Prince Harry Heads Back to Botswana Without Wife Meghan Markle

Duke of Sussex has jetted off to his "second home" for a working trip as a patron

By Samantha Schnurr Aug 10, 2018 9:29 PMTags
Prince Harry, BotswanaRhino Conservation Botswana

Two years after he first met Meghan Markle and shortly after jetted off with her to Botswana, Prince Harry has returned to their special place solo. 

As a Kensington Palace spokesperson confirmed to E! News, the Duke of Sussex is "on a private working trip to Botswana to join the Annual General Meeting for Rhino Conservation Botswana in his capacity as Patron. He attended the Board meeting in Maun and an RCB community project in Xarakao village."

According to the press association, the Duchess of Sussex did not join him on the trip. 

While it sounds like this trip is strictly for business, Botswana has also been a notable spot personally for the royal couple, who wed back in May.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding Day Photos
Joe Giddens/PA Wire

As the story goes, shortly after their second date, Harry invited his future wife on a trip to Botswana in July 2016. Nearly a year to the day later, they returned in August 2017, only by that time, their relationship was very much known to the press and public. The two celebrated Markle's 36th birthday there—her last before she became a bride and official member of the royal family. 

Just months after meeting Harry's close pals and further getting to know his "second home" in an adventurous and at times romantic fashion, the two got engaged in November 2017 (Harry proposed with a ring featuring a center stone from Botswana) and tied the knot in the spring. 

The new duchess recently rang in her 37th birthday in Surrey, England, where she and her British beau attended Harry's longtime friend Charlie van Straubenzee's wedding. 

This is hardly the first time the newly married man has made the trip without Markle. In January, he headed to Botswana for RCB, where he helped raise awareness of the plight of Africa's black and white rhinos and worked to inspire positive action. He returned to Africa a month after their nuptials for further charity work for his own organization, Sentebale, in Lesotho and also for Africa Parks, a conservation charity he advocates for in Botswana. 

"I've been lucky enough to visit Botswana for more than 20 years and am incredibly fortunate to be able to call it my second home," Prince Harry previously said. "Being Patron of RCB is an opportunity to give something back to a country that has given so much to me. It's about time we start celebrating and supporting the countries that are taking the lead in conservation."