- The Duchess of Sussex made a secret trip to pay tribute to a South African woman murdered in Cape Town several weeks ago.
- The death of Uyinene Mrwetyana has outraged South Africa and Duchess Meghan has followed the story closely, according to a palace spokeswoman.
With Prince Harry away in Botswana on royal tour duties, the Duchess of Sussex made a secret trip to the murder site of a young woman whose death has rocked South Africa.
The Sun‘s royal correspondent, Emily Andrews, broke the news on Twitter, writing that, “The Duchess was so shocked by the torture, rape and murder of the beautiful student she made a top-secret pilgrimage to the post office where she was killed.”
A palace spokeswoman tells BAZAAR.com, “We can confirm that earlier this week the Duchess made a private visit to the memorial of Uyinene Mryetyana. Having closely followed the tragic story, it was a personal gesture she wanted to make.”
During her visit, Meghan joined dozens of others in leaving a yellow ribbon as a tribute. Andrews tweeted, “Yellow ribbons have been left as tributes to #Uyinene Mrwetyana and Meghan left a moving message, written in her distinctive calligraphy, in local language Xhosa: ‘We stand together in this situation. Harry & Meghan 26th September 2019.'”
Mrwetyana, a 19-year-old university student, was raped and killed on August 24, 2019. A makeshift memorial was erected in front of the Clareinch Post Office in the Claremont suburb of Cape Town on September 4, and people have paid tribute to Mrwetyana with flower bouquets, condolence messages, and ribbons. The young woman’s murder has made a big impact in South Africa, leading to protests against gender-based violence in the country.
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Duchess Meghan’s private tribute means “so much,” 17-year-old Aaliyah Jacobs, who goes to school near the post office where the tragedy took place, told The Sun.
“We love Meghan,” she added to the British outlet. “It’s a good thing that she did this. She’s raising awareness and then everyone around the world will be aware of gender violence in South Africa and the terrible murder that happened here at the post office across the road from our school.”
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