IN PICTURES | A roundup of what Prince Harry & Meghan got up to on their tour of Mzansi
03 October 2019 - 10:47
Meghan Markle ties a ribbon to the railing at Clareinch post office in memory of Uyinene Mrwetyana.
The royal couple kicked off their first day in the Mother City dancing with residents of Nyanga, the township infamously known as SA's murder capital. Here, they visited the Nyanga Methodist Church to see the work done by the Justice Desk, an NPO that teaches children about their rights, self-awareness and safety. Theodora Lutuli, whose creche operates from the church, told the Sunday Times, "The children will never forget that experience, although to some of the kids they looked like any other white person who has walked through our gates".
Next they immersed themselves in local history with a tour of the District Six Museum in the Cape Town CBD.
They later shared samosas and other snacks prepared by members of the local community at the District Six Homecoming Centre. Gabriela Wiener, a spokeswoman for District Six, told AFP, "To have the royal couple here helps to unite people and ... look past the pain, especially because we're a diverse culture".
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Waves for Change, which teaches surfing at Monwabisi beach to provide mental health services to young people.
While there they also got to see the work done by The Lunchbox Fund, which is one of the charities they asked the public to make donations to in lieu of giving them presents to celebrate the birth of their son, Archie, in May.
Prince Harry headed to Kalk Bay, where he braved the choppy sea to find out more about how the City of Cape Town marine unit is combating abalone poaching.
The royal couple visited the Auwal mosque in the Bo-Kaap. It was the first to be built in SA - in 1794.
Prince Harry and Meghan strolled the colourful streets of the historic Bo-Kaap, where they met a band of Cape minstrels who were entertaining the crowds as part of the Heritage Day celebrations.
The royal couple popped into a local resident's Bo-Kaap home for a cup of rooibos tea. 'They were just happy to visit a home, meet the people and sit around a table having a conversation,' said their hostess, Shaamiela Samodien.
That afternoon, Prince Harry and Meghan attended a garden reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the British High Commissioner's residence in Bishopscourt. While there, the duchess asked NMU student Sithembele Ncube (pictured), who is a member of the Obama Foundation, if she could take a photo with her to send to her friend, Michelle Obama. 'I was gobsmacked, because I am a huge fan of Michelle as well,' Ncube told the Weekend Post.
The royal couple introduced their four-month-old, Archie, to an old friend of Prince Harry's, "the Arch" - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, that is. They enjoyed tea at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation's headquarters in Cape Town and Archie was given a heart-shaped biscuit with his name on it.
As her husband headed off for solo visits to Botswana, Angola and Malawi, the duchess visited the charity mothers2mothers in Cape Town. 'My God, she is the most humble person I have ever met,' Limpho Nteko, who works for the NGO, told the Sunday Times.
The duchess invited a group of prominent women to join her in Cape Town to chat about women's rights in our country. Among them was activist Sophia Williams-De Bruyn (pictured), who, in 1956, led 20,000 women in a march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against apartheid pass laws.
The duchess visited the Cape Town post office where 19-year-old UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana was raped and murdered last month. It's said Meghan had been following the tragic story closely. She tied a yellow ribbon to the railing as a tribute. It carried the message, "We are with you, sister", in Xhosa.
In Johannesburg, the duchess made an unexpected visit to Victoria Yards in Lorentzville, where she met a host of young creative entrepreneurs. They included designer Tshepo Mohlala of Tshepo the Jean Maker, from whom she'd ordered a pair of jeans. He surprised her by gifting her a pair of dungarees for baby Archie as well.
The duchess visited the University of Johannesburg as a patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. During a round-table talk with students and academics, she said it took a village to finance someone's university education, with "families chipping in" and scholarships. She admitted she was only able to graduate from university thanks to such financial assistance. That's why she was "very, very happy" to announce that the ACU had awarded three new gender grants to the universities of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and Western Cape.
Meghan visited ActionAid to find out more about how the charity raises awareness of and tackles sexual violence in schools.
Back from his solo tours to nearby African countries, Prince Harry joined his wife in Johannesburg to visit the Youth Employment Services (YES) Hub in Tembisa. The hub hosts various entrepreneurial and skills programmes, and boasts an array of facilities, including an aquaponic farm.
Prince Harry later introduced his wife to an old friend, Graca Machel, widow of Nelson Mandela. According to the Sussex Royal Instagram account, 'Their Royal Highnesses were delighted to be able to meet Graça and her family, and talk about their shared passion for their work on equality and human rights'.
Prince Harry and Meghan attended a reception celebrating the UK and SA's business and investment relationship. Among those on the guest list were young local designers whose work can be seen in Nando’s stores across the UK.
The last stop on Prince Harry and Meghan's whirlwind tour of SA was to meet President Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife, Tshepo Motsepe, in Pretoria. The royal couple were a bit late, having got lost in the compound of the presidential guesthouse. Then again, perhaps after spending 10 days on our glorious continent, they'd just embraced the relaxed concept of 'African time'.
