This is the moment a little girl was asked ‘You know Meghan?’ – only to promptly walk away from the Duchess on the first day of her and Harry’s quasi royal-tour of Jordan.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were visiting a youth centre at the sprawling Za’atari Refugee Camp when the brief exchange unfolded in front of staff and youngsters.
Meghan had crouched down to speak to the child through an interpreter after joining a group of girls at an outdoor football class. She asked her age and was told the youngster was seven years old.
But when a member of staff from social development organisation Questscope turned to the child and asked, ‘You know Meghan?’, the girl simply walked off.
Smiling, the duchess responded: ‘So sweet, so confident – that’s what you’re instilling.’
The moment came during the couple’s two-day visit to Jordan, where they are meeting young Syrian refugees and learning more about humanitarian efforts in the region.
Harry and Meghan – who stepped down as working royals in 2020 for personal and financial freedom – travelled at the invitation of the World Health Organisation.
Earlier in the day, the couple were warmly greeted in Amman by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who hugged and kissed Meghan as she arrived wearing a white jacket and matching trousers, and also embraced Harry.
Their trip comes just a fortnight after Prince William’s diplomatic visit to Saudi Arabia and highlights the Sussexes’ continued forays onto the international stage.
William and Kate have long-standing ties to Jordan. The Prince and Princess of Wales were surprise guests at the 2023 wedding of Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, who married Rajwa Alseif in an Islamic ceremony known as a ‘katb ktab’.
Kate spent part of her childhood living in Amman in the mid-1980s and the Wales family returned for a private holiday in 2021. William also carried out an official visit to Jordan in 2018, where he watched a football match with the Crown Prince.
Back at Za’atari – home to tens of thousands of displaced Syrians – Meghan appeared determined not to let the snub dampen her spirits.
After chatting to youngsters through an interpreter, she eagerly joined in football drills before lining up for a penalty.
The Duchess threw her hands in the air triumphantly when her right-footed strike beat a girl in goal – while Harry’s effort was saved, leaving Meghan with bragging rights.
The couple also toured classrooms at the Questscope centre, watching teenage girls play traditional Arabic instruments while others performed with violins and guitars.
The Duchess of Sussex meets young musicians during a tour of Mafraq in Jordan
During one exchange, 15-year-old refugee Siham impressed the Sussexes by replying in perfect English when Harry asked if the violinists had made friends through lessons.
‘Yes we’re friends,’ she said, also revealing she was a black belt in taekwondo.
Jordan has absorbed successive waves of refugees over decades, from Palestinians who now number around 2.5 million to Syrians fleeing civil war, and more recently those displaced amid the Gaza conflict.
The Sussexes later attended a roundtable in Amman with representatives from UN agencies including UNRWA, UNHCR, the World Food Programme and Unicef, alongside diplomats and donors.
Philip Hall, British Ambassador to Jordan, thanked the couple for travelling to the region, telling them: ‘So I would simply say thank you very much indeed for coming.
‘Your visit, your support, your appreciation of the efforts that the United Nations, including of course, the World Health Organisation, the government of Jordan and others, are making here is enormously appreciated. So thank you for coming.’