Buckingham Palace Mum On Prince Harry, Markle Relocating To Africa

The Buckingham Palace has left everyone guessing on the story that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might be heading abroad, with Africa a preferred destination after their baby is born.

According to a  report on The Sunday Times, Harry’s advisers have been working on plans to establish a “bespoke” role for him and his wife abroad that would “combine some work on behalf of the Commonwealth along with charity work and a role promoting Britain.” The news comes as Harry and Meghan are expected to announce the birth of their first child any day now.

“Discussions are at an early stage, but the plan is to find a new way of using their soft power abilities, most likely in Africa,” a source told the outlet.

Buckingham Palace has not denied the report. It said in a statement, “Any future plans for the Duke and Duchess are speculative at this stage. No decisions have been taken about future roles. The Duke will continue to fulfill his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.”

According to the Sunday Times, the plan has been drawn up by Sir David Manning, the former British ambassador to the U.S. and special adviser on constitutional and international affairs to both Harry and brother Prince William, and that Lord Geidt, their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s former private secretary and chairman of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, has also been involved in the discussions.

The newspaper quoted palace insiders as saying that an overseas role for Harry and Meghan would last two or three years and that any decision on where they would go was unlikely to be made until 2020.

The Sunday Times also reported that the Africa proposal was made after other ideas for overseas roles for Harry and Meghan were rejected.

“There have been various ideas floated for them to take on a job abroad, such as governor-general of Australia or Canada, wherever,” the newspaper quoted a close confidant of both Harry and William as saying.