Meghan Markle mobbed by adoring children as she enjoys Nigeria tour with Prince Harry
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are continuing their three-day trip to Nigeria as they attended a sitting volleyball match and were mobbed by fans.
The visit – which has been dubbed a 'mini royal tour' – is part of Harry's Invictus Games project and he delighted onlookers when he took part in a game.
Unfortunately for Prince Harry, his Nigeria Unconquered team ended up losing 21-25 to the Chief of Defence staff squad with all the players being wounded military personnel.
The engagements in Nigeria come after Prince Harry made a fleeting return to London earlier this week to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the Invictus Games during a service at St Paul's Cathedral.
While the visit so far has largely focused on the Invictus Games, Harry also took the time to speak about the importance of protecting our mental health.
Proving that the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales and her guiding influence is clearly never far from his thoughts, Harry gave a heartfelt speech at the Lights Academy in Abuja, Nigeria where he spoke about "acknowledging bad days, grief and sadness".
Harry told a group of schoolchildren: "There is no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day. Okay? If you woke up this morning feeling sad, if you left school feeling stressed, if you've lost a loved one in your family who you usually turn to or speak to, all of these things you may be led to believe are not for conversation. We are here today to tell you that that is not the case.”
Lightway Academy's School Director, Joyce Agbese, said that mental health is a topic not often talked about in Nigeria. She praised Prince Harry's message to the students, which was to "speak up and speak out, don’t bottle things up".
"He nailed it, basically yes. We want to encourage them to speak out, speak up, express their emotions in the right way," said Ms Agbese. "When somebody this popular or this famous speaks about mental health it makes people realise that it’s normal and so they don’t have to be afraid to talk about it."
While the pair stepped back from their senior royal roles in 2020, their visit to the west African nation was dubbed a 'mini royal tour' – a reference which a leading royal expert points out will not have "pleased" King Charles or the Prince of Wales.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! “The King and Prince William are firmly of the belief that you are either in or out of the working Royals."
Jennie continued: "This seems to be a rather strange halfway house. I think both the King and the Prince, and indeed the Government, will want it to be made clear that Harry is not representing either the Royal Family or Britain on this trip."
