Prince Harry and Meghan Markle began their 72-hour tour of Nigeria today, as the Duke evoked memories of his suffering after his mother Princess Diana’s death.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met officials and children at the Wuse Lightway Academy this morning, hours after their arrival in Abuja in the early hours.
Harry spoke to a group of pupils at the school – which is supported by the couple’s Archewell Foundation – about mental health, and referenced when someone has ‘lost a loved one in your family and you don’t know who to turn to or who to speak to’.
The Duke – who was 12 and his brother William 15 when Diana died in Paris in 1997 – added that there was ‘no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day’,
He also told the children: ‘You can have it, she (Meghan) can have it, I can have it. They can have it. Every single one of us is likely to have it on any given day.’
The couple flew in together just before 5am following a secret reunion at London Heathrow’s VIP Windsor Suite yesterday after the Duchess arrived from Los Angeles.
They then boarded the British Airways overnight flight to Abuja, which was slightly delayed after the scheduled pilot went sick and a replacement had to be scrambled.
The Sussexes, visiting Nigeria together for the first time, were seated in the first class section of the Boeing 777 and were kept apart from other passengers by a curtain.
It comes after Harry said it was ‘great’ to be back in the UK this week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. The Duke had been in London since Tuesday to attend events relating to the competition including a thanksgiving service.
Speaking at Wuse Lightway Academy this morning, Harry said: ‘In some cases around the world, in more than you would believe, there is a stigma when it comes to mental health.
Prince Harry spoke to children at Wuse Lightway Academy in Abuja this morning, saying the following:
‘In some cases around the world, in more than you would believe, there is a stigma when it comes to mental health.
‘Too many people don’t want to talk about it, because it’s invisible – something in your mind that you can’t see. It’s not like a broken leg, it’s not like a broken wrist, it’s something we are still relatively unsure of.
‘But guess what? Every single person in this room – the youngest, the oldest – every single person has mental health. So therefore you have to look after yourselves to be able to look after other people, and other people have to be able to look after themselves to be able to look after you. That’s the way it works.
‘And there is no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day, OK? That you woke up this morning feeling sad; that you were at school, feeling stressed; that you’ve lost a loved one in your family and you don’t know who to turn to or who to speak to. All of these things you may even be led to believe are not for conversation.
‘We are here today to tell you that that is not the case. Every single one of those things is completely normal, it is a human reaction, whether it’s grief, stress, whatever the feeling is. It comes from an experience that you have had – you can have it, she (Meghan) can have it, I can have it. They can have it. Every single one of us is likely to have it on any given day.
‘So if you take anything away from today, just know that mental health affects every single person.’
Too many people don’t want to talk about it, because it’s invisible – something in your mind that you can’t see. It’s not like a broken leg, it’s not like a broken wrist, it’s something we are still relatively unsure of.
‘But guess what? Every single person in this room – the youngest, the oldest – every single person has mental health.’
He said that people had to ‘look after yourselves to be able to look after other people, and other people have to be able to look after themselves to be able to look after you’, adding: ‘That’s the way it works.’
The Duke continued: ‘And there is no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day, OK? That you woke up this morning feeling sad; that you were at school, feeling stressed; that you’ve lost a loved one in your family and you don’t know who to turn to or who to speak to. All of these things you may even be led to believe are not for conversation.’
He said the Sussexes were ‘here today to tell you that that is not the case’.
Harry continued: ‘Every single one of those things is completely normal, it is a human reaction, whether it’s grief, stress, whatever the feeling is. It comes from an experience that you have had – you can have it, she (Meghan) can have it, I can have it. They can have it. Every single one of us is likely to have it on any given day.
‘So if you take anything away from today, just know that mental health affects every single person.’
Nigerian defence spokesman Brigadier General Tukur Gusau confirmed today that Harry and Meghan arrived in Abuja early this morning.
They will be meeting wounded soldiers and their families in what Nigerian officials have said is a show of support to improve the soldiers’ morale and wellbeing.
Abidemi Marquis, the director of sports at Nigeria’s Defence Headquarters, said: ‘This engagement with Invictus is giving us the opportunity for the recovery of our soldiers.,’
Harry served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter co-pilot gunner, after which he founded the Invictus Games in 2014 to offer wounded veterans and service members the challenge of competing in sports events similar to the Paralympics.
Nigeria was among the nations that participated in last year’s edition of the games.
The Nigerian military has touted the Invictus Games as one which could help the recovery of thousands of its personnel who have been fighting the homegrown Boko Haram Islamic extremists and their factions since 2009 when they launched an insurgency.
Mr Marquis said: ’80 per cent of our soldiers that have been involved in this recovery programme are getting better (and) their outlook to life is positive,’
The Duke of Sussex said it was ‘great’ to be back in the UK this week.
Speaking at an event he attended in London yesterday for Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity for bereaved military children, Harry was asked by BBC royal correspondent Daniela Relph: ‘Nice to have you back. How is it being here?’
