Prince Edward has landed in Nigeria for an overseas tour lasting over a week, it has been revealed by Buckingham Palace. The Duke of Edinburgh, 61, will carry out his overseas trip until November 26, and will visit both Nigeria and Ghana.
The King’s youngest brother will carry out engagements that will celebrate the relationship between the UK and both of these Commonwealth countries. He will especially focus on the positive impact that sport can have on young people. Buckingham Palace confirmed that the tour started yesterday.
In Abuja, Nigeria, the Palace said that the Duke will meet with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, before traveling to Lagos to join The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Gold Event and Forum.
This event is hosted by The International Award for Young People Nigeria (IAYPN), and will see Prince Edward make an address at the Forum. The prince will then visit a girls’ secondary school in Lagos to hear about their experiences of participating in The Duke of Edinburgh Award, founded by Edward’s father the late Prince Philip.
After carrying out engagements in Nigeria – a country the prince last visited in 2020 – Edward will then travel to Ghana where he will visit the Aburi Education College and Kindergarten Schools.
At the schools, the prince will watch trainee teachers learning play-based method before engaging with a Kindergarten class during a lesson. The prince will then hear about the school’s innovations.
After this, Edward will visit the Aburi Botanical Gardens where will be given an overview of the gardens and hear all about UK-Ghana collaboration on initiatives that support sustainable development – something various royals feel passionate about.
On this visit, Edward – who is not being accompanied by his wife Duchess Sophie on the trip – will plant a tree near to a Silver Oak that was planted by His Majesty The King, when he was The Prince of Wales, and a Mahogony tree which had been planted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1961.
The duke will then move on to an engagement at the Affinity Bank Training Centre where he will meet young entrepreneurs involved in the Commonwealth Start-Up Fellowship (CSF). Later, that same day, Prince Edward will attend a special event hosted by the British High Commission where he will watch a performance of Kofi Adinkra’s ‘The Black Star (The Teacher of Africa)’ and join a discussion on UK-Ghana collaboration in the theatre industry.
Buckingham Palace have also confirmed that the King’s brother on this trip will visit the resting place of Kwame Nkrumah, the first Prime Minister and former President, and lay a wreath at the tombs of Dr Nkrumah and his wife, Fathia Nkrumah, at the Kwame Nkrumah National Museum.
At Jubilee House, Edward will meet The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Mr John Dramani Mahama and traditional leaders, where he will engage in conversations aimed at creating deeper diplomatic and cultural ties.
Prince Edward will also, on this royal tour, visit Ghanaian players from the Women’s Basketball team at a practice game ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
During this engagement, he will also meet retired professional Boxer Mr Azumah ‘Zoom Zoom’ Nelson and the Boxing Team at a Boxing session at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Edward, a big believer in the positive impact sport can bring, will also watch a bowls game and meet the Bowls and parabowls teams – a visit that follows the official launch of the Ghana Bowls Federation earlier this year.
Before flying home, Edward – who last visited Ghana in 2018 – will meet invited guests at His Majesty The King’s Birthday Reception, where he will cut the cake at the annual event.
Prince Edward’s tour comes just days before his wife Duchess Sophie finishes her solo trip to Peru, Panama and Guatemala on November 19.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
