After almost a week of paying official visits to a handful of nearby countries, the Duke of Sussex reunited with the Duchess of Sussex and five-month-old Archie in South Africa on Tuesday and if Meghan’s excitement is anything to go by, it couldn’t have come sooner.
Speaking to a press reporter ahead of Harry’s return to South Africa, Meghan grinned when she shared how much she’d enjoyed her time in the African country and her excitement at being reunited with Harry later that evening.
“Being able to be in Africa – and South Africa, it’s my first time being in this country – has been really powerful,” Meghan said in the interview.
“And Harry has continued on to other countries. We’re reuniting tonight. I can’t wait for him,” she laughed shyly.
“I miss him so much.”
Harry’s been visiting Botswana, Malawi and Angola over the past few days and Meghan can’t wait to see him when he arrives back in South Africa. (Image: Getty)
While Harry has been visiting Botswana, Angola and Malawi over the past few days to further his support, knowledge and raise awareness for causes that are important to him, Meghan has remained in South Africa with Archie, undertaking engagements of her own.
“It’s been a really special trip,” Meghan continued in the video interview.
“Because you get to see when you’re focusing on the causes that are really important to us, you can see the impact is good, and it feels meaningful.”
When asked how she and Harry were coping travelling with a four-month-old, Meghan laughed and said, “five months now”.
Adding, “Oh my goodness, well, we’re doing well. I think the schedule – they’ve been very kind to me, because everything is based around Archie’s feed times.
“So it’s a full plate, but we’re making it work. It’s worth it!”
Meghan revealed the entire itinerary has been planned out around five-month-old Archie’s feeding times. (Image: Getty)
Earlier that day Meghan had visited The University of Johannesburg to attend a roundtable discussion and announce a new series of gender grants from the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), of which she is patron.
As a post on @sussexroyal explains, the Duchess was also able to announce four new scholarships to help students study in different commonwealth countries, allowing “cross cultural understanding and an opportunity to deepen their educational studies abroad.”
For the engagement, Duchess Meghan wore a chic trench dress by Banana Republic – which has since sold out – which she paired with matching suede pumps.
During the event the 38-year-old gave a passionate speech about gender equality in education saying, “Sometimes access to education can seem so big, you wonder where to even begin. So you begin with one student, or one school, you simply begin. And that’s where when we see change.”
As she announced the new set of grants, the Duchess joked, “It’s very exciting today. And I will use a note card for this because my goodness, it’s this last bit that I can’t screw up!” which People reports was met with laughter by the guests.
“The goal here is to be able to have gender equality, to be able to support women as they are working in research and high education roles,” Meghan said.
“And also to be able to have workshops, convene things that are really helping people understand the importance of gender equality.
“When a woman is empowered it changes absolutely everything in the community and starting an educational atmosphere is a really key point in that.”
Last year during a speech during her royal tour in Fiji, Meghan opened up about her own experiences at university as well as the importance of supporting women and girls access higher education.
“Everyone should be afforded the opportunity to receive the education they want, but more importantly the education they have the right to receive,” Meghan said at the time.
“And for women and girls in developing countries, this is vital. When girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves but for all of those around them.”
She continues, “And while progress has been made in many areas across the Commonwealth, there is always scope to offer more opportunities to the next generation of young adults, and specifically to young women.”
