The Royal couple landed at Casablanca Airport on a commercial flight from London on Saturday evening, ahead of a whirlwind visit to the North African nation that is aimed at boosting ties between the UK and Morocco.
The royal couple arrived in Morocco to a guard of honor, with all eyes on the Duchess' baby bump. They were greeted by officials including Britain's ambassador to Morocco Thomas Reilly, but were two hours late for the welcoming ceremony due to delays to their departure.
The royal couple are being hosted by King Mohammed VI in a royal palace, and were greeted at their residence by 15-year-old Crown Prince Moulay Hassan after being driven to Rabat in a motorcade. They were offered dates and milk with orange blossom upon their arrival; a tradition often witnessed at Moroccan weddings.
The Duke and Duchess are making their first visit to the North African nation, and will focus on the promotion of gender equality. Reilly described the visit as "hugely exciting," and Kensington Palace noted prior to the tour that the royal couple were particularly excited about the "opportunity to meet so many young Moroccans."
A running theme of the visit will be women's empowerment, with the pair due to visit a boarding school for girls in the Atlas Mountains as well as a cookery school for underprivileged kids.
Kensington Palace also noted on Twitter that the tour will showcase "work being done to promote girls' education, empower young people and support children from disadvantaged backgrounds."
The Duke and Duchess visited the town of Asni Sunday, where they met students at a local school and learned about the Moroccan NGO Education for All, which builds boarding houses for girls ages 12 to 18. The charity ensures that "girls from rural communities in the High Atlas Mountains region are able to access secondary education," according to a Kensington Palace statement.
They met the NGO's founder, Michael McHugo -- who received an MBE in the New Year Honors list for his work promoting gender equality in education in Morocco -- after which Meghan took part in a traditional henna ceremony.
On Monday, the couple will learn about the country's development of equine therapy to treat and support children with special needs and visit a cooking school for children from under-privileged backgrounds.
The visit will help strengthen ties between the two nations, as the UK seeks to bolster trade relations with countries outside the EU post-Brexit. Morocco has a free-trade agreement with the EU, which could be useful following the UK's departure from the bloc.
Concerns have nevertheless been raised surrounding the security of the visit, after riots broke out last week in Rabat following a demonstration by teachers demanding higher pay. The couple will not conduct any walkabouts during their visit.
The Duchess is also seven months pregnant and due to give birth in late April or early May. Foster stated that officials had confirmed that "medical provisions had been made" for the Duchess prior to the visit.
She is nevertheless maintaining a busy schedule, and recently returned from New York where she celebrated her baby shower alongside close friends, including Serena Williams and Amal Clooney.
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