The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have begun a two-day visit to Jordan, marking their first international trip together in 18 months and placing humanitarian health efforts at the center of their agenda.
Prince Harry and Meghan arrived in Amman at the invitation of Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, and were welcomed on the steps of the WHO’s country office before joining a roundtable discussion with representatives from the United Nations, diplomatic missions and donor bodies. The visit underscores the couple’s continued focus on global health equity and support for communities affected by conflict and displacement.
Over the course of their stay, the Sussexes are expected to meet Jordanian leaders and senior health officials, engage with WHO teams and observe frontline medical and mental health programs. They will also meet staff from World Central Kitchen coordinating food relief operations for Gaza from Amman and visit Questscope’s youth center, where young people participate in creative and wellbeing initiatives.
Philip Hall, the British Ambassador to Jordan, welcomed their presence, saying: “Your visit, your support, your appreciation of the efforts that the United Nations, including of course, the World Health Organization, the government of Jordan and others, are making here is enormously appreciated.”
The trip builds on previous commitments made through the couple’s Archewell Foundation. In September, the foundation pledged $500,000 to support projects including medical evacuations and prosthetic development for children affected by conflict in Gaza and Ukraine. Grants included $200,000 to the WHO to aid medical evacuations from Gaza to Jordan, $150,000 to Save the Children for humanitarian relief in Gaza and $150,000 to the Centre of Blast Injury Studies to advance prosthetic care for injured children.
The Sussexes have partnered with the WHO before, notably co-hosting a vaccine equity event during the United Nations General Assembly in 2021 and supporting initiatives aimed at ending violence against children. Since stepping back as working royals in 2020 and relocating to California, they have continued to undertake overseas trips with a focus on social impact, including visits to Colombia in 2024 and Nigeria earlier that year to mark a decade of the Invictus Games.
Their Jordan visit comes amid heightened attention on the Royal Family following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office, placing their humanitarian engagement against a complex backdrop for the monarchy.
About Author
Leave a Reply