Celebrity
Prince Harry and Meghan Visits Children At The Lights Academy As They Arrive Nigeria (PHOTOS/VIDEO)
Adults, youths and Schoolchildren gathered to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they tour an academy in Abuja, Nigeria.
The duo; Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have landed for their three-day trip to Nigeria, starting the day holding hands as they visited a school.
The couple, who both wore necklaces of large beads, were welcomed by waiting lines of schoolchildren at the Lights Academy in Abuja.
Meghan told students they were “honoured” to be visiting Nigeria.
“We believe in you, we believe in your futures, we believe in your ability to continue to tell your stories and just be honest with each other,” she said, speaking on the topic of mental health from a small stage.
“There is no need to suffer in silence. Just make sure you’re taking care of yourselves and your mental health by really talking about whatever is coming up for you.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke of their two small children during their first engagement in Nigeria, revealing that Princess Lili likes her “singing and dancing” classes and Prince Archie loves “construction”.
The couple were greeted at the Lightway Academy by the CEO of the non-profit organisation GEANCO, which has links with their Archewell Foundation.
Ahead of them was a ‘Welcome’ banner fringed with flowers, reading: “We Are Honored To Have You!”
The Duchess offered hugs to everyone as she arrived, and the couple were given strings of wooden beads to wear.
As they watched performers, Meghan clapped and said “bravo” at a backflip executed out in front of them.
Inside, the Duke and Duchess visited a kindergarten class where pre-school children danced and sang songs for them.
One two-year-old girl stepped forward and tentatively shook hands with Meghan, but stopped short of Prince Harry. “We all get shy sometimes,” Meghan told her.
When they were introduced to the eldest child in the class, who is five, Meghan said: “Our son Archie’s five. He turned five last week.”
The Sussexes both joined in a lively performance of “jump up, turn around”.
“That was great,” Meghan said as they ended. “Do you love your teacher?”
Harry added, “Is singing and dancing your favourite class?”
“That’s Lili’s favourite class,” Meghan said of her daughter. “Maybe it’s all the jumping around.”
They were then introduced to a STEM class where a group of youngsters showed the robot cars they had created, with one proudly saying his was called M-Bot.
“Who enjoys electronics?” Harry asked as Meghan revealed their son liked construction.
The Sussexes are in the country for activities related to the Invictus Games and were invited by the Nigerian defence ministry.
The focus of the trip is to highlight the country’s efforts to rehabilitate injured soldiers, although they will attend other events including a “Women in Leadership” talk co-hosted by Meghan.
The Duchess has previously spoken of taking a genealogy test that showed she was “43 per cent” Nigerian.
The Duke has been in London for the past three days, reunited with his wife at Heathrow Airport before they flew into Nigeria together. It is their first visit to the country.
See the video below;
