‘Nigeria welcomes our beloved daughter!’ ‘Excited’ well-wishers say they ‘can’t wait’ for Harry and Meghan to arrive in African nation after duchess said she was ‘43% Nigerian’ in genealogy test

Nigerians are ‘excited’ to welcome their ‘daughter’ Meghan Markle for a royal visit with her husband next month after Prince Harry attends an event in London.

Social media users with links to the country said they were ‘overwhelmed with joy’ and promised a ‘celebration’ to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It comes after Meghan revealed in 2022 that she found out she was ’43 per cent Nigerian’ following genealogy research carried out ‘a couple of years’ prior.

The couple will head to Nigeria after being invited by the African country’s chief of defence staff, who met Harry last September at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf.

Daniel Egwu, who lives in Enugu in Nigeria, tweeted: ‘I’m excited about this news! Our beloved sister, Meghan and our brother-in-law, Harry are welcome to Nigeria!’

Meghan signs the Nigeria flag at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf on September 13 last year
Another X user wrote: ‘Harry and Meghan are coming to Nigeria in May! We cannot wait to welcome them! And our good sis is coming home for the first time. We have been waiting since she discovered she’s a daughter of the soil.’

And a third said: ‘Meghan is coming to Nigeria with Prince Harry? Our 43 per cent Nigerian sister? Ah! It’s about to be a celebration! We are about to show off!’

Harry will first attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on May 8, with Meghan not set to join him in Britain.

But the couple will then travel to Nigeria where they are expected to meet service members and their families, and participate in traditional cultural activities.

The Invictus Games was founded as a sporting event for injured and sick military personnel and veterans. Other details about the visit are not yet known.

Meghan’s Nigerian heritage was referenced by Harry at the opening ceremony of the Dusseldorf Invictus Games last September, after Nigeria joined Colombia and Israel in sending their first-ever delegation to the event.

‘We’re really excited to have new nations join us. Let’s hear it for Colombia, Israel and Nigeria,’ Harry told the crowd at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.

‘Now, I’m not saying we play favourites in our home, but since my wife discovered she is of Nigerian descent, it’s likely to get a little bit more competitive this year!’

Also during the event, Meghan was seen hugging a competitor and describing her as ‘my Nigerian sister’, before being introduced to further members of the team and the defence chief, who gave her a nickname – Amira Ngozi Lolo.

Amira is a warrior princess from a legend, Ngozi means ‘blessed’ and Lolo is ‘royal wife’. She was told she could use the name whenever she visits the country.

Meghan and Harry were also serenaded in a group huddle, as one Nigerian led them in a chant of ‘Gbosas’, which roughly translates as ‘kudos’.

Derek Cobbinah, who helped co-ordinate Nigeria’s debut in the 2023 competition, told Hello! magazine at the time that Meghan was ‘deeply touched’ by the nickname and that she was hoping to organise a family trip to the country.

‘She said she couldn’t wait to visit Nigeria for her mum and the kids,’ he revealed. ‘She’s always welcome to visit Nigeria and other African countries.’

The revelation of Meghan’s Nigerian heritage came on an episode of her Archetypes podcast in 2022 after she did a genealogy test ‘a couple years ago’.

She vowed to ‘start to dig deeper into all this’ during her discussion with comedians Issa Rae and Ziwe Fumudoh.

During an episode focused on the ‘angry black woman’ trope, Meghan said: ‘I just had my genealogy done a couple years ago.’ Ziwe responded: ‘What? What are you?’

The family tree of Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland which goes back to 1830 in Georgia, USA
Family tree for Meghan’s estranged father Thomas Markle which goes back to 1732 in the US
And the Duchess replied: ‘Forty-three percent Nigerian. I’m going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I’ve told, especially Nigerian women, are like ‘What!”

No further information has been given about how Meghan is linked to Nigeria through her ancestry, although her fascinating family history has previously been reported.

In 2017, the Daily Mail worked with experts who revealed her African-American slave ancestry, and those on her father’s side who emigrated from England and Ireland.

Meghan’s earliest known ancestor on her mother Doria Ragland’s side is Richard Ragland, a slave born in 1830 in Jonesboro, Georgia – with records currently going back no further than that.

There is also no one known on her estranged father Thomas Markle’s side with any links to Nigeria.

In Nigeria in recent days, local newspapers have reported that the country’s Defence Headquarters were ‘honoured’ and ‘delighted’ after Harry and Meghan had accepted the invitation to visit.

It will be their first visit to Nigeria as a couple.

Harry is to return to the UK for the first time since his visit to see the King after his cancer diagnosis in February.

Meghan holds a Nigeria flag at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf on September 13 last year
Meghan greets Glory Essien, competing for Nigeria at the Games in Dusseldorf last year
The Duke is expected to give a reading at a service of thanksgiving marking a decade since the inaugural Invictus Games London in 2014.

The service is scheduled two days after Harry’s son Archie celebrates his fifth birthday. Actor Damian Lewis is set to recite the Invictus poem during the service.

Representatives from Invictus Games participating nations, including members of the wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veteran community, will also be in attendance.

Harry and Meghan moved to the US in 2020 after stepping down from royal duties.