People Magazine is still parceling out their Sussex exclusives, which they’ve made into their cover story this week. People’s royal editor Simon Perry joined the Sussexes for their Nigerian tour, and Prince Harry and Nigerian Princess Meghan gave Perry a wealth of new info and new quotes. Apparently, we really are witnessing a new Sussex Era, an era which will involve more travel and more Sussex tours.
Prince Harry knows the importance of personal connection when it comes to his and wife Meghan Markle’s work. Speaking to PEOPLE on the couple’s three-day trip to Nigeria, the Duke of Sussex says, “It is hugely important for us to meet directly with people, supporting our causes and listening, in order to bring about solutions, support and positive change.”
“There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom, so we look forward to traveling more because the work matters. Whether it’s the Archewell Foundation, Invictus or any of our other causes, there will always be reasons to meet the people at the heart of our work,” the duke says.
Harry and Meghan traveled to Nigeria to champion their Archewell Foundation’s mental health initiatives for young people and to promote the Invictus Games, which Nigeria joined for the first time last year. “I’m so happy with the growth of Invictus and to include Nigeria,” the Duke of Sussex says. “You know what Africa means to me over the years. It is a very, very special place, and to be able to include Nigeria now [in Invictus], I’m very happy.”
The Duke of Sussex also recalled his emotional visit to a military hospital in Kaduna, which PEOPLE joined, and the “very low morale” he felt among the approximately 50 men there. Out of those 50, there were two guys who were smiley and happy. And they were the two who were in Germany [at the Düsseldorf Invictus Games] last year,” Harry says, emphasizing the “transformative power” of sport.
“That experience of knowing what life post-injury is like gives people so much hope. And hope, hope, hope is a huge part of this,” he says.
We haven’t talked about the fact that Dave Wiseman was in Nigeria with the Sussexes, and I think a few other Invictus-connected people were there too. It makes sense, given the whole reason for the trip was based on Invictus and Nigeria’s defense department. What’s interesting about that is that Nigeria just gave other countries a roadmap for extending invitations to the Sussexes – to go around the British government/monarchy/establishment (in the case of commonwealth countries) and extend invitations purely through the military and veterans affairs. I could totally see many commonwealth countries doing the same, especially since the whole world saw how well the Sussexes’ Nigerian tour worked out. No “royal protocols,” blanking the British media, giving a tourism bump, etc. So, yeah, I hope other countries do exactly what Nigeria did here.
A Joyous moment with The Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty Igwe Alfred Achebe, The Olu Of Warri, His Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Lagos. pic.twitter.com/qzmIcps4Aq
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) May 14, 2024
Listening to his story of survival and fortitude, the Duke of Sussex with a Nigerian Military Veteran.
Photographed by me. pic.twitter.com/xDMNAfMPbW
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) May 10, 2024
Cover courtesy of People, additional photos courtesy of Misan Harriman.
Be Blessed in all your dealings, HM!
Harry is a treasure. He isn’t lying when he listens to a guy and cares — look at his entire body, he’s in the moment.
““There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom” … ssslAP to you, WFH Willie!
Yes!!! This was a burn felt all through all 6 of Will’s houses.
lol!
Hahaha, yes WFH Willie’s incandescence just carbonized.
LOL!
But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Huevo has the emotional intelligence of a wet paper towel, so if he shows up in person, there’s no connection anyways, so he might as well do it over zoom.
You don’t make connections with people if the only reason you go out to see them is for the “common folk” to fawn all over you.
If William did all of his appearances on Zoom, it definitely save a lot of money- no helicoptor, no recon missions, no policing, etc, etc. Besides, Kate is needed for good pictures, so if Kate is out of action it seems for years as it has been implied recently, there is no need for William to make personal appearances anyway. And when is Kate going to make an appearance- when George gets married?
Workshy Willie might need medical treatment for that burn!
I was gonna say that. Harry is throwing some shade his lazy brothers way. Go Harry.
Hear that, future zoom-king Willy?
“There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom, so we look forward to traveling more because the work matters.” Ahahahahahahaha! He’s correct though and not just shading his lazy brother. Making connections listening and looking in people’s eyes is very important in them trusting you and being open to your help and wanting to contribute themselves. I wonder if inadvertently them just being more and more visible will force the BM to pull the nuclear option with the BRF. There’s no real loyalty there and if there’s no long-term benefit for them to keep propping them up maybe they’ll start writing more honest articles. It’s not like the monarchy is going to end they can absolutely go back to their obsequiousness in 10 years with George and his siblings.
I can hear cushions colliding with walls in London.
Keep doing the work Sussex Fam!
Canadian here. I don’t know anything about the Nigerian military, but our Military still has very strong ties with the monarchy, and many regiments have working royals as their Honourary Colonels in Chief. I wonder if that could be a cockblock in Canada? Also, many of the senior leadership in the CAF are old guard… so I am not so sure the CAF here will be taking tips anytime soon from the Nigerian visit (unfortunately). We have Invictus soon — so it will be really interesting how the CAF represents itself there.
Yeah, Princess Anne was recently here on Vancouver Island as Commander-in-Chief and met with a number of Military personnel in Esquimalt, Canada’s Pacific Coast naval base. It was very low key and ho-hum however. She and her husband sailed overnight from Vancouver to Esquimalt CFB on the new vessel, HMCS Max Bernays, had a few ceremonies, then left without much fanfare.
It’s different for Canada because you still have KCIII as your Head of State but most of the Commonwealth countries are independent republics & can invite anyone they want to their countries.
While that’s true, there is still a work around for Canada and other Commonwealth realms (there’s 14). It can be the municipalities that can invite H&M in regards to Invictus Games (as Vancouver and Whistler has done); or private organizations that may have a connection with their charities. Official tours or business doesn’t necessarily mean government business.
I feel they were really smart in inviting People- they’ll get way better coverage from them in the future
I don’t think so, considering that People was one of the magazines (stepping on its own “positive” coverage!) by helping the tabloids and page six spread that “delinquent charity” lie just yesterday without doing due diligence, practising journalism and reporting the truth.
People Mag is just like the British RR: Wrote facts or somehow positive articles during the official tours of H&M (Because they were represented the British government & QE2, and the government wanted something [eg. Trade deal] for the visiting countries.) As soon as the tour ended, the briefings & attack on H&M was back as usual.
A lot of US’s reports on Royal beat are Britians.
Love to see the Sussexes out and about championing the causes that are important to them. Also would love to see other countries host their visits. The two best ambassador’s for causes are Harry and Meghan.
These are great photos. You can see the spirit of Diana shining from within Harry. Misan is so talented!
Yes. That one right there, that’s Diana’s son.
Came on to say the same. He is his Mother’s son. That last photo-you can’t fake that connection.
David Wiseman was there, as was Derrick Cobbinah.
Those two were essential in getting the Nigeria team to join Invictus and prepare them for Düsseldorf.
As I was there last year and often saw them all together, they’re really one big family, but with clearly defined roles. They were all so cheerful and joyous, and their positive attitude spread through the whole camp of participants and through the whole arena/park.
As we could see last year, Harry met with so many people working in defense and rehab, see NATO day, or him meeting with defense ministers or from offices of Veteran Affairs, and with people specializing in producing artificial limbs, other prosthetic parts, or adaptive and custom-made wheelchairs. There was so much work that went on in the background, but it was fascinating to see.
All this work can’t only be done virtually, the networking part has to be in person, at least some of it, like looking at venues, or being there and showing support, just like Harry did at the hospital in Kaduna.
I love firsthand accounts of Invictus Games, thank you so much for sharing!
As I said before, Harry and Meghan are following Princess Diana’s example post divorce. She was still travelling and making visits after the divorce. Her last trip before her death was to Sarajevo. I’m happy for them that they now have the freedom to do what they want.
As an America, if I could vote for Harry or Megan for president, I would. The BRF lost a couple that not only would have revitalized a dying organization, but that people actually want. Unlike Charles and William who are being forced upon the public and forcing the UK taxpayers to fund their extravagant lifestyle, Harry and Megan are delivering, at their own cost, value all over the world.
The Nigeria trip really was amazing, historic,and it reflects a large country with so much to offer. It was a great way to showcase a country that is Africa’s largest economy and it was great to see Invictus and Archewell at work. It’s great that they’ll travel more and showcase their organizations. Obviously not every trip will have the massive fanfare and scale of Nigeria and some may be more straightforward business/charity focused trips, but they’re going to keep doing the work that they care about and not worry about whatever nonsense is putting the palace in the panic of the week every time the Sussexes do something .
Okay, this excerpt was giving me the clarity I was looking for with IG. Plus the bonus of there’s only so much you can do through zoom. Omg, that’s funny and the thing is that I doubt Harry has any idea his brother has been talking about doing more zooms. Feels like a coincidence but funny either way.
Oh boy, it will become difficult for Charles and William if all their energy goes into preventing Harry.
“There’s only so much one can do from home and over Zoom, so we look forward to traveling more because the work matters.”
I am going to enjoy that quote from Harry for days! He not only shredded Willy’s WFH royal nonsense, but the notion that only the Windsor royals can do meaningful work. Harry knows the work does matter, because Harry does the work.
It’s a refreshing change that they acknowledge the importance of listening to people then go on to talk about what can be done once you’ve listened rather than the sentence just ending with ‘and leaning’ and we have heard so many times from the actual taxpayer funded royals.
They are so engaging and show a lot of care in the work they do-I am proud of the work they do and how far they have come on the global stage-his father and brother need to conceern themselves with unfiltered sewage flowing in to the canals and waterways of the UK-like Windmire-saw that on the news today-this is a serious environmental issue in their own country-neither have said a damn thing-some of their subjects have contracted parasites in their bodies-sewage water for drinking-God help them-Let Harry and Meghan do their work in peace and they will let you do yours in peace-Peace Out.