Prince Harry and Meghan kick off surprise ‘royal tour’ to meet Gaza refugees

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have started a two-day international trip to focus on their charitable endeavours, while the Royal Family continue with the fallout of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have kicked off a pseudo royal tour in Jordan, while in Harry’s home country, the Royal Family continue to grapple with the fallout of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last week.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex started their whirlwind trip by sitting down with key figures working to support the humanitarian needs of refugees in the country. Meghan and Harry joined a roundtable discussion hosted by the World Health Organisation with individuals from major leading bodies like the United Nations. The couple travelled to Jordan at the invitation of the WHO’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

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While their trip is not an official royal visit, given that the Sussexes took a step back from their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to America, they will spend their trip engaging with various charities and philanthropic efforts in the region. Their trip to Jordan comes just weeks after Prince William made his own official visit to the Middle East, spending three days in Saudi Arabia.

In early February, William and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had a private dinner where royal aides said they had a “warm conversation” which was “far ranging and touched upon many elements of the bilateral Saudi UK relationship”, flexing William’s unofficial position as global statesman on Middle East conflict.

Harry’s estranged brother and sister-in-law Princess Kate already have close ties with Jordan, and were surprise guests at the royal wedding of its Crown Prince in 2023. Kate’s family lived in Amman for a period in the mid-1980s when she was young, and the royal couple enjoyed a holiday in the Middle East country with their children in 2021.

During their two-day visit, Harry and Meghan will meet Jordanian leaders and senior health officials, engage with WHO teams, visit frontline health and mental health programmes and meet World Central Kitchen staff co-ordinating food relief for Gaza from the capital city of Jordan, Amman. They will not meet with the Jordanian royal family on their visit.

The Duke and Duchess will also visit Questscope at the Za’atari Refugee Camp, home to displaced Syrians, with the aim to further highlight the importance of mental health services, physical rehabilitation, and community-based support for individuals and families affected by war, displacement, and serious illness.

Around the table for the WHO meeting sat senior figures from UN agencies like UNRWA, UNHCR, World Food Programme, Unicef and diplomatic attendees from countries like the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Canada and the EU.

Philip Hall, British Ambassador to Jordan, thanked the Sussexes for travelling to the Middle East, saying: “So I would simply say thank you very much indeed for coming. Your visit, your support, your appreciation of the efforts that the United Nations, including of course, the World Health Organisation, the government of Jordan and others, are making here is enormously appreciated. So thank you for coming.”

After the roundtable, the Duke and Duchess watched a music class at the QuestScope youth centre at Za’atari refugee camp near Mafraq, and took part in a football kickabout were Meghan accepted a gift from a young girl. The Duchess of Sussex was left with bragging rights when she scored a penalty and her husband’s shot was saved when they joined Syrian children at a refugee camp.

Body language expert Judi James has weighed in on the couple’s quasi-royal tour, explaining how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seem more at ease with a non-official tour as opposed to the work of a senior royal. Judi told the Mirror: “There’s some subtle and some not-so-subtle changes in the non-verbal messaging from Harry and Meghan during this ‘not royal’ but very ‘royal-ish’ trip to Jordan.

“Their emphatically casual attire is, as far as Meghan is concerned, seemingly more statement dressing than practical. Those baggy trousers aren’t ideal for a game of kick-about but the look works as part of what seems to be shown as a low-status and less formal or regal appearance.

“They were a little smarter for their arrival, but their poses look aimed at a humbler and more down-to-earth look. With their torsos bend slightly forward they have each placed an arm around the other’s back in truncated steering rituals in what looks like a silent competition to usher they other in first, rather than any ‘me first’ power-struggling.”

Judi continued: “Their casual ‘on-site’ posing and dressing makes them look immersive and approachable here and their mirrored rituals express intense listening and concern, with Harry even raising one hand up to his face to stroke his beard. There is a bout of very engaged-looking clapping from Meghan, while Harry places his hands in a steeple gesture up in front of his mouth to suggest he is sweetly overwhelmed by whoever was performing. At the more formal meeting table Harry’s serious and unsmiling facial expression registers concern while a more poised-looking Meghan throws a warm beam of active encouragement and agreement at her husband.

The body language expert concluded that Harry and Meghan seem in their element with the more laid-back overseas engagement, as she said: “So far this looks like an important expression of pared-back-to-basics ‘royalty’ from the couple in the face of the stubborn storm clouds hovering in the UK. It seems to suggest a disconnect from a couple happier to be seen play kick-about in crumpled casuals right now than anything more formal or high-status.”

A major element of Harry and Meghan’s trip will focus on efforts to support vulnerable communities affected by conflict and displacement, as they will also visit initiatives they have helped fund to medically evacuate children from the war in Gaza to the Middle East nation.

Jordan has received wave after wave of refugees beginning with Palestinians more than 80 years ago, who now number around 2.5 million people, and Syrians who fled conflict in their country until recently ruled by President Bashar al-Assad.

The visit builds on a long-standing partnership with the WHO and follows a joint engagement in London last September, where Dr Tedros and The Duke of Sussex highlighted pioneering research at Imperial College London’s Centre for Blast Injury Studies.

A Sussex official has confirmed that Buckingham Palace was notified in advance of their two-day trip to Jordan. Asked whether the Palace was informed of their humanitarian trip, they said: “Our work programmes are separate and independently organised, but as a matter of curtesy, yes, they have been informed.” Harry and Meghan’s pseudo royal tour comes just days after Harry’s uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested at his temporary home of Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate.

Andrew was arrested on Thursday morning, spending 11 hours in custody in a Norfolk police station on his 66th birthday. The former prince was released that evening, with Thames Valley Police confirming he is now under investigation on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after allegations he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.

On Tuesday evening, Thames Valley Police further confirmed that police searches at Royal Lodge, which had been underway since Andrew’s arrest, have come to an end. Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Officers have now left the location we have been searching in Berkshire. This concludes the search activity that commenced following our arrest of a man in his sixties from Norfolk on Thursday.

“We understand the significant public interest in this case and our investigation remains ongoing. It is important that our investigators are given the time and space to progress their work. We will provide updates when it is appropriate to do so, but this is unlikely to be for some time.” Andrew had vehemently denied any wrongdoing.