Meghan Markle prefers ‘good PR’ in Nigeria over risk of being ‘booed’ in England
Meghan Markle prefers travelling to Nigeria where she is likely to have a “good PR” opportunity over visiting England due to the risk of being “booed” by royalists who “don’t really like her very much”, a royal expert has said.
The Duchess of Sussex will not join her husband, Prince Harry, on his trip to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games next week.
The ceremony will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral and last time the couple were there for a service during the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, they were cheered by many royal fans but were also booed by some people.
But just days after Harry travels to England, Meghan will join him on a trip to Nigeria, where they will have talks about the Invictus Games and will be offered security by the Nigerian government.
According to Newsweek royal correspondent Jack Royston, Meghan will have “a very positive welcome” in Nigeria, which she would not have in the UK.
Addressing the incident in which some people booed Harry and Meghan during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Mr Royston told The Royal Report podcast: “The centerpiece of this visit is a service of Thanksgiving for Invictus at St Paul’s Cathedral. Now the last time Meghan went there, Meghan and Harry were booed by royalists. That was during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
“There were cheers as well, but there were certainly boos, and that was during a similar service of Thanksgiving.” Noting that the Duchess might want to avoid a similar incident, Mr Royston said: “By contrast, Meghan will obviously get a very positive welcome in Nigeria.
“So, she may simply be choosing guaranteed good PR over the possibility of another moment of hubris at the hands of monarchists who don’t really like her very much. Meghan has generally been a great supporter of Invictus. She’s continued to attend the tournaments, and also not just the actual games themselves, but the ‘one year to go’ promotional events, too.
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“So, why not this one in Britain, especially since it’s a whole program marking the 10-year anniversary? It’s a long time until it’s going to be the 20-year anniversary. You’d think that she would want to be there.”
Now, an expert said it is “wise” that Meghan will not travel to the UK with Harry. “It’s a wise decision that Meghan isn’t accompanying Harry to the UK for the Invictus Games,” public relations guru Lynn Carratt revealed exclusively to The Mirror. She said: “This event is one of Harry’s greatest accomplishments, that he was already involved in before meeting Meghan.
“If Megan were to return to the UK, the press coverage of the Invictus Games service would likely be overshadowed by her presence, which neither Harry nor Meghan would want.” Lynn then added: “Additionally, there is some hostility towards Meghan in the UK, and it’s understandable that she wouldn’t want to subject herself to negative press or public reception.”
And a royal expert said Meghan would have “terrible memories of the past” if she returned to the UK. According to Charlotte Griffiths, the Mail on Sunday’s Royal Editor, the Duchess will not return to the UK as she “knows she would get a bad reception”.
The expert said it is “sad” that Meghan will not be by her husband’s side, noting Harry will be “so lonely” as he usually attends Invictus events with his wife. Ms Griffiths told GB News: “It’s a really important part of Harry’s soul, and the kind of thing he’d want his wife, maybe even his kids by his side for.
“Meghan is leaving him there alone, and I just think he’s going to cast a really lonely portrait of a man without his friends around him, without his family and without senior members of the Royal Family. And no wife there with him as well.” During a conversation with GB News host Patrick Christys, the royal editor said travelling to the UK would be “really difficult” for Meghan and would bring up “terrible memories” of the past.
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Rwanda refuses to guarantee how many UK migrants it will take
Story by David Wilcock, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline
The Rwandan government today refused to guarantee how many migrants it will take from the UK under Rishi Sunak’s flagship deportation scheme.
The Prime Minister’s plan to deal with asylum seekers arriving in the UK via irregular routes including the English Channel crossing is to place them on a one-way flight to Kigali.
He hopes that the five-year deal will deter other small boats attempting the journey from France and boost Tory poll numbers before the general election later this year.
Yolande Makolo, a spokeswoman for the east African state, told the BBC today that while it expected to receive ‘thousands’ their arrival would be staggered.
Asked by Laura Kuenssberg if Rwanda would be able to process tens of thousands of migrants as part of the deal, Ms Makolo said: ‘We will be able to welcome the migrants that the UK sends over the lifetime of this partnership.
‘What I cannot tell you is how many thousands we are taking in the first year or the second year. This will depend on very many factors that are being worked out right now.’
She had earlier claimed there was a ‘misconception’ that Rwanda was only prepared to take 200 initial migrants, telling the BBC: ‘Journalists have been visiting the initial accommodation that we have secured since the beginning of the partnership. This is Hope Hostel. That particular facility is able to take up to 200 people.
‘However, we have already started initial discussions with other facilities around Kigali and further afield and these will be firmed up and signed once we know how many migrants are coming and when they are coming.
‘So it has never been the case that we can only take 200 initially, that has been a misconception.’
Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour will not keep the Rwanda policy if it wins the next election, but this has prompted questions about what the party would do instead.
Ms Makolo urged critics of the plan not to attack Rwanda ‘unjustly’, and to present a solution to the migrant crisis which was ‘not just deterrence and enforcement’.
‘People are suffering here so we need good solutions and we need to rethink the migration crisis,’ she said.
The spokeswoman later added: ‘Living in Rwanda is not a punishment. It is a beautiful country, including the weather.’
Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said if the party was in power it would spend the cash set aside for the Rwanda scheme on ‘a proper operation to crack down on the criminal gangs’.
A PA news agency fact check found payments to the Rwandan government as part of the deal would add up to £490 million by the end of the 2026/27 financial year, should a milestone of 300 migrants sent to Rwanda be reached.
PA found Labour’s claim that the scheme would cost £2 million per migrant to be mostly true, with the price tag decreasing substantially if many more were deported to Rwanda.
Mr McFadden said Labour believed the Government ‘will get flights off’ but did not believe the scheme would provide ‘value for money for the taxpayer’.
He also said he doubted Labour would work to return migrants to the UK from Rwanda should they form the next government.
The PM hopes that the five-year deal will deter other small boats attempting the journey from Franc e and boost Tory poll numbers before the general election later this year.
The PM hopes that the five-year deal will deter other small boats attempting the journey from Franc e and boost Tory poll numbers before the general election later this year. © Provided by Daily Mail
She had earlier claimed there was a ‘misconception’ that Rwanda was only prepared to take 200 initial migrants, telling the BBC: ‘Journalists have been visiting the initial accommodation that we have secured since the beginning of the partnership. This is Hope Hostel (pictured). That particular facility is able to take up to 200 people.’
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