Meghan Markle’s three-day visit to Nigeria left the Duchess of Sussex claiming the African country as her own. On May 11, Markle co-hosted a Women in Leadership event with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organization.
According to CNN, during the event, Markle opened up about connecting to her Nigerian heritage during the eye-opening trip, affectionately calling Nigeria “my country.”
She continued speaking on the significance of learning her identity after discovering she was 43% Nigerian through a genealogy test several years ago.
“Being African American, part of it is not knowing so much about your lineage or background, where you come from specifically. And it was exciting … to discover more and understand what that really means,” she said, according to CNN.
Markle, who is 42, was elated to be acknowledged as a Nigerian woman as she said it represented women who were “brave, resilient, courageous, beautiful,” the New York Post reported.
Prince Harry and the Duchess were welcomed in royal form in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, with cultural dancers and gifts, including a picture of the Duke and his late mother, Princess Diana.
The trip to Nigeria aimed to promote their multi-day mental health summit at Lightway Academy. Per CNN, the goal of the trip was to announce a partnership between the Archewell Foundation and the GEANCO Foundation to provide school supplies and menstrual products to students.
After meeting the country’s highest-ranking military official Christopher Musa at the Nigerian Defence Headquarters, Markle signed a guest book thanking officials for “welcoming me home.”
On the last day of her trip, Markle was presented with traditional royal titles. Country leaders, Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe, and Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwoland, southwest Nigeria, christened her with names to signify her acceptance as a daughter of Nigeria.
The Obi of Onitsha christened her “Ada Mazi,” which translates into “the daughter of the Igbo ancestral palace,” and Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi noted her as “Adetokunbo,” a Yoruba name meaning”royalty from across the seas.”
