March 28, 2024

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry visit Cape Town’s poignant District 6 Museum

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Meghan Markle was greeted by a very enthusiastic fan as she and Prince Harry arrived at the District 6 museum in Cape Town – which honours thousands of families forcibly removed from the area during the apartheid.

The families were removed after the area, adjacent to the Cape Town business district, was declared whites-only and bulldozers moved in to demolish homes.

The Duke and Duchess will also join a community cooking activity with former residents of District Six at the nearby Homecoming Centre. 

It comes after The Duchess of Sussex earlier told teenage girls in a township known as ‘South Africa’s murder capital’ that she is visiting them as a ‘woman of colour and their sister’ in a rousing speech on the first day of her and her husband’s latest royal tour.

Meghan and Harry are visiting Nyanga, where one in 206 people are killed each year, just outside of Cape Town, today after touching down at the airport this morning. 

The couple’s visit to the troubled township has been arranged amid a major security presence, with details kept secret until the last minute to prevent any unrest and four-month-old Archie left behind at their residence with his nanny.  

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, arrive at the District Six, on the first day of their African tour in Cape Town

Residents were quick to rush to the Royal couple, with one woman embracing Meghan as she arrived. She is pictured alongside Prince Harry outside the District 6 museum 

A woman appeared overjoyed to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they continued the first day of their Royal tour around South Africa

For their second engagement – a visit to the District Six Museum – Meghan switched into a blue Veronica Beard dress and wore her hair down (pictured alongside Prince Harry greeting crowds outside the District 6 Museum)

Harry and Meghan are visiting the District 6 museum that honours thousands of families forcibly removed during the apartheid era after the area, adjacent to the Cape Town business district, was declared whites-only and bulldozers moved in to demolish homes

The same woman who greeted Meghan also gave Prince Harry a big hug as both greeted crowds outside the District 6 museum

Duke of Sussex and wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex pictured Visiting the District Six Museum. The District Six Museum is located in the inner-city residential area in Cape Town which was subject to the forced relocation of 60,000 inhabitants of various races during Apartheid in the 1970s

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex waves as she visits District Six, on the first day of the African tour in Cape Town. The Duke and Duchess will also join a community cooking activity with former residents of District Six at the nearby Homecoming Centre

Harry and Meghan (pictured together) are visiting the District 6 museum that honours thousands of families forcibly removed during the apartheid era

Harry and Meghan (left and right) have arrived at the District 6 museum in Cape Town – which honours thousands of families forcibly removed from the area during the apartheid

Their Royal Highnesses (pictured arriving at District Six Museum) will tour the District Six Museum to learn about their work to reunite members of the community forcibly relocated during the apartheid era

The Duke and Duchess will also later join a community cooking activity with former residents of District Six at the nearby Homecoming Centre

The area where the museum is located, adjacent to the Cape Town business district, was declared whites-only and bulldozers moved in to demolish homes. Harry and Meghan are pictured arriving at the museum this afternoon

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting the District 6 museum this afternoon. Afterwards, they will join a community cooking activity with former residents of District Six at the nearby Homecoming Centre

While the royal visit wasn’t causing the kind of excitement seen at times in other parts of the Commonwealth, some in South Africa said they were happy to see the arrival of Meghan, who has been vocal about women’s rights

For their second engagement – a visit to the District Six Museum – Meghan switched into a blue Veronica Beard dress and wore her hair down.

She was first seen in the sky-blue Cary shirt dress during the couple’s trip to Tonga last October.

Harry changed into a neutral suit, fresh white shirt and suede shoes.

Earlier in the day Meghan, 38, stood on a tree stump to address crowds of local women and girls supported by community charity Justice Desk. 

She said: ‘May I just say that while I am here with my husband as a member of The Royal Family, I want you to know that for me I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of colour and as your sister.’   

Meghan and her husband, 35, were seen dancing and laughing with locals on the first stop of their 10-day tour of Africa. 

She has written about her racial heritage before, but this is thought to be the first time she has spoken about it publicly since becoming a royal. 

The Duchess wore a dress designed by the sustainable Malawi-based fashion brand Mayamiko and the couple sported matching ‘Justice Desk’ beaded bracelets as they shook hands with beaming locals.

Quoting poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, Meghan said in her speech: ‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it, possibly without claiming it, she stands up for all women.’

‘Now I know it’s not easy and I know it must feel insurmountable at times, but your commitment to what is right gives all of us hope, especially your brothers and sisters here in your community who need you to continue to shine your light brightly. 

‘Your commitment is inspiring, it is energising and it is extraordinary. You must keep going, you must know that what you’re doing not only matters, it is vital because YOU are vital.’ 

She said she felt ‘humbled’ to be in the Nyanga community’s presence, as they stood firm in their ‘values of respect, dignity and equality’. 

Meghan is pictured giving a speech to crowds in Nyanga, often described as South Africa’s ‘murder capital’ this afternoon

Meghan and her husband, 35, were seen dancing and laughing with locals on the first stop of their 10-day tour of Africa

Harry and Meghan are visiting Nyanga in the Cape Flats just outside of Cape Town today on the first stop of their 10-day tour of Africa, where one in 206 people are killed each year, according to recent statistics. Meghan spoke to children at at the Nyanga Township in Cape Town today (left and right, speaking) 

The Duchess addressed crowds of women and girls stood on a tree stump as she wore a Justice Desk charity bracelet 

Meghan said to the crowd in Cape Town: ‘And just on one personal note may I just say that while I’m here with my husband as a member of the royal family, I want you to know from me I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of colour and as your sister’

Meghan was wearing a dress by the label Mayamiko, an ethical and sustainable womenswear and lifestyle brand, producing clothes made in Malawi. She spoke to children at Nyanga Township in Cape Town, South Africa 

The Duchess, 38, stood on a tree stump as she made a speech surrounded by Justice Desk female boxers, which saw her refer to her own racial heritage for the first time as a British royal 

Meghan made the point of telling the young women and others from the community it was her ‘first time’ in South Africa adding ‘you’re incredible and so powerful, because you’re all powerful’ 

Britain’s royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex, greet youths on a visit to the Nyanga Methodist Church in Cape Town, South Africa

Harry and Meghan appeared close as they visited a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township. While there Meghan spoke publicly about her position in the world as a ‘woman of colour’ for the first time, as she gave a rousing speech to township teenage girls

Meghan wore her hair up in a sleek ponytail as she and Harry arrived at the Nyanga Township in Cape Town. Mayamiko produces clothes made in Malawi and inspired by African artisan traditions and prints

Meghan has publicly spoken about her position in the world as a ‘woman of colour’ for the first time, as she gave a rousing speech to township teenage girls (pictured alongside Prince Harry)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pictured beaming as they are surrounded by dancing girls from the Nyanga township near Cape Town this afternoon 

Having a whale of a time! Meghan beamed as she danced with local girls in Nyanga this afternoon

The first day of their 10-day, multi-country tour started in Cape Town with visits to girls’ empowerment projects that teach rights and self-defense. Harry and Meghan danced a bit as a musical welcome greeted them in the township of Nyanga

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are visiting Nyanga township, one of Cape Town’s largest black settlements, to learn about life for thousands of South Africans (left and right together)

The couple (pictured together) had travelled to the area, a few miles out of the city centre, to see first-hand the work of the Justice Desk, a human rights organisation, which is supporting the development of the settlement’s children

There was a carnival atmosphere inside the compound when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived with female dances in traditional costume, musicians playing and the ecstatic youngsters waving their national flag

Meghan wore her hair up in a sleek ponytail as she and Harry arrived at the Nyanga Township in Cape Town. She danced with children at the Justice Desk initiative during the afternoon

The duchess’s shoes were Castaner’s Carina black wedge espadrilles, which tie at the ankle, which she also wore on her tour to Australia last year. The Duke of Sussex look relaxed in a light open-necked shirt, dark trousers and beige trainers (pictured, both dancing with children at the Nyanga Township in Cape Town)

Harry and Meghan (left and right) both go into the swing of things, dancing away with members of the Justice Desk, a human rights organisation, which is supporting the development of the settlement’s children

The Duchess of Sussex kicked off her royal tour to South Africa with the Duke of Sussex in a patterned black and white wrap dress by ethical womenswear brand Mayamiko (Harry and Meghan are pictured together) 

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, also made a speech to children at a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township. He said: ‘I wanted to ensure that our first visit [to Cape Town] as a family – with my wife by my side – focused on the significant challenges facing millions of South Africans, while acknowledging the hope that we feel so strongly here’

Barely a couple of hours after landing in Cape Town, the royal couple visited the Arts Centre in Nyanga – dubbed the ‘murder capital’ of South Africa (Meghan dances with children at the Arts Centre)

On leaving the Nyanga arts centre, traditional African dancers lined the exit and entertained locals and their special guests

Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Duchess of Sussex, pose for a photo with youths at the Nyanga Methodist Church in Cape Town, South Africa

The Duchess continued: ‘The work that’s being done here is to keep women and children safer, which is needed now more than ever. 

‘This is an issue that’s been at the forefront of people’s minds here in South Africa, and of course across the globe, particularly over this past month.

‘Please know that my husband and I have been closely following what you’ve been experiencing here – as best we can from afar. 

‘But now that we are with you, we are eager to learn and see first-hand the work that you’re doing, the vital work that you’re doing, and that everything that is being done on the ground is making the great change that you not only need but that you deserve.

‘You have welcomed us into this community, have been open and honest with us, both about the dangers women and children face, and about how you are addressing them. 

‘The rights of women and girls is something that is very close to my heart, and the cause I have spent the majority of my life advocating for because I know that when women are empowered, the entire community flourishes.

‘So to be able to meet all of you today who are standing up for what’s right in the face of adversity, I applaud you. We are encouraged to hear your President take the next steps to work towards preventing gender-based violence through education and necessary changes to reinforce the values of modern South Africa.’ 

The couple arrived in a South Africa still shaken by the rape and murder of a university student, carried out in a post office, that sparked protests by thousands of women tired of abuse and impunity in a country where more than 100 rapes are reported every day. 

While the royal visit wasn’t causing the kind of excitement seen at times in other parts of the Commonwealth, some in South Africa said they were happy to see the arrival of Meghan, who has been vocal about women’s rights. 

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