Royals to make ‘impromptu’ trip to Morocco
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex will make a surprise three-day trip to Morocco later this month – despite Meghan being seven months’ pregnant.
The royal couple will travel to the country on Feb 23 at the request of the British Government “to highlight the vital role girls’ education and youth empowerment is playing” following the 2010 Arab Spring.
The trip is believed to have been hastily arranged after a regional visit was cancelled at the last minute.
A royal aide said the couple were following official NHS guidance, which advises that women can fly until they are 37 weeks’ pregnant, adding: “The Duchess feels well and able to fly. Most airlines permit women to fly up until approximately the last month of their pregnancy. We announced the baby is due in the spring and this visit is in February.”
They will fly on a commercial airline but Kensington Palace declined to comment on whether a doctor will accompany them.
The Duke and Duchess are expected to meet King Mohammed VI, Morocco’s ruler; Saad-eddine El Othmani, the country’s prime minister; and visit major tourist attractions.
Tomorrow, the Duke will watch England play France in the Six Nations rugby at Twickenham as yet more revelations are expected from the Duchess’s family.
Her father Thomas Markle is thought to have given an interview to a Sunday newspaper after five of the Duchess’s friends gave interviews to People magazine in the US claiming her texts and calls to him had gone unanswered.
Yesterday, Meghan’s halfbrother Thomas Markle Jnr gave an interview to Germany’s Bund magazine claiming their father “just wants to hear from his daughter and have her back in his life”.
It comes after their halfsister Samantha Markle launched a Twitter tirade against “wealthy narcissist” Meghan, describing the People article as “total b-------” and “fake news”.
Royal-watchers have questioned the wisdom of responding to negative headlines, fearing it could only fuel the flames of bad publicity – and open the door to more media appearances by the Markles.