THE ROYALS IN SOUTH AFRICA
ARCHIE JOINS THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX FOR THEIR FIRST FAMILY TOUR
MEGHAN’S BIGGEST ENTOURAGE YET!
After months of planning, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have finally kickstarted their first official royal tour in Africa as a family. The couple, who arrived in Cape Town to start their ten-day visit on Monday, are travelling with their biggest entourage yet – a team of 15, including their son Archie’s new nanny. Plus they’ll have extra staff out there, including drivers, chefs and housekeepers. Having attracted criticism for their use of private jets over the summer, Harry and Meghan booked the entire first class cabin of their commercial flight to accommodate their team.
Young Archie, at nearly five months old, is making history as the youngest royal to travel on an official overseas trip. His cousin Prince George had to wait until he was nine months old!
‘I’m told Archie is generally a very quiet and well-behaved baby,’ says royal expert Omid Scobie. ‘But it’s the longest time Harry and Meghan have spent away from home as a family of three and that presents its own struggles.’
This is where the nanny comes in. Unnamed at the time of going to press, she has been in their employment since June and was first seen with the family during their trip to France last month. Having ‘fitted into the family really well’ she’s said to ‘adore’ Archie, who was born on May 6, and will help ensure he keeps to his routine.
‘Harry and Meghan used a night nurse in the early days and Archie still has quite a strict feeding and sleep routine that they try not to break,’ says Omid. Indeed, their schedule has apparently been arranged around key moments, such as his bathtime and bedtime.
‘Meghan will have made sure his favourite things are packed. After all, Harry used to travel with his Winnie the Pooh plate when he was a child!’ adds Omid.
Meanwhile, Meghan has her own method of feeling chilled while travelling. ‘She’s compiled a royal tour playlist for the trip,’ says another source. ‘It features a mix of jazz and soul, with some retro songs from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. There’s possibly some African beats in there too. Music is very much part of family life and Archie goes to baby music classes.’
The source adds that Meghan is still breastfeeding Archie, who will stay with his mum in one of the official government residences in Cape Town while Harry, 35, embarks on his solo visits to Angola, Malawi and Botswana.
‘Harry’s very involved as a father, though,’ stresses Omid. ‘They’re a couple who try not to be defined by their gender in terms of the role they play as parents. That bond with Archie is just as strong for both of them. I imagine he’ll Facetime Meghan and Archie, although it will be tricky at times with potentially poor data connections.’
The duchess, 38, who’s ‘looking forward’ to learning from many ‘inspirational women’ in Africa, will not only be under close scrutiny when she gives speeches on female empowerment but for her style picks too: ‘We’ll see Meghan embracing a lot more colour on this trip to reflect the more vibrant culture and arts scene. A recce will have been done beforehand, taking note of the colours at venues she’ll visit. If there are red walls in the community centre, she won’t show up in a red outfit.’
A ‘professional packer’, Meghan ‘meticulously folds’ her clothes and ‘places a scented liner between each piece’. She’s evidently a student of the Kim Kardashian West school of packing too, ensuring every outfit is carefully photographed ‘with flash and without flash’ before packing.
‘There are no tiaras on this trip,’ adds Omid, explaining that her jewellery will be mainly her own with a few items on loan from the late Diana, Princess of Wales’s collection. She’ll also be wearing her engagement ring, which features a stone from Botswana, where the couple fell in love during a camping trip.
On the tour of Australia, Meghan was up at the crack of dawn practising yoga and meditation. However, things will be different on this tour, says Omid: ‘In Africa she’ll be very much in mum mode when not out and about.’
Meghan – who, days before the start of the tour, was in Rome with Harry for her friend Misha Nonoo’s wedding – hopes to attend some as yet unannounced engagements while in Africa. There are also hopes that Archie will be on show too.