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The Sussexes

The Duchess of Sussex to attend her first solo engagement next week

The Duchess of Sussex will undertake her first solo engagement next week at the Royal Academy of Arts where she will attend the opening of the Oceania exhibition.

Meghan will visit the academy on Tuesday 25th September to celebrate the first ever major survey of Oceanic art to be held in the United Kingdom.

According to Kensington Palace, the Oceania exhibition will “celebrate the art of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, encompassing the vast Pacific region including New Guinea, Easter Island, Hawaii and New Zealand.”

Around 200 works of art will be included in Oceania from public collections worldwide, spanning over 500 years.

The exhibition will be organised into three main themes. Voyaging will look at life on the water as revealed through the stories of indigenous navigation. Place-making will explore the settlement of communities and Encounter will focus on trade and exchange in Pacific cultures.

When she visits the exhibition, Meghan will undertake a tour of ‘Oceania’, and will pay particular attention to pieces from New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Australia – four countries that she and Prince Harry are due to visit next month.

Among the people she will meet at the exhibition include the curators and artists as well as descendants linked to the works on display. Her Royal Highness will also be treated to a short performance of Ngāti Rānana – a Māori cultural group.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake an official visit to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand. This visit is set to take place from Tuesday 16th October and Wednesday 31st October.

The visit will focus on youth leadership, environmental and conservation efforts and the recovery and rehabilitation of servicemen and women through the Invictus Games Sydney 2018.

Royal Central will be travelling with the Duke and Duchess on their tour of the four countries, so join us for coverage of the tour.