Newsweek royal correspondent Jack Royston said Meghan Markle will have ‘a very positive welcome’ in Nigeria, but it would be a completely different story if she came to the UK

Meghan Markle prefers travelling to Nigeria where she is likely to have a “good PR” opportunity over visiting England due to the risk of being “booed” by royalists who “don’t really like her very much”, a royal expert has said.

The Duchess of Sussex will not join her husband, Prince Harry, on his trip to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games next week. The ceremony will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral and last time the couple were there for a service during the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, they were cheered by many royal fans but were also booed by some people.

But just days after Harry travels to England, Meghan will join him on a trip to Nigeria, where they will have talks about the Invictus Games and will be offered security by the Nigerian government. According to Newsweek royal correspondent Jack Royston, Meghan will have “a very positive welcome” in Nigeria, which she would not have in the UK.

Meghan Markle at the London Global Gift Gala at ME Hotel in November 2013 ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

Meghan will travel to Nigeria with Harry ( 
Image:
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Addressing the incident in which some people booed Harry and Meghan during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Mr Royston told The Royal Report podcast: “The centerpiece of this visit is a service of Thanksgiving for Invictus at St Paul’s Cathedral. Now the last time Meghan went there, Meghan and Harry were booed by royalists. That was during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

“There were cheers as well, but there were certainly boos, and that was during a similar service of Thanksgiving.” Noting that the Duchess might want to avoid a similar incident, Mr Royston said: “By contrast, Meghan will obviously get a very positive welcome in Nigeria.

“So, she may simply be choosing guaranteed good PR over the possibility of another moment of hubris at the hands of monarchists who don’t really like her very much. Meghan has generally been a great supporter of Invictus. She’s continued to attend the tournaments, and also not just the actual games themselves, but the ‘one year to go’ promotional events, too.

“So, why not this one in Britain, especially since it’s a whole program marking the 10-year anniversary? It’s a long time until it’s going to be the 20-year anniversary. You’d think that she would want to be there.”

Now, an expert said it is “wise” that Meghan will not travel to the UK with Harry. “It’s a wise decision that Meghan isn’t accompanying Harry to the UK for the Invictus Games,” public relations guru Lynn Carratt revealed exclusively to The Mirror. She said: “This event is one of Harry’s greatest accomplishments, that he was already involved in before meeting Meghan.

“If Megan were to return to the UK, the press coverage of the Invictus Games service would likely be overshadowed by her presence, which neither Harry nor Meghan would want.” Lynn then added: “Additionally, there is some hostility towards Meghan in the UK, and it’s understandable that she wouldn’t want to subject herself to negative press or public reception.”

Harry and Meghan greet children during their visit to the Albert Park Primary School in Melbourne, Australia, in October 2018 ( 
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DAVID CROSLING/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)And a royal expert said Meghan would have “terrible memories of the past” if she returned to the UK. According to Charlotte Griffiths, the Mail on Sunday’s Royal Editor, the Duchess will not return to the UK as she “knows she would get a bad reception”.

The expert said it is “sad” that Meghan will not be by her husband’s side, noting Harry will be “so lonely” as he usually attends Invictus events with his wife. Ms Griffiths told GB News: “It’s a really important part of Harry’s soul, and the kind of thing he’d want his wife, maybe even his kids by his side for.

“Meghan is leaving him there alone, and I just think he’s going to cast a really lonely portrait of a man without his friends around him, without his family and without senior members of the Royal Family. And no wife there with him as well.” During a conversation with GB News host Patrick Christys, the royal editor said travelling to the UK would be “really difficult” for Meghan and would bring up “terrible memories” of the past.

According to Daily Mail sources, Meghan Markle filmed a cooking show at one of California’s largest cannabis farms. However, insiders confirmed to Page Six that is not the case.

Meghan Markle is on a journey to become Hollywood’s new lifestyle queen, with the American Riviera Orchard brand. The latest move to achieve that ambition is to film a cooking show for Netflix.

On May 1, Daily Mail sources said that the Duchess of Sussex and a crew of about 50 people were filming for the show.

Meghan Markle is filming a cooking show on Netflix. Photo: Getty Images.

According to sources, so far, Meghan has avoided filming at the $14 million villa in Montecito (California, USA) where she and her husband and children live. Instead, she borrowed a smaller house but still about 418 square meters, about 3.2 km from home, to use as her first filming location. The owners of the $5 million house are philanthropic couple Tom and Sherrie Cipolla. The second filming location is Farmlane – the Van Wingerden family’s cannabis farm in the coastal town of Carpinteria (California).

Van Wingerdens is known as the largest legal cannabis supplier in the area. Farmlane owners David and Cindy Van Wingerden turned the flower farm into a cannabis mecca in 2015.

In California, the production and distribution of marijuana is legal. However, the activities of the Van Wingerden family and other cannabis farms caused discontent among people in the surrounding area because they created a foul smell that polluted the air.

According to the Daily Mail , Carpinteria residents filed 2,340 odor complaints between mid-2018 and 2022. In September 2023, households in the area filed a class-action lawsuit against two marijuana farms (no relation to Van Wingerden’s business), with claims the value of their property was severely damaged by a sewer-like odor.

The lawsuit states that residents have to endure the strong smell of marijuana almost every day. Their house and clothes were seriously stained. Some people also experience breathing problems, headaches and nausea.

While Daily Mail asked how Meghan would deal with the stench when choosing a cannabis farm as a place to cook, Page Six ‘s own source denied the information.

Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the show was not filmed in or near any marijuana farms. This person added that the filming sessions were taking place at a private home and any other names given were false.

Daily Mail reported that Meghan will film at the cannabis farm. Photo: Farmlane.

Meghan’s representative has not responded to the above news. However, it made her once again become a topic of discussion in the online community.