‘I did a genealogy test’: Meghan Markle has given a big donation to the children of Nigeria, where her roots come from

The former American actress addressed the question of her origins in an episode of her podcast Archetypes for Spotify. Her mother Doria Ragland is African American and her father Thomas Markle has Irish roots. Megan decided to learn more about her ancestors. “I took a genealogy test and found out I’m 43 percent Nigerian,” the Duchess of Sussex said.

It was then revealed that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry donated to charities in Nigeria through their Archiwell Foundation. A spokesperson for the couple confirmed that they have donated money to save Nigerian children through UNICEF. “These organizations are providing relief following the devastating floods that have wreaked havoc in Nigeria,” said the headquarters of the disgraced British monarchy couple.

Flooding in the country caused by heavy rains and the release of water from a dam in neighboring Cameroon, caused by the government, has already claimed the lives of more than 600 people. About one and a half million people were forced to leave their homes and move to temporary safe camps. The water damaged and destroyed 440,000 hectares of agricultural land across Nigeria.

“More than 1.5 million children are at risk after devastating floods in Nigeria. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archiwell Foundation has donated funds to Save the Children in Nigeria as our teams deliver life-saving supplies to affected families,” Save the Children Nigeria campaigners said.

This is not the first time that the Dukes of Sussex have given financial support to Nigerian children. In 2020, Meghan shared a video with her son Archie for the Save with Stories charity campaign, the Daily Mail reports.

In an interview with American comedian Zive Fumudo, who is also of Nigerian descent, the former royal said she will challenge the stereotypes of black women who are often portrayed as evil. Meghan has said she is proud of her African roots. “I’m going to dig deeper into all of this because everyone I’ve talked to about it, especially Nigerian women, have been like, ‘What!?’ This is very important to our community,” added Meghan Markle.