Harry and Meghan's royal tour in all but name: Experts say Sussexes want their ... trends now
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been accused of wanting their own 'rival royal roadshow' as they embark on their first non-official royal tour of Nigeria, with royal experts claiming the couple are trying to 'have their cake and eat it'.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to travel to the African country in May after being invited by its chief of defence staff to take part in 'cultural activities' and meet service members on an unofficial visit.
One royal commentator accused the couple of 'playing the "Royal Card"' as their 'income lifeline' while another said it was 'ironic' the couple are happy to visit Commonwealth countries but not as official royal ambassadors.
Yesterday, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau expressed 'honour and delight' that the couple had accepted the invitation to visit the country, after meeting Harry at last year's Invictus Games.
Their tour of Nigeria will take place just days after the Prince is set to fly to the UK to mark the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games at a service at St Paul's Cathedral. No senior members of the royal family are expected to attend.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (pictured on April 12 in Florida) have been accused of wanting their own 'rival royal roadshow' as they embark on their first non-official royal tour of Nigeria
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured in South Africa in 2019) are set to travel to the African country in May after being invited by its chief of defence staff
Harry and Meghan's acceptance of the invitation - their first visit to Nigeria as a couple - is said to have left the country's defence headquarters feeling 'honoured' and 'delighted' (Harry and Meghan pictured at the Invictus Games as they attend the Ukraine v Nigeria volleyball match)
Harry will then jet off to the Commonwealth country to meet his wife who is also not believed to be travelling alongside him to the UK, in what will be his first visit since Kate's shock cancer diagnosis.
Following the announcement of the trip, royal experts were quick to point out that the couple's visit will be a royal tour in all but name - and could even confusion and threaten diplomatic relationships.
Royal biographer Tom Bower told MailOnline: 'Playing the "Royal Card" has become Meghan's and Harry's income lifeline. Once again, the 'privacy-seeking' couple are exploiting the family they have outrageously denounced to pump up their publicity.
'Undoubtedly, the trip will be financed by the Nigerian government. Their motives, as members of the Commonwealth, remain obscure.'
Meanwhile royal author Phil Dampier suggested there was an irony to the visit, as Harry and Meghan have previously been critical of the Commonwealth, with the Duchess admitting she 'did not know' about it until after she joined the firm.
Royal author Phil Dampier said: 'It's ironic that the late Queen wanted Harry and Meghan to very much be her ambassadors throughout the Commonwealth and spread goodwill among its fifty or so nations, but they didn't want to do it as royals.
'Now they are happy to pick and choose invitations they receive from these countries. They did so in Jamaica and now plan to travel to Nigeria, a country his mother Diana toured with the King in the early 1990s.
The Sussexes will make their first visit as a couple to Nigeria after being invited by the country's chief of defence staff (Pictured: Harry and Meghan at day four of Invictus Games 2023 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany)
The Duke of Sussex and Michael Buble curling at the final day of the One Year to Go Event before the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 on February 16 2024
Prince Harry will fly to Britain in just over a week's time for the Invictus Games' 10th anniversary where he will give a reading at St Paul's Cathedral - but there is no mention of Meghan being in attendance
'They are in effect trying to set up a rival court, their own royal roadshow, and I think people can see through it.
'They heavily criticised the monarchy and the Commonwealth in their Netflix shows and Harry's book Spare, yet they are happy to be invited simply because of their royal connections.'
Mr Dampier said that unofficial visits conducted by the pair could 'blunder into a diplomatic incident' if they couple 'say or do the wrong thing'.
He added: 'It's all trying to have your cake and eat it, do commercial deals where it suits, but do some quasi-official duties to make out you are still important on the world stage.
'Some will say they have every right to do this but
