Meghan Markle has been showered with love from Nigerian fans who have welcomed their ‘new princess’ during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit to the nation.
The mother-of-two was on Sunday honoured as an ‘Ada Mazi’ – seemingly a title of respect meaning ‘daughter of an aristocrat’ – of the Ancient Arochukwu Kingdom.
Three Kings – His Eminence Engr Eberechukwu Oji, Eze Aro of Ancient Arochukwu Kingdom, Igwe Alfred Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha and Great Olu Of Warri Kingdom – took party in the naming ceremony.
And wellwishers from the West African country, where Prince Harry and his wife have enjoyed a whistle-stop 72-hour tour, have taken to social media to send their congratulations.
‘Princess Meghan First of her Name! Daughter Doria of OUR blood,’ one wrote in a spirited post on X.
Another fondly called Meghan ‘our new Princess of Arochukwu Ancient Kingdom’.
Elsewhere a third penned: ‘Ok my native tribe has finally represented wit the “Ada Mazi” drape and the royal beads.
‘A proud Igbo girl, a proud Anambarian!!!’
Many have also remarked how significant the occasion is, given that the Kings are understood to rarely leave their home state unless it’s for a very special event or guest.
In a TikTok shared by Arochukwu Network, a video shows a beaming Meghan making a grateful speech.
‘Thank you so much,’ she told an audience. ‘I’m very very grateful I’m very humbled.
‘And today is Mother’s Day so it feels appropriate – because of course we are missing our children, I’m missing my babies – it feels really good to be in the motherland…
‘Thank you so much for the titles and really beautiful names. We can’t wait to come back, thank you so much.’
Meghan wore a golden sash depicting the Ada Mazi title and also held onto a fabric depicting the ‘Oru-Arochukwu’ insignia.
Explaining its symbology, one poster on the forum Nairaland in 2017 said: ‘The Omu and Omu Aro, for purposes of clarity and better understanding are not interchangeable.
‘The omu is the young leaf or leaves of the palm tree or the knot, tied from this leaf by the Eze Aro, while the Omu Aro is the insignia or emblem of authority of the Eze Aro.
‘The omu as we have it anywhere on Aro documents, monuments or wrappers has the knotted Omu leaf at the center, with a hand giving it and the other receiving it.’
