Meghan Markle held hands with a 14-year-old burns victim from Gaza today as she began a busy quasi royal-tour of Jordan with Prince Harry.
The Duchess of Sussex spoke with the girl called Maria during a visit to the Specialty Hospital in Amman where the couple also talked to doctors.
Harry and Meghan embarked on a two-day visit to Jordan – one of Prince William and Kate’s favourite countries – as they also met young Syrian refugees.
The Duke and Duchess watched a music class at the QuestScope youth centre at Za’atari refugee camp near Mafraq, and took part in a football session.
They also attended a roundtable discussion in Amman with people from the United Nations and many of its agencies, diplomatic representatives and donors.
The couple, who stepped down as working royals in 2020 for personal and financial freedom, travelled to Jordan at the invitation of World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warmly welcomed the couple on the steps of the organisation’s office in Amman. He kissed and hugged Meghan who wore a white jacket and matching trousers and also embraced Harry.
Their trip – which Buckingham Palace officials are understood to have been informed of in advance – comes just a fortnight after William’s diplomatic visit to Saudi Arabia.
The Duchess of Sussex meets Maria, a 14-year-old burns victim from Gaza, in Amman today
The Duchess of Sussex meets Maria, a 14-year-old burns victim from Gaza, in Amman today
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a World Health Organisation event in Amman today
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex talk with medical staff at the Specialty Hospital in Amman
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex talk with medical staff at the Specialty Hospital in Amman
Five-year-old Ayham during a visit by Prince Harry and Meghan to Amman’s Specialty Hospital
Five-year-old Ayham during a visit by Prince Harry and Meghan to Amman’s Specialty Hospital
Meghan looked emotional as she met a young man with shattered legs who was evacuated from Gaza to receive urgent care in Jordan.
She told Jaber, 17, whose legs were held in place by a metal frame: ‘I’m so glad you’re getting the treatment that you need’, as he was assessed at the private Specialty Hospital in Amman.
Dr Hamzeh Odeh, the emergency department manager at Specialty Hospital, said after the visit: ‘This is what you expect from war, they’re war injuries.
‘But some of the injuries are not directly related to the war, it’s because of the lack of doctors, lack of medication.’
Harry’s estranged brother and sister-in-law Kate already have close ties with Jordan, and were surprise guests at the royal wedding of its Crown Prince in 2023.
The Waleses watched Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II marry his Saudi Arabian bride Rajwa Alseif at an Islamic marriage ceremony known as a ‘katb ktab’.
Kate’s family lived in Amman for a period in the mid-1980s when she was young girl and the couple enjoyed a 2021 holiday in the Middle East country with their children.
William also welcomed Crown Prince Hussein to RAF Benson in Oxfordshire for a tour last October to meet his former flight squadron during the Jordanian heir’s UK trip.
In addition, Crown Prince Hussein’s mother Queen Rania is a member of the Earthshot Prize Council, the judging panel for William’s environmental prize.
William visited Jordan in 2018 and was joined on a number of official visits by Crown Prince Hussein, with the two men memorably watching a football match together.
In Jordan today, Meghan was left with bragging rights when she scored a penalty and her husband’s shot was saved when they joined Syrian children at a refugee camp.
The Duchess looked triumphant and threw her hands in the air after her right-footed strike beat a girl in goal when the couple visited the camp, which is home to tens of thousands of displaced Syrians.
The couple are on a two-day visit to learn more about humanitarian efforts by the Jordanian authorities and a range of agencies supporting the health and wellbeing of Syrians and Palestinians who have sought sanctuary in Jordan over the decades.
They travelled north of the capital, Amman, to the sprawling Za’atari Refugee Camp, where families live in semi-permanent homes with a few shops available.
The Duke of Sussex meets medical evacuees during a visit to the Specialty Hospital in Amman
The Duke of Sussex meets medical evacuees during a visit to the Specialty Hospital in Amman
The Duchess of Sussex kicks a ball as a group watch during the tour of Jordan today
The Duchess of Sussex kicks a ball as a group watch during the tour of Jordan today
