Just a little more than two months after welcoming their first child, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced that they will be embarking on their first tour as a family of three with baby son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced on Thursday via their official Instagram account that they will make an official visit to South Africa this autumn, marking “their first official tour as a family!”
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It is expected that Harry will also visit Angola and Malawi at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well as a “short working visit in Botswana on route to the other countries,” according to the Instagram post. Markle and Archie will remain in South Africa during those visits.
At the time that they embark on the royal outing, baby Archie will be around five months old, the little one having made his way into the world at Portland Hospital on Monday, May 6, becoming seventh in line to the British throne.
Although young, the youngster reporting for royal duties before he even celebrates his first birthday isn’t entirely out of the norm. For comparison, The Telegraph reports that Prince William was just nine months old when his parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, took him to Australia and New Zealand for a royal tour in 1983. In turn, William and his wife Kate Middleton took their first born, Prince George, on their 2014 multi-country royal tour when he was nine months old.
The Sussex’s choosing Africa to make their debut as a family of three does not come as a complete surprise, as the country is notably near and dear to both of their hearts. The couple visited Botswana together shortly after they began dating and continue to do charity work throughout the continent. Harry has visited multiple times to engage in conservation work, and Markle joined a clean water initiative in Rwanda in March 2016.
Prior to the official tour announcement, the duke and duchess had hinted that their travels would take them to Africa in a post that noted Harry’s “long-standing love of Africa” and his “connection with Botswana and Angola” which has been growing for more than 20 years.
The announcement also comes just months after the Sussex’s shared never-before-seen photos of their 2017 trip.
