Meghan Markle Receives Henna Tattoo in Morocco to Celebrate Her Pregnancy: It's 'for Good Luck'
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle helicoptered into the Atlas Mountains for a visit to a girls’ boarding house on Sunday during their royal tour in Morocco.
And the royal couple gave “all their love” to the girls at the Education for All boarding house, one of the housemothers tells PEOPLE.
“It’s a dream for us to have the couple here. The girls are so, so happy to have them here. We are really happy to have them in our house,” Khadeja Oukattou says.
While inside, Meghan, who wore a collarless navy blazer from Alice + Olivia over a fitted black top, black pants and her go-to black velvet Birdies flats, received a henna tattoo, which is usually tattooed on forearms for special occasions, to mark her seven months of pregnancy. (Natural henna, typically brown and derived solely from plants, and with no added chemicals, is safe to use during pregnancy, according to experts. Black henna, however, contains a dye called para-phenylenediamine (PPD) and is not safe.)
“It’s for when we have a big party,” Oukattou says. “Now she is pregnant we do the henna to keep her happy with with the baby. For good luck.”
With the baby on the way the “girls are very excited,” Oukattou adds. “They wished them a good life and good health for them and the baby.”
Meghan isn’t the only royal to receive a henna tattoo while pregnant. Kate Middleton got a small henna tattoo from a local artist while she was around 7 months pregnant with Prince Louis last year while on a royal outing with Prince William. The royal was all smiles as Shajida Begum, 18, drew a brown flower with a swirl on her hand.
“Medical provisions” have been made for Meghan, who is in her third trimester, a royal source says. Meghan and Harry are eagerly expecting the arrival of their first child in late April. During an outing earlier this month, Harry was heard telling one invitee, “There’s a heavy baby in there!” Meanwhile, Meghan kept a hand close to her baby bump and said about her husband, “He’s going to be the best dad.”
The Moroccan non-profit, “Education For All” builds boarding houses for girls ages 12 to 18 to ensure that girls from rural communities in the High Atlas Mountains region are able to access secondary education.
And the visit will give the girls “more “confidence” and enable more young girls to be helped by the non-profit, Oukattou says. “They give all the love.”
The girls are “proud that this visit is on our house. They are from a very far villages in the mountains and meeting these people makes them very proud.”
And she hopes that them coming will help their charity. “It’s very interesting that they came here. In this mountains area, all the girls say it’s their dream. They think it’s not reality, but a dream.”
“They have given confidence to the girls here and will help other girls in the future.”
The couple were greeted by some of the older students, including Hasnaa, 16, who handed Meghan a bouquet.
A mother from Northern Ireland — who now lives in Marrakesh, 30 miles away — brought her two girls to see the couple. Clare Minejam, who is a doctor, and Rania, five, and Rayhana, two, waved Moroccan and British flags as the couple stride towards the pink stucco building. “Most Moroccans know who they are — it’s a Facebook world and people watched the wedding,” says Minejam.
Meghan and Harry are learning how EFA has transformed the opportunities for girls and helped change attitudes towards female education.
The royal couple then headed to the school where the girls from the dormitory attend classes. There, they chatted with teachers and watched a soccer match.
Meghan and Harry arrived in Morocco for their three-day tour on Saturday, where they were greeted by the British Ambassador to Morocco, Thomas Reilly, and his wife, Alix.
Meghan made a stylish entrance in a glamorous red Valentino dress with an elegant embroidered cape detail.
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The couple decided to stay on privately for an extra night at the end of the visit, returning on Tuesday to London, instead of on Monday afternoon.
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