The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared new never-before-seen photos from their 2017 trip to Botswana on their official Instagram account Sussex Royal.
The photographs shared on Tuesday were to mark World Elephant Day and among the photographs features snaps of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan assisting Elephants Without Borders (EWB), a charitable organisation dedicated to conserving wildlife and natural resources.
In one photograph Prince Harry can be seen carrying gear towards an elephant, while in another a close-up shot shows Meghan gently cradling an elephant’s trunk between her hands.
Four additional images featured beautiful shots of elephants and their adorable calves which were credited to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Dr Mike Chase and Ms Kelly Landen who work for EWB.
In an extensive caption the couple wrote their pleasure at announcing that with the help of their followers and Ellen Degeneres’ The Ellen Fund, they were able to spread the word about EWB, who were then able to help protect 25 elephants by fitting them with satellite navigation collars.
“These collars allow the team at EWB to track the elephants, as well as to learn their essential migratory patterns to keep their corridors safe and open so future generations of elephants can roam freely,” the caption explains.
“In honour of this amazing support, EWB have named their most recently collared elephant… ELLEN! We can’t wait to see where she will go! 🐘
“Two years ago on World Elephant Day, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined Dr Chase to help in this conservation effort,” the caption continues.
“Below, a few words from Mike and his partner Kelly at EWB.”
Mike writes that World Elephant day is a day to honour and celebrate the majestic elephant and to make a strong stand for conserving and protecting the intelligent, sentient beings.
“They are ‘environmental engineers’, a key-stone umbrella species, and the fight to save them is in effect, a fight to save entire ecosystems and all wildlife,” Mike explains.
Mike continues by writing about the challenges elephants face today due to habitat loss and competition for resources with humans, along with climate change and poaching.
In a never-before-seen photograph, Meghan can be seen gently cradling an elephant’s trunk. (Image: Instagram/@SussexRoyal)
This isn’t the first time the royal couple have shared never-before-seen photographs from their Botswana trip.
In April the couple shared a photograph which showed Harry and Meghan attaching a tracking device to a bull elephant during the same trip, which they shared alongside additional images of Harry meeting with rangers and communities in Botswana to mark the premiere of Our Planet, the Netflix series produced by the World Wildlife Fund.
In April Harry and Meghan shared this image from the same Botswana trip to their Instagram account. (Image: Instagram/@SussexRoyal)
Botswana holds plenty of special memories for the royal couple, who first travelled there just weeks after first meeting, when Prince Harry took a leap of faith and invited Meghan for a romantic trip where he revealed they camped under the stars.
The couple then returned in 2017 to assist Elephant Without Borders and to celebrate Meghan’s 36th birthday, before reportedly returning again for their honeymoon following their historic wedding in May 2018.
The couple are set to be visiting the continent once again in the British autumn for a royal tour, this time with a new addition – baby Archie!
While Archie and Meghan are reportedly going to be based in South Africa for the duration of the trip, Harry is set to be paying additional visits to Malawi, Angola and Botswana.
