Prince Harry is scheduled to meet veterans of the Zambian military or their widows
Prince Harry’s pregnant wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain at home
Historian Chipo Simunchembu says Zambia has not done well in documenting the history of the First World War
The UK's Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, will make a solo trip to Zambia next week, local media reported.
Zambia’s Presidency announced that the trip from November 26-27, will see Prince Harry visit Lusaka’s Burma Barracks, to attend an event commemorating the First and Second World War Zambian veterans.
Prince Harry is scheduled to meet veterans of the Zambian military or their widows.
The duke is expected to speak at a special reception to celebrate the UK-Zambia relations at the British High Commissioner’s Residence, according to the Presidency.
He will also attend an event for The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, of which he is president, and visit Circus Zambia, which helps young people from vulnerable backgrounds with life skills
A board meeting
State House spokesman Amos Chanda said President Edgar Lungu “will meet with the British royal during his two day stay in the country”.
Prince Harry’s pregnant wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain at home during the Queen’s grandson's two-day official visit to the Commonwealth country.
Local media reported that Prince Harry would join a board meeting for African Parks, of which he is president, during his short stay.
Zambia’s tourism agency has been pushing to change the “narrative” about the end of the war on November 11, 1918, saying the last shot was fired in Mbala District, a town near the Tanzanian border.
The war
Over 18 countries, including a representative of the Duke of York, Prince Andrew and a grandson of First World War German East Africa Commander, Gen Von Lettow Vorbeck, have confirmed participation in the Centenary Commemorations, according to the Zambia Development Agency.
Zambia’s military historian Chipo Simunchembu says the southern Africa state has not done well in documenting the history of the First World War.
According to fac2faceafrica.com <http://fac2faceafrica.com>, it is documented that after the armistice was signed, Gen Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, a Prussian army commander in the German East Africa campaign, did not get word of the end of the war.
The border
Nicknamed the Lion of Africa (German: Löwe von Afrika), Lettow-Vorbeck continued his raids in East Africa with 3,000 German and 11,000 African forces. His forces entered the British colony of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) from German East Africa – which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, and the mainland part of Tanzania – and captured the town of Kasama.
The General learnt about the armistice on November 14 in Kasama via telegraph. The three days’ delay is believed to have been caused by celebrations in Kabwe, a southern town in then-Northern Rhodesia.
The British command ordered them to march to Abercorn, now Mbala in northeast Zambia, near the border of German East Africa. On November 25, 1918, they reached Abercorn and formally surrender by throwing their weapons into the Lake Chila before returning to German East Africa, marking the final end of the war.
