Harry and Meghan jet off tomorrow to ‘babymoon’ in Morocco, Northern Africa, for three days.
The royal couple will take the prenatal trip from Saturday 23 February to Monday 25 February.
The Duchess of Sussex, a retired American actress who became a member of the British royal family upon her marriage to Prince Harry, is pregnant with the couple’s first child, due in late April.
It’s their second trip to Africa together, having visited Botswana on their first trip as a couple. Unlike land-locked Botswana, Morocco borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and is a country of more than 32 million people, with Berber, Arabian and European cultural influences.
Officially, the Moroccan trip is at the request of Her Majesty’s Government (Her Majesty being Harry’s grandma, of course!). Prince Harry and Los Angeles-born Meghan will meet with Moroccan officials in order to build on the relationship between Morocco and the United Kingdom. The focus of this official tour is understood to be the role of girls’ education and youth empowerment in shaping the future of Morocco. Go Meghan!
But what IS a babymoon?
A babymoon is a holiday taken by a pregnant woman (traditionally, with her partner or spouse), and usually in the second trimester of the pregnancy. Considered a ‘last hurrah’ before a child comes along, it is most often taken in a relaxing destination however, it doesn’t have to be somewhere as exotic as Africa – it could simply be in one’s own home (a ‘staycation’, in mod parlance).
We pondered what the Royals will be doing in Morocco, outside of those official engagements, and came up with a Top Five Moroccan Babymoon Activities for Meghan Markle:
- Drink mint tea: taking a babymoon in a predominately Muslim country (Muslim 98.5%, Christian 1.3%, Jewish 0.2%) is super smart because, here, Meghan won’t be the only one in the resort who’s on a teetotal program. She will most certainly imbibe Maghrebi mint tea, aka Moroccan mint tea: green tea prepared with spearmint leaves and sugar.
- Visit a hammam: a Moroccan hammam spa is a public bath house; literally a watering hole where women (or men, depending on the hour) gather to wash and gossip. Cameras certainly won’t capture these moments but wouldn’t it be a culturally-enriching experience for Meghan to have a quick steam and light massage, in the local tradition?
- Stroll through Chefchaouen: this sleepy town, situated in Morocco’s Rif Mountains, is known for its buildings painted in 100 shades of blue, craft markets, guesthouses, and street-side cafés. We predict Meghan’s stylists will deck her out in complementary blue or contrasting red for this regal wander, surrounded by her security detail.
- Haggle in a Marrakech souk: Meghan will most likely come home with a miniature version of traditional Moroccan clothing, such as a pair of baby babouches (flat, heelless slippers with pointy toes), bought from a market – known here as a souk, at a good price! We don’t know if she’s having a girl or boy yet. At least the shoes will be unisex!
- Visit local children: in Marrakech there’s an orphanage called Enfance Espoir Morocco which encourages people to visit and assist with daily tasks, including nursing babies. We envisage pictures of Meghan donating a suitcase filled with baby clothes from the UK, and being dewy-eyed, holding a precious, Moroccan orphan? Just lovely.
Bon voyage, Harry and Meghan!
Photos: Instagram
