The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are embarking on their first royal tour as a family! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle boarded a commercial flight to Cape Town yesterday with 4½-month-old baby Archie Harrison. We've been treated to only a few peeks of Archie since his May 6th birth. The latest one offers a sweet nod to Archie's late grandmother, Princess Diana.
Harry and Meghan opted against doing a photo call with Archie upon landing in Cape Town. That didn't stop photographers from being there to capture the moment the family of three stepped off the plane.
Photographers were surprised to see Archie wearing a sweet pom-pom hat. Aside from the look being adorable, it has personal significance to Harry. He wore a similar, if not the same, hat when Princess Diana carried him off a plane in Scotland when he too was 4 months old. The sweet moment is just one of many ways the couple has honored Diana since welcoming their son.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal tour of southern Africa may have just kicked off, but it's already offered fans of the royal couple some really memorable moments. The couple arrived in Cape Town yesterday with son Archie Harrison.
The trip, which has been in the works for months, marks their first royal tour as a family of three. While we don't know how many times we'll see Archie in an official capacity, fans are watching every moment shared from the trip in hopes of getting a glimpse of the baby boy.
"The couple hopes to be able to include Archie at some point in the program, but it is difficult to schedule because he is 5 months old," a source close to the royal family said of any appearances from Archie during the trip, according to People.
Meghan and Harry did not do the photo call typical of royals traveling for a tour nowadays. Instead, photographers awaited the couple as they disembarked a commercial flight with Archie, hoping to catch a glimpse of the family.
A few shots of the family getting off the plane have been leaked since they arrived yesterday. In the photos, Meghan can be seen carrying Archie, who was wrapped in a white blanket and was wearing a white knitted cap.
Many thought the outfit was a peculiar choice due to the current weather in the region, but it has significance. The hat looks just like the hat Princess Diana dressed Prince Harry in when they arrived in Scotland when he was just about 4 months old, in 1985.
Diana's legacy will be honored in many ways during this royal tour. Harry plans to visit Huambo in Angola. He will particularly visit the site where Diana was famously photographed on a landmine minefield in 1997. At the time of her visit, Diana was just a year older than Harry is now.
Harry is also scheduled to visit the Huambo Orthopedic Center, another place that Diana visited as well. The medical facility will be renamed in honor of Princess Diana in a ceremony taking place this Friday.
The first day of outings for Meghan and Harry was a success, although many fans had Archie on their minds. When one fan hugged Meghan and asked where he was, Harry smiled and replied, "He's sleeping."
Harry later explained to another fan that the long flight had tired out their baby boy. "He’s not grouchy, just exhausted," the Duke of Sussex explained, per People. Fans still hope we'll get to see more of Archie before the 10-day tour ends.
The trip is very meaningful for both Harry and Meghan and the rest of the UK, as the couple's press secretary, Samantha Cohen, explained. She said that "not only will this visit serve as an opportunity for the Duke and Duchess to highlight many of the causes they have been involved with for many years, it will demonstrate a modern UK-Africa partnership in action."
"The Duke of Sussex’s love for Africa is well known; he first visited the continent at the age of 13 and more than two decades later, the people, culture, wildlife, and resilient communities continue to inspire and motivate him every day," she continued.
"As Her Majesty’s Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, the Duke now has a platform to be able to support young people across Africa in reaching their full potential," she also noted.
"Through her Patronages, The Duchess will be working with organizations to promote women’s education, health, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The Duchess of Sussex is particularly looking forward to the opportunity to learn from inspirational women in the region," she added.
Harry and Meghan are sure to have their hands full with their various appearances in the next few days. The work they're doing is very important to them, however, and is sure to make this trip an unforgettable beginning to their outreach as a family.
