HARRY AND MEGHAN VISIT NIGERIA

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reunite following Harry's trip to the UK as they receive a warm welcome from crowds in Nigeria

-  REBECCA RUSSELL

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex looked the picture of happiness last week in Nigeria, smiling and posing for photos on their whistlestop 72-hour visit to the country.

What a contrast to earlier in the week when Prince Harry, 39, cut a lonely figure on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral as he arrived back in the UK to attend the 10-year anniversary service of the Invictus Games.

Despite reports that a meeting between King Charles and his youngest son would be on the cards, it was instead his late mother’s side of the family – her brother Charles, Earl Spencer, 59, and one of her sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes, 67 – who threw their arms around Harry in a show of support.

And is it any wonder? The memory of Diana, Princess of Wales and her guiding influence, is clearly never far from his thoughts, as he showed in his heartfelt speech at the Lightway Academy in Abuja, Nigeria, where he spoke about “acknowledging bad days, grief and sadness”.

Harry told a group of schoolchildren, “There is no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day. OK? If you woke up this morning feeling sad, if you left school feeling stressed, if you’ve lost a loved one in your family who you usually turn to or speak to, all of these things you may be led to believe are not for conversation. We are here today to tell you that that is not the case.”