Meghan and Prince Harry beam as they talk to Nigerian charity workers in new Save the Children video from ‘royal’ trip as Prince William takes to social media to mark decade of African elephant conservation

Meghan and Prince Harry met Nigerian charity workers from Save the Children in new footage from their ‘royal’ trip.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were beaming as they were introduced to two youth ambassadors – Maryam, 23, and 19-year-old Purity – in the Nigerian capital of Abuja last week.

The charity workers told Harry and Meghan of work addressing issues such as child marriage, gender-based violence, access to education and healthcare and the plight of internally displaced children.

In a clip shared on the charity’s Instagram today, the Sussexes are seen shaking hands with Save the Children staff before they sit down for a chat with the two young ambassadors.

The event had been one of the highlights of the couple’s officially private tour that they called ‘fantastic’ and said it will be the ‘first of many memorable trips’ – which included a moment where Meghan hailed Nigeria as ‘her country’ after a DNA test suggested she was part-Nigerian.

The new video was posted just hours after Prince William took to social media to mark a decade of African elephant conservation.

In the video Maryam explains some of the issues her country is facing, saying: ‘I started my activism at the age of 14 – the same year that the Chibok girls were abducted. There are so many challenges that children and girls face here in Nigeria.

‘There’s child marriage. We have one of the highest numbers of out of school children. We have one of the highest numbers of children that are not immunised   

Prince Harry praised the charity for putting young people’s voice to the forefront.

He said: ‘This charity recognises the importance of having young people’s voices at the forefront – not just as advocates but also as decision makers.

‘That is absolutely crucial because you know better than anybody else what is going on and what the conversations are that are happening. 

‘But also it is your future,’ Prince Harry added. 

Purity added: ‘We won’t stop. Every one of us has a role to play – via advocacy, our voices, financial support, volunteering. We hope to see a positive change and better future for Nigeria.’  

The Save The Children post was captioned: ‘Thank you Prince Harry and Meghan for joining us in Nigeria to learn more about how we ensure children don’t just survive but thrive. 

‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met our Youth Ambassadors Maryam and Purity, who are tireless advocates for children’s rights and the beating heart of our work. 

‘Children in Nigeria face huge challenges: One in ten dies before they reach the age of five. 

‘Three in ten girls are married before the age of 18. Nigeria also has one of the highest rates of unimmunised children but young people are working hard alongside Save the Children to fight for a better future.

‘We’ve also partnered with GSK to develop new immunisation programmes, as well as a fund to support local organisations and innovators, and child-led advocacy.’

The video was posted just hours after Prince William also took to social media to discuss African affairs, as he congratulated the Elephant Protection Initiative on 10 years of conserving African elephants.

He said: ‘I am delighted to congratulate the Elephant Protection Initiative on the fantastic progress that it has made in its first decade, making a significant contribution to conservation efforts across Africa. 

‘When the EPI was launched in 2014, it was inspiring to see five African leaders come together in response to the challenge of ivory poaching. They decided that enough was enough and that the protection of their elephants was a challenge that they would tackle together.

’10 years on, the EPI’s membership has grown from those initial five countries to 24. And in that time, many of the EPI’s original objectives have been achieved.

‘The international trade on ivory remains under a moratorium with many African countries closing their domestic ivory markets alongside Canada, China, the EU, the UK, Singapore and New Zealand. 

‘African countries have taken significant measures to security and management of ivory and some cases destroyed their stockpiles.

‘While there are no grounds for complacency, poaching continues in some areas and the demand for ivory still exists but there is no doubt that we are in a better place than a decade ago.’