Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to split for royal engagement after exhausting tour
MEGHAN Markle will not be travelling to Zambia with Prince Harry next week when he embarks on an important royal engagement - and it's for an important reason.
Meghan Markle visits Hubb Community Kitchen in 2018
Prince Harry is set to travel to Zambia on Monday for a two day visit next week on the request of the Foreign Office. The prince will be visiting the British High Commission in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, to honour the UK's long-standing relationship with the southern African country. However, Meghan will not be joining Harry for the overseas trip.
It means the newlyweds will miss the anniversary of their engagement announcement, which became public on November 27 last year.
As the Duchess of Sussex has now adjusted into royal life, she has started doing more engagements on her own - as well as skipping on a some events in the past few weeks.
According to a royal expert, Meghan is “pacing” herself during royal engagements, after a whirlwind 16-day tour of Oceania which saw her have to pull out of some events due to tiredness.
Royal expert Richard Fitzswilliams told Express.co.uk: "When Prince Harry goes to Zambia on 26th and 27th November at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, it will mean he will be apart from Meghan on the anniversary of their engagement.
“Though only they and their intimates know the date when he popped the question during that famous chicken dinner.
"His visit follows Charles and Camilla’s recent trip to three African Commonwealth countries.
"Meghan will not be accompanying him as she has recently undertaken an exhaustive four-nation tour of the Pacific and is thought to be between four and five months pregnant.”
Meghan, who is between four to five months pregnant, might also notably skip a couple of engagements in the next few weeks to come, but will try and complete "as many duties" as she can.
Mr Fitzwilliams added: "Prince Harry’s schedule in Zambia consists of a series of events mostly linked to youth, the military and conservation which are among the causes which he has helped the most.
"Meghan will obviously be pacing herself in the months to come but she and Harry have had busy schedules recently and she will undoubtedly do as many duties as she possibly can."
The Duchess of Sussex made a public appearance earlier this week when she visited women from the Hubb Community kitchen, who are survivors of the Grenfell fire.
Meghan Markle attends first Royal Variety with Prince Harry
Meghan dazzled in a £282 burgundy coat and shift dress from Canadian brand Club Monaco, pairing her outfit with black tights and £770 black ankle boots by Givenchy.
The Duchess had previously championed a collaborative cookbook with the women, which has sold more than 40,000 copies across the UK.
The sales have raised more than £210,000, which has gone to renovating the kitchen to keep it running.
The cookbook titled, Together: Our Community Cookbook, features more than 50 recipes from the women volunteers themselves - including African, Asian, European and Middle Eastern dishes.