Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Are Heading to Nigeria in May—Here’s What We Know

It's official: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are traveling to Nigeria to discuss the Invictus Games—an international sporting event for wounded and injured veterans—in a matter of weeks.

Meghan Markle, 42, and Prince Harry, 39, were invited by the country's Chief of Defense Staff, the highest-ranking military official. And on social media, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau—a spokesperson for Nigeria's military—released an official statement to confirm that the royal couple will meet with service members and participate in several cultural activities.

The statement reads, "The visit is to consolidate Nigeria's stronghold at the games and the possibility of hosting the event in later years. The Honorable Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Badaru, who was at Germany at last year's event, has accepted to host the games when granted to Nigeria."

This upcoming visit to the West African nation likely hits closer to home, since Markle revealed in 2022 that she is partially Nigerian. On an episode of her Archetypes podcast, she said, "I just had my genealogy done a couple years ago. [I'm] 43 percent Nigerian. I'm going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I've told, especially Nigerian women, are like 'What!'"

Additionally, Prince Harry referenced his wife's heritage at the opening ceremony of last year’s Invictus Games, which included Nigeria as a new participating nation. During his speech, he said, “Now, I’m not saying we play favorites in our home, but since my wife discovered she is of Nigerian descent, it’s likely to get a little bit more competitive this year.”