In market crush, Meghan’s bodyguard shows her steel
THE Duchess of Sussex was rushed out of a solo official visit to a bustling market in Fiji yesterday amid security fears.
Scores of well-wishers were left disappointed as her engagement in the capital, Suva, was cut short because of the large crowds and sweltering conditions.
Meghan, 37, was meeting female entrepreneurs and had been due to spend 15 minutes chatting to stallholders involved in the UN Women project Markets For Change.
But after only eight minutes, the duchess – who is around 14 weeks pregnant and was visiting without her husband Prince Harry – was hurriedly whisked away by her entourage, including the armed woman police inspector who is her new head of protection.
Kensington Palace officials said the decision was taken due to ‘crowd management issues’. A royal 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, I know, but she did meet those she was meant to. On [police] advice she was taken out.’
The decision to cut short the engagement came as a disappointment to many in the market. They said the crowds were wellbehaved and were being kept away from the duchess by local police and royal security.
One stallholder said: ‘It such a shame as we were all very excited to meet her. We started preparing for the visit three weeks ago and had been meant to meet her but she left without even saying hello.’
Video footage of the event, which drew a crowd of more than 1,000, shows people standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of Meghan, in a £1,495 Figue printed silk dress decorated with a seashell motif and pompoms, as she was ushered along a thoroughfare.
At one point, about four minutes into the engagement, a clearly flustered duchess, with a fixed smile, can be seen whispering to her assistant private secretary Amy Pickerill, who grimaces. Moments later, she is ushered out.
Salanieta Virikoro, a designer, said: ‘People were really looking forward to meeting her but they were really pushing her on. I was meant to present her with a bouquet but wasn’t given the chance. It is such a shame that she didn’t really get the chance to meet anyone properly.’ Irene Lily, who runs a stall to help disabled women, said: ‘We do feel sorry for her because of her position but it would have been nice if we had a talk, just the chance to say hello.
‘It’s a shame they didn’t stop but they may have been worried about her condition. She was walking very fast and the people with her, they were rushing her out.’
Her colleague Wasa Vunidaiga said: ‘I watched her on her TV series [Suits] so it would have been really wonderful to see her. I only managed a small view as she walked past. We were all asked to prepare for her to stop and speak.’ Outside the market, Meghan and her security team pushed their way through the crowds to her official car to return to her hotel.
Earlier she and Harry had visited the University of the South Pacific in Suva, where Meghan gave her first speech of the tour. She said that for girls in developing countries, education was key to economic and social development.
‘When girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves but also for those around them,’ she said.