The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been photographed arriving in South Africa – with baby son Archie wrapped up for the visit.
Harry and Meghan’s son was pictured cradled in his mother’s arms, wearing a bobble hat to keep out the strong Cape Town wind.
The royals jetted to Africa on a British Airways flight that arrived almost 40 minutes late, and were flanked by staff in high visibility jackets, one with the initials VIP on the back, as they disembarked privately ahead of their first appearance in the city this afternoon.
The couple will visit a township where they will see an initiative which teaches children about their rights, self-awareness and safety, and provides self-defence classes and female empowerment training to young girls.
During the event Meghan, who is a champion of gender equality, is expected to add her voice to the thousands who have spoken out about the rising violence against women in South Africa.
The couple are visiting Africa over 10 days and while the duchess and Archie will stay in South Africa for the duration, the duke will visit Angola, Malawi and Botswana before being reunited with his family in Johannesburg.
Harry and Meghan arrived laden with gifts for the nation’s children from presents originally donated to their son Archie.
They will give clothes, books and other items to an Africa-based charity that trains and employs women living with HIV as community health workers.
Royal fans will be hoping to get a glimpse of four-month-old Archie – described by a palace source as “an extra special small passenger to make things a little more lively”.
The source, who said the gifts would be presented to the charity mothers2mothers, added: “The duke and duchess were inundated with gifts for baby Archie from organisations and the general public.
“They were incredibly grateful, but one little baby can only wear so many clothes and he’s growing fast.”
Harry will travel to Angola on Friday to pay homage to the work of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, who campaigned for landmines to be outlawed during a visit she made to the country in 1997.
He will also pay tribute to a British soldier killed by an elephant during anti-poaching operations in Malawi when he visits the country on September 30 to focus attention on efforts to protect endangered animals.
A post about the tour on the royal couple’s official Instagram account said: “The duke is especially proud to continue the legacy left by his mother with her work in Angola as he joins Halo Trust again in an effort to rid the world of landmines.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here