Archie and Lili remain close to their parents’ hearts. On the inaugural day of their brief tour, during a visit to Lightway Academy in Abuja—a school supported by Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation—the couple took a moment to visit a kindergarten class where children aged two to five delighted them with songs and dances.
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.
