Meghan Markle Is Now A Princess Of Nigeria Years After Leaving UK Royal Family
Meghan Markle is being hailed as Nigeria's new "princess" after she was honored with royal titles during her and Prince Harry's recent trip to the African country.
The Duchess of Sussex -- who previously revealed she is 43% Nigerian -- was welcomed with open arms by Nigerians during the three-day visit, which marked the couple's first major trip to Africa since stepping back from their roles as working royals in the U.K. in 2020.
On Sunday, three traditional rulers bestowed royal titles on Markle during a naming ceremony at the prestigious Delborough Hotel in Lagos, CNN reported.
Markle was honored as an "Ada Mazi" -- a title given to her by the Obi of Onitsha, His Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Ugochukwu Achebe.
According to CNN, the title means "the daughter of the Igbo ancestral palace," while the Daily Mail translates it in English to "daughter of an aristocrat."
Another king, the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, dubbed Markle "Adetokunbo," which means "royalty from across the seas."
The Great Olu Of Warri Kingdom also participated in the ceremony.
Sussex supporters and social media users celebrated Markle's new titles on X, formerly Twitter, with many saying that the titles make her a new "princess" of Nigeria.
"She's now a Princess in her own right! [Three] Kings declared it so and so it shall be! Princess Meghan of Nigeria!" one user wrote.
"Do y'all even understand what's going on here?! My oh my!! [Three] Kings left their powerful kingdoms to come to Lagos to honor and bestow royalty upon Meghan!!! She is now a princess of Nigeria in her own [right]. Ada Mazi, Omu of Arochukwu Ancient Kingdom. There are levels to this!!" another person tweeted.
One user dubbed Markle "our new Princess of Arochukwu Ancient Kingdom."
"Nigeria loved her so much, they FOR REAL bestowed a ROYAL title upon her. She is officially a PRINCESS of Nigeria. Her Royal Highness Princess Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex," another gushed.
Alongside a photo of Markle sporting a sleeveless bright yellow dress and a green shawl with white and yellow stripes, another declared, "I dare you to come on my timeline and tell me not to call her Princess Meghan."
In a speech, Markle expressed her gratitude for the titles and referred to Nigeria as her "motherland."
"Thank you so much. I'm very very grateful. I'm very humbled," she told the audience in a video shared by Arochukwu Network on TikTok.
"Thank you so much for the titles and really beautiful names. We can't wait to come back, thank you so much," she added.
Back in 2022, Markle shared during an episode of her "Archetypes" podcast that she learned she was 43% Nigerian after taking a genealogy test two years prior.
Her guest Ziwe, who is Nigerian-American, described Markle's revelation as "huge for our community."
"No, honestly, you do look like a Nigerian, you look like my Aunt Uzo," the talk show host added. "So this is great."