Baby Archie to join Harry and Meghan on trip to South Africa

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s much anticipated trip to South Africa later this year has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace – and baby Archie will be joining them.

Harry and Meghan will visit the country in the autumn and a posting on their official Instagram account describes how they are “really looking forward” to meeting people during the trip.

The duke will also carry out solo visits to Angola, Malawi and Botswana.

“This will be their first official tour as a family!”

Baby Archie will be around five months old when his parents take him on his first official overseas trip.

The Duke of Cambridge was just nine months old when his parents the Prince and Princess of Wales took him to Australia and New Zealand for a royal tour in 1983 and when William became a father his son Prince George travelled with him and Kate to the same countries in 2014.

Harry and Meghan both share a passion for Africa and are said to be looking forward to deepening their knowledge of the continent’s rich culture and history.

The couple also admire South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela and they have already met members of his family in the UK and could meet them again in their home country.

Buckingham Palace announced the visit in a brief statement: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake an official visit to South Africa this autumn at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

“In addition, the Duke of Sussex will visit Angola and Malawi at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

“His Royal Highness will also undertake a working visit to Botswana while in the region.”

Speaking during their engagement interview, Harry said: “I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana.

“And we – we camped out with each other under the stars… she came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic.”

During the visit to Africa the duke is likely to champion the work of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales who famously walked through a cleared landmine field in Angola to highlight the devastating injuries the military munitions can cause.

The duke’s charity Sentebale has recently expanded its work into Malawi and Harry could see the latest developments and its work in Botswana, helping young people living with HIV and Aids.

Lesotho – a landlocked country within South Africa – is where the charity was founded, and the couple may visit its main centre in the nation.

The duke also has a passion for the continent’s wildlife and is President of African Parks, patron of Rhino Conservation Botswana and spent part of his summer in 2016 working on conservation projects in Africa.