Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrived for the first day of their 10-day royal tour of Africa today — and fans were thrilled to see baby Archie! As the couple set off on their day’s schedule, Archie was no longer with them, leaving many to wonder just how much of the baby we will see during their visit.
Baby Archie had some downtime
The Sussexes have pretty booked days during their royal tour
and it’s likely that their almost five-month-old baby won’t be at all of their
appearances.
During one of their stops of the day, taking a tour of the District Six Museum, they were asked “Where’s Archie?”
Harry shared with one curious fan, “He’s sleeping,” while explaining to another that the baby was tired from the travel, sharing, “He’s not grouchy, just exhausted.”
Archie was given an African name
Despite not being with his mom and dad when they visited Justice Desk, where they attended a workshop on children’s self-defense, baby Archie was bestowed with a special honor — he received an African name.
Jessica Dewhurst, executive director of The Justice Desk, presented the Sussexes with the special name for Archie — Ntsika. The African name was chosen for him by the community’s grandmothers and means “pillar of strength.”
Dewhurst announced: “When your beautiful boy was born you
gave him the name Archie. The name Archie means ‘bravery and strength.’ So to
welcome Archie home, your family at the Justice Desk has given him the
traditional South African name Ntsika. This name of Xhosa African origin means
‘pillar of strength.’ May you always be a pillar of strength for those who need
you.”
How much will we see Archie?
Royal fans only got the most brief peek at baby Archie when the family arrived in Africa, but of course, they’re hoping to see more of Prince Harry and Markle’s little one. Turns out fans might not see that much of him, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl.
Nicholl shared with Entertainment Tonight: “Archie is the youngest royal to make such a long-distance journey -— he is only five months old. We are told the couple is hoping to involve him in the schedule at some point, but don’t expect to see too much of him on this tour.”
She added: “We are hoping to see Archie later on in the
program. The couple is hoping that he will be present for some of the
engagements.”
Nicholl also addressed why the couple are splitting up
during the tour and why Archie can’t travel with Harry to some of the stops he
has planned. She shared: “It would be almost impossible to take such a small
baby on a small charter flight to very rural regions in Africa, where there is
malaria. Flying on such a small plane would be very difficult and Harry is
going to be going into quite remote parts of the country. That’s why the
program is splitting. Harry will go off and travel [and] Meghan will stay
behind with the baby here in Cape Town.”
