Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Amman, Jordan.Credit : Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are stepping out in Jordan for the first day of their surprise humanitarian visit
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are undertaking a two-day trip in partnership with the World Health Organization, focused on global health and humanitarian response
Philip Hall, British Ambassador to Jordan, thanked the couple for making the trip

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have arrived in Jordan for the first day of their surprise visit.

On Feb. 25, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex kicked off the programming for their official trip. Prince Harry and Meghan’s office announced their visit to Jordan at midnight, local time, on Wednesday.

Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, are embarking on the humanitarian trip with Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. The couple partnered with Dr. Tedros previously on a global campaign promoting vaccine equity during the COVID pandemic in 2021. PA notes that the director-general warmly welcomed the couple on the steps of the WHO’s country office in the Jordanian capital Amman, kissing and hugging the duchess and also embracing the duke.

The couple’s first engagement was a World Health Organization roundtable in Amman, hosted by Dr. Ghebreyesus and regional WHO leaders, convening key donors and humanitarian partners for a working discussion on health response and support for communities affected by conflict and displacement. Per PA, they were also joined by UN agencies like UNWRA, UNHCR, World Food Programme, Unicef and diplomatic attendees from countries like the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Canada.

Meghan Markle in Amman, Jordan.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

Philip Hall, British Ambassador to Jordan, thanked the couple for making the journey.

“Your visit, your support, your appreciation of the efforts that the United Nations, including, of course, the World Health Organization, the government of Jordan and others, are making here is enormously appreciated,” he said, per BBC. “So thank you for coming.”

The ambassador also discussed working towards “regional peace,” adding, “We all know it’s very hard to achieve, but we’re all working on that too.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex undertook their Jordan trip in partnership with the WHO and to support frontline partners, including World Central Kitchen and Questscope.

PEOPLE understands that the royal family was informed of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s trip. The visit comes amid a period of significant turmoil for the royal family, following the arrest last week of Prince Harry’s uncle, the former Prince Andrew, on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The trip is expected to run from Wednesday, Feb. 25 to Thursday, Feb. 26, with outings around humanitarian health response, mental health, and support for vulnerable communities affected by conflict and displacement.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Jordan.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have focused some of their philanthropic work on uplifting vulnerable populations, highlighting mental health and drawing attention to the long-term consequences of conflict on civilians, connecting to the trip’s agenda.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Jordan.Aaron Chown/PA Images via Getty

Prince Harry and Meghan traveled to Nigeria in May 2024, their first philanthropic trip after stepping back from their royal roles in the U.K. PEOPLE’s chief foreign correspondent, Simon Perry, exclusively covered the visit and reported on their various outings.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex logged another similar trip that summer when they visited Colombia that August.

More recently, in December 2025, an announcement about a staffing shakeup at the couple’s charitable Archewell Philanthropies included the news that they had “humanitarian trips overseas” planned in 2026.