Meghan's Big Return!

THE ROYAL MOM ENDS HER MATERNITY LEAVE AND HEADS TO SOUTH AFRICA WITH 5-MONTH-OLD ARCHIE AND HUSBAND HARRY

- Erin Hill

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been looking forward to their first tour with baby Archie for months—and when it kicked off in Cape Town on Sept. 23, they made it clear how personal this trip is for both of them. “While I am here with my husband as a member of the royal family, I want you to know that for me I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of color and as your sister,” Meghan said to cheers from the crowd. “I am here with you, and I am here for you.” In his own speech Harry noted that the community’s “strength is in your spirit, which for me means honoring and protecting my wife and being a positive role model for my son.” Visiting a self-defense class run for girls, “Meghan said, ‘I admire you all and your strength,’ ” says Jessica Dewhurst, founder of Justice Desk, which runs outreach programs tackling violence against women and young girls in South Africa. “ ‘If you stay strong and stay true to supporting each other as sisters, you can go and change the world.’”