Why We Shunned Prince Harry, Wife’s Visit To Nigeria – British High Commission
The British High Commission in Nigeria has explained why it failed to acknowledge the presence of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle during their trip to the country.
Osun Defender recalls that Prince Harry and his Wife have arrived in Nigeria for their three-day official tour to promote the Invictus Games.
It was learnt that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived on Friday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja after a slight delay.
It was gathered that the visit of the Royals is primarily to promote the Invictus Games and comes after Harry met the Nigerian team and Chief of Defence Staff General Musa at last year’s competition in Dusseldorf, Germany who then extended an invitation to the Couple.
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They were received by military authorities in Abuja, the nation’s capital and subsequently visited the Defence Headquarters in Abuja as part of their tour.
They also travelled to Kaduna State, where they met with Governor Uba Sani, who presented the prince with traditional attire.
Surprisingly, the British High Commission’s social media accounts have remained silent on the Prince’s activities in Nigeria, deviating from their usual practice of welcoming prominent UK dignitaries.
Findings revealed that the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, had last posted on his X handle on May 6.
He was silent on Prince Harry and Meghan’s visit on social media, while the UK in Nigeria X handle didn’t also acknowledge their presence.
However, Montgomery was said to have clarified in a private chat with journalists that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the country as private citizens, hence, the commission has no obligation to acknowledge their presence.
“It’s great that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting Nigeria, which I understand is at the invitation of Defence Headquarters.
“But they are visiting in a private capacity, not an official one. So, the British High Commission is not involved in arranging or facilitating their programme. They are not representing the work of His Majesty’s Government on this visit,” Montgomery noted.
