Harry, Meghan open 1st official tour as a family in South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, began their first official family tour Monday with their infant son, Archie, in South Africa, with Meghan declaring to cheers that “I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of color and as your sister.”

The first day of their 10-day, multi-country tour started in Cape Town with visits to girls’ empowerment projects that teach rights and self-defense. A musical welcome greeted them in the township of Nyanga, whose location was not made public in advance because of security concerns.

Violent crime is so chronic in parts of Cape Town that South Africa’s military has been deployed in the city, and its stay was extended last week. Frustration over high unemployment and lack of services also has exploded into protests and attacks on foreigners elsewhere in South Africa in recent weeks.

“As someone who regards Cape Town as a uniquely special place in Africa, I wanted to ensure that our first visit as a family — with my wife by my side — focused on the significant challenges facing millions of South Africans, while acknowledging the hope that we feel so strongly here,” the prince said.

The royal couple also was meeting Monday with former residents of District Six, a vibrant mixed-race community that was relocated from the inner city during South Africa’s harsh period of apartheid, or white minority rule, that ended in 1994.

Their visit also will focus on wildlife protection, mental health and mine clearance — a topic given global attention by Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, when she walked through an active mine field during an Africa visit years ago.

The couple arrived in a South Africa still shaken by the rape and murder of a university student that sparked protests by thousands of...