Meghan Markle's new 'title' divides fans as she breaks silence on Nigeria honour

Meghan Markle has broken her silence after she was given an honour by the Yoruba King, Oluwo of Iwo, on a visit to Nigeria - and royal fans are divided.

By Ewan Gleadow, Social Hub Reporter

13:02, Tue, Jun 4, 2024 | UPDATED: 13:42, Tue, Jun 4, 2024

NIGERIA-BRITAIN-ROYALS-INVICTUS-GAMES

Meghan and husband Prince Harry (not pictured) visited Nigeria last month (Image: Getty)

Meghan Markle has broken her silence after she was honoured with a new 'title' – leaving royal fans divided.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, made a visit to Nigeria last month with husband Prince Harry where she was bestowed with a traditional a Yoruba name, "Adetokunbo," by Yoruba King,Oluwo of Iwo.

Meghan has now vowed to "treasure" the name – which means 'the crown returns from over the sea' – and said she regards Nigeria as her "home" in a letter. She said: "Thank you for your warm welcome to Nigeria. I am deeply humbled by your blessing of the traditional Yoruba name, Adetokunbo.

"I treasure the name and appreciate your trust in me to carry it with grace and dignity."

Speaking about the visit, she added: "Our visit to Nigeria was important to many reasons, not least because it gave us an opportunity to explore and understand my heritage, which extends to our children. We look forward to coming back home one day soon."

Meghan Markle

ABUJA, NIREGIA - MAY 11: Britain's Prince Harry (not seen), Duke of Sussex, and Britain's Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex, attend an exhibition sitting volleyball match at Nigeria Unconquered, a community-based charitable organization dedicated to aiding wounded, injured, or sick servicemembers, as part of celebrations of Invictus Games anniversary in Abuja, Nigeria on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Emmanuel Osodi/Anadolu via Getty Images) (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Royal fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to share their opinion of Meghan's response – and reaction has been mixed. One person commented: "It's cool that Meghan's embracing her Nigerian heritage.

"Representation matters, and it's nice to see someone in the spotlight acknowledging."

However, not everyone was convinced. A more sceptical social media user commented: "Embracing? Nah. Just attempting to be relevant."

Some critics even labelled Meghan's adoption of the new title "pretentious and fake" Meanwhile, others defended her, noting the title is not an official Royal designation but a traditional Yoruba name.

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Meghan and Harry's recent trip to Nigeria to promote the Invictus Games was dubbed an 'unofficial royal tour' before the couple set off. It came after Meghan's discovery she is 43% Nigerian. The former actress described the revelation as 'humbling'.

She said: "It's been eye-opening to be able to know more about my heritage.

"Never in a million years would I understand it as much as I do now. And what has been echoed so much in the past day is, 'Oh, we are not so surprised when we found out you are Nigerian.'"