Duchess of Sussex pays tribute to Malawi female advocates in video call

The Duchess of Sussex has made a virtual appearance to pay tribute to the "valuable and vital" work thousands of women are undertaking to support schoolgirls through their education.

Meghan praised the female advocates via a video conferencing link from Johannesburg, as Harry sat with the group in a college in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi.

Harry introduced his wife and during the Skype call she joked about their four-month-old son, who has joined them on their 10-day tour of Africa saying – "Archie's taking a nap."

Harry visited Nalikule College of Education to learn how schoolgirls are being helped by Cama, an alumni network of young women who received practical and financial support, from the Campaign for Female Education, to remain in school.

For the past 25 years, the project has been tackling poverty by paying for fees, uniforms, and school books to allow teenage girls to complete their education and not being married off by families who cannot afford to support them.

Before the duchess appeared, Harry told the women: "I know there's somebody else you'd far rather hear from than me, hopefully if technology doesn't fail us you may see somebody on the screen."

Meghan was low down in the screen, and smiling said: "I'm so happy to be with you, is there a delay?" and Harry replied "no, it's great keep going."

The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, which has the duke as its president and the duchess as vice-president, has been working with Cama since 2017.

The duchess went on to say: "We're just so proud as president and vice-president of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust that we can support you in everything that you do because we cannot begin to express how valuable and vital that work is, we're just incredibly proud to be part of it."

"I wish I could be with you, we're in South Africa right now Archie's taking a nap. I'm with you in spirit."