Meghan swelters in Suva
Decision prompted by ‘security concerns’
The Duchess of Sussex’s visit to a marketplace in Fiji to meet female entrepreneurs was cut short due to “crowd management issues” yesterday. The Duchess, who is expecting her first child in the northern spring, spent around eight minutes in the humid market in Suva, where she walked on a special cleared pathway flanked by her staff and security.
Hundreds of locals cheered and took photographs from behind the low barriers, as the Duchess walked through, smiling and waving. Many more people formed a lively crowd outside, singing and whooping as they caught a glimpse of her arrival and departure.
Kensington Palace indicated the decision to leave early was down to security concerns.
She was scheduled to spend 15 minutes at the market.
A palace aide said: “It was hot, humid and uncomfortably busy and there were far larger crowds than expected. She met everyone she was meant to meet and left.
“There would have been a lot of people who would have been keen to meet her but she did meet those who had hoped to. On advice she was taken out due to crowd management issues.”
The decision to cut short the engagement came as a surprise and disappointment to many in the market. Onlookers pointed out that the crowds were being kept well back from the Duchess by police and royal security, with smiling locals, most of whom were filming on their mobile phones, not attempting to get closer to her.
The visit was intended to raise awareness of Markets for Change, a UN Women’s project to empower women through work and financial independence.
Wearing a dress by Figue and carrying a woven bag made by women at Suva market, the Duchess was able to meet a number of vendors before leaving.
Asenaca Salusalu was the first vendor to meet the Duchess inside the market. The Duchess shook Salusalu’s hand, and said “It’s very good to meet you,” before moving on. Salusalu said: “She didn’t really speak at all, like she was a bit afraid. She just said “Bula” and “Nice to meet you. But I’m happy to have met her.”
Duchess tells of struggle funding university education
The visit came after Meghan used her first speech of the royal couple’s tour Downunder to speak of her struggle to fund her own way through university, telling young women the opportunity for education is “worth every effort”.
The Duchess said she knows the “personal feeling of pride and excitement” that university brings and called the journey to get there “incredible, impactful and pivotal”.
Addressing students at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, she said: “I am also fully aware of the challenges of being able to afford this level of schooling for many people around the world — myself included.
“It was through scholarships, financial aid programmes and work-study where my earnings from a job on campus went directly towards my tuition, that I was able to attend university.”
Meghan studied at Northwestern University in Chicago, taking courses in theatre and international studies.
Saying that educating women is “the key to economic and social development”, she added: “Because when girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves but also for those around them.”
Duke learns Fijian traditions
The Duke of Sussex, meanwhile, was carrying out his own engagements.
Underlining Fiji’s long ties with the British royal family, he planted a tree with the same shovel his grandmother the Queen used for the task in 1953.
The Duke, who wore a blue Bula shirt for the visit to Colo-I-Suva Forest Reserve, also met a woman who had served her tea when she visited Fiji during her long Coronation tour.
Litiana Vulaca, 87, was just 21 when she was chosen for the task by her employer Frances Lilian Charlton.
Litiana also recalled an apparent faux pas by Prince Philip, saying: “I remember that the Duke didn’t use a teaspoon to put sugar in his tea, he picked up the sugar lump with his fingers. I was shocked.”