Prince Harry, Meghan looking forward to Fiji, High Commissioner says
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to experiencing Fiji’s rich culture and hospitality during their three-day visit this month. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle will be in the country from October 23 to 25 on a 16-day tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
British High Commissioner to Fiji Melanie Hopkins said the royal couple will undertake the official visit to the country at the invitation of the President MajorGeneral (Ret’d) Jioji Konrote and request of the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
“They have wanted to come to Fiji for quite some time now. It is the first major tour for the royal highnesses as a married couple and we are delighted that Fiji is included in that,” Ms Hopkins said.
“The tour throughout will focus on commonwealth themes particularly youth leadership and environmental challenges and of course the Duke of Sussex is particularly interested in the youth side given his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.” She said Prince Harry served alongside Fijians in the British Army during his tours in Afghanistan.
“Across all four countries the royal couple are really looking forward to building an enduring relationship with the people of each country particularly young people and it is a moment of celebrating the friendships and the deep ties that bind the British and Fijian people,” she said. University of the South Pacific visit During the tour the royal couple will meet USP students from across the Pacific region.
The visit will be in conjunction with the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations. USP was founded by Royal Charter and is amongst the very few universities in the world that are founded by the formal document issued by a monarch.
Ms Hopkins said she was informed by the USP Vice Chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra that the royal charter was hand delivered to USP by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.