Meghan Markle Wears Princess Diana's Cross Necklace in Nigeria, a Gift from Prince Harry (Exclusive)

Meghan Markle found a special way to pay tribute to Princess Diana during her trip to Nigeria.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, wore a sentimental necklace that belonged to Prince Harry’s mother at a reception for military families in Abuja on May 11.

PEOPLE exclusively reveals that the necklace, featuring a delicate diamond cross on a gold chain, was a recent gift from Harry to his wife and once belonged to Princess Diana.

Meghan often pays tribute to Harry’s mother with fashion, and in her jewelery box she has several pieces that belonged to the late Princess of Wales, including butterfly earrings and an aquamarine ring. Prince Harry, 39, also famously included two diamonds from his mother’s personal collection in the three-stone engagement ring he designed for Meghan when he proposed to her in 2017.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are following in the footsteps of Harry’s parents, King Charles and Princess Diana, who visited Nigeria on an official visit in March 1990. Meghan may have subtly paid tribute to Diana on the first day of their trip on May 10 by wearing a gold choker necklace which resembles the one Diana wore during her stay in Nigeria more than 30 years ago.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Lightway Academy in Abuja, Nigeria on May 10, 2024.

Andrew Esiebo/Getty

On May 11, Meghan wore a cross necklace with a strapless white linen St. Agni and hair combed upwards, allowing the accessory to shine. She received a warm welcome at a reception held at Defense Headquarters, where an official acknowledged Meghan’s Nigerian heritage in his address.

Princess Diana in Lagos, Nigeria, March 16, 1990.

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

“Princess Meghan is Nigerian!” Abike Dabiri Erewa, President of the Nigerian Diaspora, said at the event. The exclamation drew a big round of applause from the audience, and Meghan got a smile and a round of applause. The Duchess of Sussex previously shared on her podcast Archetypes that she discovered through a genealogical test that she is 43% Nigerian. Throughout the trip, she talked about the connection she feels with the land.

Meghan Markle at the Defense Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria on May 11, 2024.

KOLA SULAIMON/AFP via Getty

The chair went on to say that she was “excited but not surprised” when Meghan shared the news of her Nigerian heritage, “because she is beautiful, intelligent, diligent and hardworking and stands firm in the face of challenges.”

“Prince Harry, you married the best – our daughter, our friend, Princess Meghan,” she said. “I hope you come back again, again and again.”

Meghan Markle wowed in the same yellow dress she wore for Archie’s first birthday at a reception in Nigeria

Harry and Meghan are in Nigeria at the invitation of the Chief of Defense Staff, the country’s highest military official, and they arrived in Africa on May 10 for an official three-day stay. The visit is significant as it’s their first international tour since stepping down as royals in 2020, and PEOPLE’s chief foreign correspondent Simon Perry exclusively joined the trip to Nigeria.

The busy itinerary highlighted the Invictus Games, which Prince Harry founded in 2014 as a means of healing wounded, injured and ill personnel through adaptive sports. Harry and Meghan traveled after Nigeria’s debut at the latest iteration of the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany in September 2023, with the Defense Secretary expressing interest in hosting the Games in the future.

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The Duke and Duchess’ trip started in Abuja and ended in Lagos on May 12 with a Giants of Africa charity basketball clinic, a cultural reception with the state governor, Hosue, and a fundraiser for Polo for Nigeria: The Unconquered.

Ending a stay in Lagos also harkens back to Princess Diana and King Charles’ trip to Nigeria, as they visited the city in 1990.

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Source: HIS Education