Harry and Meghan: Tour of Southern Africa - September 23-October 2, 2019

[Pranter]

Harry's off to Botswana and Meghan is on her third engagement already today.



LaRae

[amaryllus]

Aww bald as a little cute ball! Probably means his hair is going to be really thick later :)

[Ista]

What a lovely little video clip; that toothless smile from Archie right at the end was adorable. He's still at the peach-fuzz stage, but clearly growing like crazy, and developing his own little personality, which is sweet to see.

A link from The Guardian to a more intimate view of the meeting between the Sussex family and Archibishop Tutu:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...h-african-tour

[ACO]

Archie is adorable. Such sweet pictures of everyone.

[Countessmeout]

Great tour so far. On vacation so haven’t had time to follow all but enjoying what I can. Catch up when home.

Love seeing Archie meet Tutu. He is sure a cutie.

[Dman]

The most adorable pictures of the Sussex family are out. Archie is a very happy baby. His presence make his parents light up even more.

[caethi]

Wow, Archie sure resembles Harry as a baby.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Archie is very cute. Yes, he looks a lot like Harry. Last time, at the christening, I thought he looked a lot like Meghan.

[Duchessmary]

The baby is as cute as a bug!! And I noticed Meghan's not wearing her engagement ring?

[victor1319]

I don't want to be the "Baby Grinch", but to me all babies look the same.

So, what can I say about baby Archie: Welcome to the show! I wish him a good live.

To his parents: All this hugging of strangers and kissing and holding hands... I don't know! It is their live and their choice, but seeming to be too approachable can also be seen not only as dishonest, what would be expectable, but also as weakness.

Well, anyway, it is obviously a question of personal taste and that I don't like it, means nothing, it is just my humble opinion.

[carlota]

desmond tutu is truly great - his smile is a million watts! a delight to see him.

with respect to archie, finally they are getting him out and about! after restrictions on the birth being private, on his hermetic introduction in windsor (kate presented her 3 kids surrounded by whoever wanted to come to be part of the ocassion) and his parents insisting on a private christening, it was about time. he looks like a good mix of both harry and meghan.

it bugs me that meghan always greets people before harry - did they not teach her about protocol and precedence? it is almost as if harry married her because he wants less attention on him, as she is happy to take the spotlight. i also agree that i don't share their love for hugging and kissing everyone - they are royals, not celebrities.

i have to admit i was expecting more from this tour - somehow it seems very low key and nothing like the grand tours of W&K. maybe there is a reason for it, perhaps the need for a PR campaign to improve H&M's profile following their recent criticism, or a will to put more emphasis on W&K by the Royal house.

[Duchessblack]

As is often readily pointed out when a knockdown is wished to be made, William and Catherine are the future King and Queen so it makes sense that their tours would be more grand in scale. I think they are hitting the correct note with this tour and being respectful of the challenges facing Africa at this time.

[HereditaryPrincess]

Aw, it was such a lovely surprise to see Archie at the afternoon tea! He's a very bonny baby and seems to have a nice, interactive nature. He seemed to be very interested in Archbishop Tutu (who also seems to be very good at interacting with babies)! Archie seems to be almost a carbon copy of Harry as a baby.

Also loved the photos of Meghan with the children at the Mothers2Mothers event.

[Heavs]

Originally Posted by carlota

desmond tutu is truly great - his smile is a million watts! a delight to see him.

with respect to archie, finally they are getting him out and about! after restrictions on the birth being private, on his hermetic introduction in windsor (kate presented her 3 kids surrounded by whoever wanted to come to be part of the ocassion) and his parents insisting on a private christening, it was about time. he looks like a good mix of both harry and meghan.

it bugs me that meghan always greets people before harry - did they not teach her about protocol and precedence? it is almost as if harry married her because he wants less attention on him, as she is happy to take the spotlight. i also agree that i don't share their love for hugging and kissing everyone - they are royals, not celebrities.

i have to admit i was expecting more from this tour - somehow it seems very low key and nothing like the grand tours of W&K. maybe there is a reason for it, perhaps the need for a PR campaign to improve H&M's profile following their recent criticism, or a will to put more emphasis on W&K by the Royal house.

Their tour of Australasia and the Pacific was pretty grand and Morocco for such a flying visit. I'm not sure it had anything to do with W&K, Charles has done low key tours before. I'm not sure the criticism would have been enough to scale down the tour if the FCO needed it to be a huge, grand thing, it was mostly petty not hugely scandalous.

It pretty much seems like a "working visit" tour than a big official tour, with an emphasis on their interests and connections.

[Pranter]

Originally Posted by carlota

desmond tutu is truly great - his smile is a million watts! a delight to see him.

with respect to archie, finally they are getting him out and about! after restrictions on the birth being private, on his hermetic introduction in windsor (kate presented her 3 kids surrounded by whoever wanted to come to be part of the ocassion) and his parents insisting on a private christening, it was about time. he looks like a good mix of both harry and meghan.

it bugs me that meghan always greets people before harry - did they not teach her about protocol and precedence? it is almost as if harry married her because he wants less attention on him, as she is happy to take the spotlight. i also agree that i don't share their love for hugging and kissing everyone - they are royals, not celebrities.

i have to admit i was expecting more from this tour - somehow it seems very low key and nothing like the grand tours of W&K. maybe there is a reason for it, perhaps the need for a PR campaign to improve H&M's profile following their recent criticism, or a will to put more emphasis on W&K by the Royal house.

Evidently 'someone' needs to instruct other Royal spouses about this 'precedence' because that formality is often ignored in this day and age.

We have seen either pics or video of Archie 5 times prior to today. More than the last Royal baby. He's not been hidden away never seen before now.

Other than The Queen and couple others most of the BRF hug (Kate, William, Charles, Camilla, Sophie etc) so please don't act like it's the Sussexes somehow doing these new things. It's par for the course.

They are not The Cambridges, they will do things differently. They don't have to be continually compared to each other in everything they do.



LaRae

[Curryong]

Have you seen photos, videos etc of the Sussex Royal tour to Australasia and the Pacific only last October, Carlota?

Because there was formality there and meetings with dignitaries etc including Governor General and PMs, if that sort of thing appeals to you. It was a grand tour and a very successful one.

So there's no suggestion of downgrading Harry and Meghan. However there were also times of fun and informality as there is on this trip, which the couple stated they wanted to be a working visit. And I think that's admirable, actually.

[Dman]

We’ll likely be getting some holiday pics and his first Birthday pics, but Archie will melt hearts on that Buckingham Palace balcony for The Queen’s Birthday next year. I can’t wait for that.

The tour is going well so far. It’s more of working tour - focusing on the initiatives and organizations.

[Osipi]

With both Harry and Meghan developing their roles within the Commonwealth, I do think they want the people to feel that they're approachable and that they're interested in their everyday lives and to see them more as two people that are there to do what they can for them rather than being there to be looked up to, admired, deferred to and wearing fashions everyone wants to copy to be "just like them". The Sussex family seems to want to portray the image that they're more "just like them" and not the other way around. Its more or less like the Queen that has the opinion that she "needs to be seen to be believed".

This is a very loving family and they're not afraid to show it. They're just being natural with each other and I think its touching that they're comfortable showing affection and love for each other in public. This is the environment that Archie is going to grow up in and, to me, it has the hallmark of being a very happy family home life.

Archie is just plain adorable in the photos. A very healthy, happy baby with two doting parents. I'm happy they did give the opportunity for Archie to be photographed on this tour. I think they struck the right balance as the photo of Archie was taken as a addition to their public roles when meeting Archbishop Desmond Tutu and that may set a precedence that should the child(ren) go with them on tour, they'll be photographed for the public. The private life of the family is still just that. Private. They're not hiding Archie away but actually, I see it as teaching him there's a difference between public and a private times as he grows older.

With watching "The Crown" lately, its made me realize just how different tours are now from back in the time when a young Elizabeth and her dashing husband, Philip went. There's more interactions with the people, more involvement in the everyday events and I would imagine, even more enjoyable now for the royals visiting than back in the day. Its much more inclusive and we, the people watching the tours, see much more now than the royals meeting and greeting with the great and the good and giving speeches and cutting ribbons.

We're living in more and more of a global society now and the ways and the means and activities of royal tours have adapted to reflect this. I think we're the lucky ones.

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by Heavs

Their tour of Australasia and the Pacific was pretty grand and Morocco for such a flying visit. I'm not sure it had anything to do with W&K, Charles has done low key tours before. I'm not sure the criticism would have been enough to scale down the tour if the FCO needed it to be a huge, grand thing, it was mostly petty not hugely scandalous.

It pretty much seems like a "working visit" tour than a big official tour, with an emphasis on their interests and connections.

I agree Heavs. Unlike the Australian/Pacific tour this appears to have been designed to be a more low key one.

[Somebody]

It seems the previous two tours (Australasia and Morocco) were more 'government-type' trips while this one seems more focused on their personal interests and royal patronages (theirs and those of other family members such as the queen); many activities seem to be somehow tied to their Commonwealth roles.

I wonder whose initiative this trip was; was it Harry & Meghan suggesting (probably not formally but I am sure they know how to go about these things) to undertake this trip (which was approved) or was it the government spontaneously coming up with the idea to send the two of them to Southern Africa - and them agreeing.

Looking into the various activities so far:

Day 1
1 - Justice Desk: The Justice Desk is led by Queen’s Young Leader, Jessica Dewhurst and is supported by The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT). The Queen is Patron of The QCT, The Duke is President and The Duchess is Vice-President. Jessica received her Queen’s Young Leader’s Award in 2016 from Her Majesty The Queen.
2. District 6 with Homecoming Centre: relationship/reason unclear - personal interest?

Day 2
3. "Waves for Change": Mental Health - same theme as their (previous) foundation's focus & UK’s Commonwealth Litter Programme: Commonwealth initiative
4H. Seal Island: In his capacity as Captain General of The Royal Marines, a role he was appointed to by The Queen in 2017, The Duke of Sussex visited "Seal Island" with officers from the City of Cape Town Marine Unit (MPU). - with a focus on fighting illegal wildlife trade.
5. Mosque visit - interfaith dialogue & Heritage Day (walkabout): relationship/reason unclear - personal interest and/or UK High Commissioner suggestion?
6. Reception at British High Commissioner's Residence: government representation - visitors included Commonwealth and Chevening scholars.

Day 3
7. Meeting with Desmond Tutu - Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation: The Duke previously met Archbishop Tutu in 2015 when His Royal Highness presented him with the Insignia of an Honorary member of The Order of the Companions of Honour on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen. The Queen has met Archbishop Tutu many times over the course of her reign including in 1995, 2004 and 2013.
8M. UK-SA Tech Hub - female entrepreneurship: This work is something which is a key focus for The Duchess of Sussex. In March 2019, The Duchess of Sussex joined a panel discussion convened by The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust to mark International Women’s Day, featuring female business and charity leaders.
9M. “mothers2mothers” - employs women with HIV: relationship/reason unclear - personal interest (combining Harry's previous interest in HIV-related issues with Meghan's interest in women issues)?

So, it seems - so far - their personal interests are a huge factor in the chosen activities for this tour.