Following in his mother's footsteps: How Harry is continuing the 'unfinished' ... trends now

Prince Harry's tour of Nigeria with his wife Meghan Markle comes 34 years after Princess Diana visited the country with Prince Charles.

Back then, the Princess of Wales displayed the kindness which she became famous for when she held the hand of a leprosy patient as her husband initially stood by awkwardly.

Today, after his and Meghan's arrival in Abuja, Harry evoked memories of his suffering following his mother's death when he spoke to a group of school children.

The Duke of Sussex, who was 12 when Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, told the pupils there is 'no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day.'

His and Meghan's visit will be seen by the Duke as another effort to continue his mother's 'unfinished' work.

He said in 2022 that he felt 'obligated' to live out her legacy 'as much as possible'.

Charles and Diana's five-day trip to Nigeria came just two years before they separated - and the tensions behind the scenes were etched on their faces. 

The visit was remembered for their largely separate engagements and their few awkward joint appearances.

However, when the then Prince Charles and the Princess of Wales arrived in Lagos on March 15, 1990, thousands of fans welcomed them with cheers and flags.

Diana looked resplendent in a series of dresses by designers Catherine Walker and Paul Costelloe as she characteristically attracted much of the limelight. 

Charles and Diana were deeply moved when they visited patients afflicted with leprosy at a hospital and rehabilitation village in Maiduguri, northern Nigeria in what was one of their few joint engagements in the country. 

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One patient, named Lucky, beamed when the princess held his hand in hers as he lay in his bed.

Diana went on to do the same to several other children, showing the kindness which she had become so famous for.

Charles initially looked more cautious and had his hands clasped behind his back but he eventually followed the lead of his wife by physically reaching out. 

After the trip, Diana was made patron of the Leprosy Mission in Britain. 

In a podcast interview in 2022, Harry told former rugby player Gareth Thomas: 'I think once you get to meet people and you see the suffering around the world, you can't turn, I certainly can't turn, my back on that.

'Then add in the fact that my mum's work was unfinished, I feel obligated to try and continue that as much as possible.'

He added: 'I could never fill her shoes, especially in this particular space because of what she did and what she stood for and how vocal she was about this issue.'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex started their three-day visit today by meeting officials and children at the Wuse Lightway Academy.

The couple flew in just before 5am after secretly meeting at Heathrow Airport's VIP Windsor suite. Meghan had arrived there from Los Angeles.

They then boarded a British Airways overnight flight to Abuja, which was delayed when the scheduled pilot fell ill and had to be replaced. 

The Duke told pupils: 'In some cases around the world, in more than you would believe, there is a stigma when it comes to mental health.

'Too many people don't want to talk about it, because it's invisible - something in your mind that you can't see. It's not like a broken leg, it's not like a broken wrist, it's something we are still relatively unsure of.

'But guess what? Every single person in this room - the youngest, the oldest - every single person has mental health.'

He said that people had to 'look

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