He’s not even a month old yet, but Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor’s first intercontinental trip is reportedly already in the planning stages, according to multiple royal reporters.
Prior to the birth of the royal progeny fondly known as “Baby Sussex,” CNN, among others, reported that Buckingham Palace was considering temporarily relocating the Sussex family to Africa, partly in hopes of diffusing the ceaseless media frenzy around them. Those reports remain unconfirmed, but as royal watchers waited for Meghan Markle to give birth, the Sunday Times reported that “the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are already planning their first overseas trip with their child: an official tour of Africa in the autumn,” meaning baby Archie “would become one of the youngest royals to go on an official tour.”
Despite a report from Us Weekly indicating Archie’s first trip might be to mom Meghan’s native Los Angeles, British gossip columnist Richard Eden doubled down om the South Africa rumors. Eden reported late last week via the Daily Mail that a source shared that “people have been informed that the Duke and Duchess will be coming” and “early preparations have begun.”
While a royal tour is no confirmation of a relocation, the Sussexes have made no secret of their affinity for southern Africa. At 18, Prince Harry took a gap year in Lesotho, where he co-founded children’s HIV/AIDS charity Sentebale; more recently, in lieu of baby gifts, the couple included South African organization The Lunchbox Fund among four beneficiary charities. And prior to their marriage, they famously traveled to Botswana for Meghan’s 36th birthday, a country with special significance to Harry, as he shared in an earlier interview (h/t E! News).
“I first came [to Botswana] in 1997, straight after my mum died. My dad told my brother and me we were going to Africa to get away from it all,” he said. “This is where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world. I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here.”
Given the intense attention upon his growing family, undoubtedly, the experience of relaxation and normality is one Harry is eager to share with his firstborn son—though it’ll likely be a few years yet before Archie is truly able to appreciate it.