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16 November 2024

Duke and Duchess of Sussex to tour South Africa in autumn

Published
By Wam

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will pay a visit to South Africa with their son Archie this autumn.

The royal couple - who welcomed their little boy Archie into the world at the beginning of May - have confirmed they will be travelling to the African continent for their first official tour as a family of three and are "really looking forward" to meeting the local residents.

The duke and duchess wrote on their Instagram page: "TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are excited to announce that they have been asked to carry out a tour to Southern Africa this autumn. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office have requested a visit to South Africa as well as The Duke carrying out visits to Malawi and Angola. His Royal Highness will also do a short working visit to Botswana en route to the other countries.

"The Duke and Duchess are really looking forward to meeting so many of you on the ground and continuing to raise awareness of the high impact work local communities are doing across the Commonwealth and beyond. This will be their first official tour as a family!"

Britain's High Commissioner to South Africa has said that the tour will be "short."

He said: "That's great news for us, and I predict it's also good news for the South African economy. I predict a hat and frock buying frenzy to rival SONA [South Africa's State of the Nation Address] which could restore economic growth all on its own. We're hugely looking forward to that and thanks in anticipation for that and all the support that I know we're going to receive. This a much shorter visit, they'll be here for a matter of days and not months."

Prince Harry, 34, will stop by Lesotho for his charity Sentebale - an organisation that supports the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people affected by HIV - as well as Malawi, Botswana and Angola in honour of his late mother Princess Diana, who worked with the government to help clear land mines in the region when she was alive.