LIFE'S A BALL
Prince Harry plays volleyball on ‘old school royal tour’ Nigeria trip just hours after brother William’s efforts
Watch moment couple is greeted with cheers in Nigeria
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle took to the volleyball court today as the second of their three day trip to Nigeria got underway.
The duke had reportedly earlier left his wife to visit a military hospital in a region deemed unsafe by the UK Government.
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After watching a sitting volleyball match in the capital Abuja - Harry was invited to have a go himself.
He showed off his competitive side as fans chanted "Team Harry" - just days after Prince William also tried his hand at the sport.
As Meghan cheered him on at the Defence Headquarters Officers’ Mess in Asokoro, she was introduced to Tiwa Akanbi, 9.
The youngster said of the Duchess: "She said Prince Harry loves to play volleyball and that he’s very good at it.
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"And she asked me if I play volleyball in my school. And I said yes."
Her mum Desola, 47, added: “She’s always wanted to meet her.
"She said last night ‘when am I going to meet ‘Auntie Meghan?’”
The session was laid on by Nigeria: Unconquered, comprised of wounded veterans who will appear at the Duke's Invictus Games next year.
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After the match, Harry and Meghan took selfies with fans as they jostled through crowds in a stifling 33C.
Meghan - wearing a Johanna Ortiz dress and black sunglasses - embraced several women who had been waiting especially for her.
Harry had flown 120 miles north to the hospital in Kaduna, which is marked as an area that the foreign office warns against all travel to.
“FCDO advises against all travel to Kaduna State,” the guidance reads.
The pair touched down in the Nigerian capital on Friday morning to promote the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada.
Harry & Meghan kick off their 'faux-Royal tour' of Nigeria with visit to school
The event - which sees injured servicemen and women compete in a range of athletics events - was founded by Prince Harry and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
The Sussexes began their "faux-Royal tour" with a visit to Lightway Academy, a primary and secondary school in the capital.
They were greeted by traditional dancers and met some of the primary schoolchildren.
Meghan later revealed dancing was Lilibet's favourite class, adding: "Maybe it’s all the jumping around."
In 2023, The Archewell Foundation supported girls’ education and health in Nigeria, sending school supplies and menstrual products to 2,500 girls in the region.
It came as the pair visited Nigeria's defence HQ on Friday to meet military wives and senior officials.
PRINCESS DI PORTRAIT
Harry was gifted a portrait of his mother Princess Diana by the Nigerian government, as well as a painted picture from his 2018 wedding to Meghan.
He later visited a military hospital in war torn Kaduna, around 200km north of Abuja.
The region has seen horrific fighting between nomadic Fulani herdsman and farmers, as well as an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists.
While at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, the Duke shook hands with around 50 wounded soldiers and asked one bed-ridden hero if he'd named his prosthetic leg.
While holding the hand of another man, Harry asked: "Are they helping you? Are you feeling better?"
The 39-year-old was given a "big gown" and hula cap as a going home present from Kaduna governor Uba Sani.
Harry and Meghan's session on the volleyball court came as brother William took to Fistral beach in Newquay, Cornwall, on Thursday, for a match.
He showed his competitive streak alongside surfers and litter pickers after announcing plans to build 24 additional homes his own Duchy of Cornwall land at nearby Nansledan.
The development will provide temporary accommodation for local people experiencing homelessness.
HARRY IN BRITAIN
Harry's African adventure comes days after a solo whistle-stop three-day visit to London on Tuesday to promote the Invictus Games.
On Wednesday he spoke an event in St Paul's Cathedral where he gave a Bible reading from Corinthians that stressed different people have different gifts and strengths.
Another reading from Isaiah talked of stopping “the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil”.
As Harry's event got underway, The King met members of the public at a Buckingham Palace garden party just over two miles away.
On Thursday, Harry was the surprise guest at a party hosted by Scotty's Little Soldiers, a charity that supports the bereaved kids of military personnel.
The Duke's spokesman said the King's "full programme" prevented the pair meeting but stressed he "hopes to see his dad soon".
The pair last came face-to-face at Clarence House in February, having not seen each other for 16 months.
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Harry told the BBC it had been "great" to be back in the UK before leaving the UK on Thursday evening.
Next year's Invictus Games will be the first to feature a winter sport element.
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