Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are going to South Africa this autumn, Buckingham Palace announced in a press release on Thursday.
The statement added that the Duke of Sussex will also visit other countries in the region, including Angola, Malawi and Botswana.
Baby Archie will make the trip as well, according to a message on the couple’s Instagram account that said they were “excited” about the upcoming visit.
“The Duke and Duchess are really looking forward to meeting so many of you on the ground and continuing to raise awareness of the high impact work local communities are doing across the commonwealth and beyond,” the caption said on Thursday, accompanying a photo of the duke and duchess beaming.
“This will be their first official tour as a family!” it added.
Botswana, in particular, is a very special place for the couple, as it’s where the two traveled together early on in their relationship. Harry spoke about their time together during the couple’s first interview after their engagement with BBC.
“I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana, and we camped out with each other under the stars,” Harry said.
“She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic, so then we were really by ourselves, which I think was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to know each other.”
Harry even sourced the main diamond of Meghan’s engagement ring from the country.
The confirmation of the trip comes months after rumors circulated that the new parents were moving to Africa amid allegations of a feud between Harry and Prince William.
Buckingham Palace didn’t deny the rumors in a statement provided to HuffPost in April, though the recent announcement confirms it’s just a trip at the moment.
“Any future plans for The Duke and Duchess are speculative at this stage. No decisions have been taken about future roles,” the palace said in April. “The Duke will continue to fulfill his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.”
A Sunday Times report in April first speculated that Harry and Meghan were either going to Canada or Africa.
“In some ways, it would suit William to get his brother out of the country for a few years and Meghan as far away as possible,” an unidentified source told the paper at the time.
Another source told the Sunday Times that “There are discussions in palace circles about how do we harness Harry and Meghan and this tremendous global attention they get.”
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