Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, completed a three-day trip to Nigeria to promote mental health for soldiers and empower young people, sparking discussions on their ‘alternate’ royal presence and future tours despite low popularity.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have recently completed a three-day trip to Nigeria. The purpose of the visit was to promote mental health for soldiers and empower young people. This trip, unofficially dubbed a ‘royal tour,’ aimed to enhance their public image and was perceived by some as a move to create an ‘alternate’ royal presence akin to the traditional British Royal Family.
Royal experts, including author Gareth Russell, suggest that this ‘alternate’ royal family based in Montecito, California, could face increased scrutiny, especially given their commercial activities and previous criticisms of the British Royal Family. Despite this, there are indications that the couple may continue with more such tours in the future, potentially including the United States, despite their current low popularity among the American public.
During their Nigeria visit, the Sussexes’ activities drew mixed reactions. While some royal commentators observed positive public reception, there are concerns among royal insiders that their unofficial tours could blur the lines between their roles and those of official royal members, potentially causing confusion in foreign policy implications.
In a related side note, a recent YouGov poll highlighted that Prince Harry and Meghan remain among the least popular members of the royal family, with a significant portion of the public holding unfavorable views of both. Moreover, the couple’s charity, the Archewell Foundation, was briefly listed as “delinquent” in California for not submitting required reports, but this status was later rectified.
This activity comes at a time when the couple’s names have seen decreased popularity as baby names in the UK, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. The name Harry fell to the 15th most popular boys’ name in England and Wales, while Meghan did not appear in the top 100 girls’ names.