The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived on London’s Southbank to officially open a major exhibition about the life of Nelson Mandela being staged in the centenary year of his birth.
Harry and Meghan are touring the exhibition at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which traces Mr Mandela’s career from activist to president through six themes: character, comrade, leader, prisoner, negotiator and statesman.
Meghan looked chic in the brilliant summer sunshine, wearing a pale pink trench dress by House of Nonie with matching nude heels – and had her hair swept back in a messy bun.
Their visit marks the first time the exhibition will be shown in the UK after successful runs in various forms around the world, including six weeks at the Paris Town Hall in 2013.
Harry and Meghan are touring an exhibition about Nelson Mandela at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall today
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive on London’s Southbank today to officially open an exhibition about Nelson Mandela
The Duchess of Sussex arrives for the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition at the Southbank Centre in London today
Meghan looked chic today in a pale pink trench dress by House of Nonie and had her hair swept back in a messy bun
Leading former anti-apartheid campaigner Lord Peter Hain, who is chair of the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition, welcomed the royal support.
He said: ‘The Mandela Centenary Exhibition at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, which is free to visitors from 17 July – 19 August, will depict the anti-apartheid freedom struggle and Mandela’s vision of a non-racial rainbow democracy based upon justice, equality and human rights.
‘We are delighted the duke and duchess will be supporting it.’
Harry visited Mr Mandela’s cell, where he spent 18 years imprisoned by the apartheid regime, during a trip to South Africa’s Robben Island, and he also toured the statesman’s offices and met his widow Graca Machel in 2015.
Prince Harry meets Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel during a visit to South Africa in December 2015
Prince Harryhad a tour of the private archives of the Nelson Mandela Foundation when he visited South Africa in 2015
During their visit to the South Bank, the duke and duchess will tour the exhibition and at each themed panel will meet people associated with the displays and Mr Mandela’s work.
The guests include Thembi Tambo, South Africa’s High Commissioner to the UK and daughter of anti-apartheid politician Oliver Tambo, who was a close colleague of Mr Mandela.
Items on display include a Collected Works of Shakespeare, which was smuggled onto Robben Island and features annotations made by Mr Mandela and his contemporaries.
There is also a letter of thanks from the statesman to the British public written on April 16, 1990, the day Mr Mandela attended the Wembley concert held in his honour, he thanks the British public for their ‘overwhelming generosity’.