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By CNN's Stephanie Busari in Abuja, Nigeria, with Max Foster and Lauren Said-Moorhouse in London

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed in Nigeria on Friday, launching a three-day private visit to the West African nation, where they will meet with wounded soldiers and visit local charities, officials said. 
 
The Sussexes are visiting the country as it’s now a “part of the Invictus community,” Air Vice-Marshal Abidemi Marquis, director of sports for the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, said during a media briefing Thursday.
 
Their first engagement was an event hosted at a school in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Outside the Lightway Academy, students lined up patiently to welcome the royal couple, alongside a troupe of dancers. The couple met students and staff from the GEANCO Foundation, which supports girls and young women across the country with menstrual health products and education. 

Prince Harry and Meghan were invited by the chief of defense staff, Christopher Musa, the country’s highest-ranking military official. 
 
Marquis said the duchess was keen to accompany her husband on the visit “as part of her lineage and heritage.” Meghan revealed in 2022 that she discovered she was 43% Nigerian from a genealogy test. 
  
The trip to Nigeria sparked a wave of excitement among the public when it was announced two weeks ago. 
 
Oyeyemi Aderibigbe, 38, a Lagos-based lawyer, told CNN, “I have watched Harry's evolution and quest for personal expression… and I love how bold he is about living authentically. Meghan was my favorite character in the ‘Suits’ series. I love how she has spent so much time using her voice for good, openly sharing her experiences.” 
 
“Together, they are using their influence to democratize opportunity and push causes for the advantage of underrepresented groups. I would love to see them at an event with young people in politics in Nigeria,” she added. 
 
Entrepreneur Ife Durosinmi-Etti spoke of her joy that Meghan was “coming to a place that she’s absolutely loved and welcomed.”
 
“It got me all giddy when I found out about her Nigerian heritage because Nigerian women are smart, resilient, multitalented, they go after what they want and that’s exactly how I see her, so when I heard; I was like, ‘Yup, that’s it, it’s the Nigerian Spirit in her,’” the 35-year-old said.

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A packed itinerary
 
This is the Sussexes’ first trip to Nigeria as a couple. Harry flew to Abuja after a quick visit to London, where he attended events marking the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games, a Paralympics-style event for wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
 
Meghan flew in from Los Angeles, and together, they will undertake a busy schedule, which includes visiting a military rehabilitation center and local organizations dedicated to supporting veterans' welfare, Marquis said. 
 
The duke is also scheduled to join wounded veterans during a sitting volleyball game on Saturday.
 
As it has been described as a private visit, the royal couple will not be meeting with Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu. However, they will meet with the governors of Lagos and Kaduna State. 
  
The UK’s high commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, told local media that there wouldn’t be a meeting with the Nigerian leader because “they are visiting in a private capacity, not an official one.”

Profound challenges 

Nigeria’s military personnel face profound challenges, particularly as the country has been combating the Boko Haram insurgency since 2009.

The couple are visiting at the invitation of the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, which is keen to be involved further in the Invictus Games and to be part of the wider Invictus community.
 
Last year's games in Germany marked a milestone for Nigeria, as it debuted alongside Israel and Colombia, becoming the first African country to participate.
 
Marquis said taking part in the Invictus Games recovery program has boosted the morale of Nigerian soldiers and Nigeria has expressed interest in hosting the games, which take place every two years. 
 
He added: “Eighty percent of our soldiers involved in these recovery programs have a better outlook in life and say it has given them the opportunity to improve their self-esteem and mental health.” 
 
Cpl. Effiom Antigha, captain of Team Nigeria, told CNN last year that the games gave him a new lease on life. “Before now, I didn’t think I could engage myself in any of these sporting activities. The Invictus Foundation has helped develop me physically and mentally.”

Harry supported by Spencer family in London.

Before the duke flew to Nigeria, his presence was required in London. That’s because his Invictus Games celebrated its 10th anniversary with a thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday. Huge cheers erupted from large crowds gathered along police barriers in the spring sunshine when Harry’s car pulled up. He appeared in great spirits, waving enthusiastically to well-wishers before heading inside and coming over to greet fans once the event was over. Shortly after the duke touched down in the British capital on Tuesday, his spokesperson had confirmed the fifth in line to the throne would not be meeting with his father, King Charles, during the visit, due to “His Majesty’s full program” (more on that later). Instead, he was supported at the Invictus celebrations by relatives from his mother’s side of the family. Read more here.  

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We’d known the King was keen to get back out and about after being sidelined from public duties over the past three months. But a week after his first major engagement since his cancer announcement, Charles has packed his diary with events.
 
The monarch looked positively giddy while out at engagements on Thursday. He visited the Royal School of Military Engineering, where he met staff of the training base at Gibraltar Barracks in Camberley, a town just over an hour’s drive from London.
 
“I do apologize for taking you by surprise. When this opportunity appeared and I had been allowed out of my cage, I wanted to come to have a look,” Charles, who is colonel-in-chief of the Royal Engineers, joked with a commanding officer in the mess dining hall during his visit. Earlier in the week, he held audiences at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. A day later, he hosted the first garden party of the season at the palace.

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The heir to the throne ended the week with a two-day visit to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. On Thursday, he visited Newquay, where you may remember from a previous newsletter that his Duchy of Cornwall is combining forces with a local charity to build properties in the area for people affected by homelessness. This was his first visit to the site. A Kensington Palace spokesperson said that since the housing project in Nansledan was announced in February, it has “been progressing at pace.” The spokesperson added that “both His Royal Highness and the Duchy hope that this project will serve as an inspiration to others.” The prince headed to nearby Fistral beach in the afternoon, where he spoke with lifesavers learning how to keep the beach safe, signed the plaster cast of one young member and joined a volleyball game.

"The past year has presented the King with some great personal challenges. But I have been struck by his continued sense of duty … His openness in sharing his condition has been characteristic of his willingness to help and support others.”

– Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

The Archbishop of Canterbury paid tribute to the King on the one-year anniversary of his coronation on Monday, reflecting on the historic moment of crowning as “the privilege of a lifetime.”