Harry, Meghan and Archie on S. Africa trip

Baby Archie will accompany Harry and Meghan on their trip to South Africa later this year, which they described as "their first official tour as a family".

A file image of the Sussexes and baby Archie

Baby Archie will be five months old when he joins his parents on their trip to South Africa. (AAP)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit South Africa later this year and baby Archie will be joining them, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

Harry and Meghan will visit the country in the northern 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.

The Instagram posting said: "The duke and duchess are really looking forward to meeting so many of you on the ground and continuing to raise awareness of the high impact work local communities are doing across the commonwealth and beyond.

"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.

Botswana is a place Harry loves and knows well, and he reportedly whisked his wife to the southern African country in 2017 to mark her 36th birthday - a year after their love blossomed in the nation during a brief visit soon after they met on a blind date.

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.

Harry last week gave his backing to a STG47 million ($A85 million) landmine clearing initiative to help rid Angola of the deadly ordinance and he co-hosted a fundraising event for a National Geographic documentary highlighting the vulnerability of Botswana's Okavango Delta and its source rivers in Angola.

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.


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Published 28 June 2019 3:36am
Source: AAP


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