Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, make a long haul flight to Africa on Monday to spread their climate advocacy to a new audience. Baby Archie will join them on the 10-day visit along with a team of 13 assistants including a “social media officer” and a hairdresser for Markle.
The Sussexes’ first tour as a family comes after the duke and duchess flew to Rome to watch Meghan’s close friend, fashion designer Misha Nonoo walk down the aisle with oil tycoon Michael Hess on Friday.
Highlights of the latest trip will see the duke and duchess visit a township in Cape Town to tour a workshop supporting children and young girls, and visit another near Johannesburg where they will learn about a project tackling rising unemployment. Malawai, Botswana, and Angola are also on the itinerary.
The past two months have been busy for the Royal pair, with them spotted at one stage taking four private jet flights in just 11 days. Their seemingly constant air travel has not been without controversy.
Last month a barefoot Duke of Sussex stood before an elite audience of business leaders and celebrities gathered at Google’s annual deluxe retreat in Sicily to warn immediate action is needed to avoid an approaching climate catastrophe.
The Evening Standard reported Prince Harry, 34, is understood to have insisted the future of the planet is a humanitarian issue, not a political one, and the world must act to avoid disaster.
The prince has already announced he and the duchess will have no more than two children because of the concerns they share for the environment.
Even so, the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, their grace and favour home on the Windsor estate, at a cost to the taxpayer of £2.4 million, drew criticism for unnecessary extravagance.
So too did the Duchess of Sussex’s last-minute dash to New York two weeks ago to watch her friend Serena Williams play in the U.S. Open tennis final.
That trip came trip came in the same week Prince Harry, flew to Amsterdam to caution holidaymakers and tourism chiefs about the damage being done to the environment by frequent flyers.