The 'Special Thing' Meghan Markle Will Share with Archie and Lilibet After Africa Trip (Exclusive)

Meghan Markle knows what she wants to share most with her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, about her journey to Nigeria with Prince Harry.

Speaking to PEOPLE on the three-day tour, the Duchess of Sussex expressed her eagerness to delve deeper into her Nigerian heritage — and to share this newfound knowledge with her children and her mother, Doria Ragland.

"It had so much personal meaning for me," she says of the couple's visit to the African country.

On Mother’s Day she found it poignant to be learning more about “my heritage, that I’m able to share with my children,” she says. “That’s such a special thing as a mother to know you can do.”

The Duchess of Sussex previously learned through a genealogy test that she is 43% Nigerian, a revelation that deeply resonated with her as she expressed being in "my country."

"And also to be surrounded by so many incredible mothers in this country and the women that I’ve met, especially at the leadership conference," she adds, referring to the women's leadership panel she co-hosted with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization, on the second day of the trip.

"Dr. Ngozi is such a powerhouse and mentor. All the work I’ve done on women’s and girls’ rights, as a mom, I really feel that here, and how we were able to expand on that," says the Duchess of Sussex. "It was great."

Prince Harry and Meghan traveled to Nigeria at the invitation of Nigeria's chief of defense staff, in a journey significant as their first official international trip since stepping back from their royal roles in 2020. The whirlwind visit championed their Archewell Foundation's mental health initiatives for young people and Prince Harry's Invictus Games, which Nigeria participated in for the first time last year.

The couple kicked off their tour with a school visit, which saw Meghan share an empowering message to schoolchildren: "I see myself in all of you."

Speaking to PEOPLE, she says, "I always reflect back on myself as a young girl and the type of inspiration that I wanted to see in other women. I hope in some small way I can be a part of that for a lot of these young girls especially. I see the potential in all of these young girls — and, by the way, in these young boys as well."

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Referring to Archie and Lili, who turns 3 in a few weeks, Meghan adds, "It’s what we see in our own children — to give them that promise and excitement for their future."

For his part, Prince Harry tells PEOPLE, "These trips are about us being able to go out and go and focus on the things that mean so much to us. And being able to be on the ground, to us, is what it’s all about."

The duke alluded to similar trips in the future, and one official shared hopes that they come back again soon.

"They are an amazing couple. The love is there; you feel it," says Abike Dabiri Erewa, chairman of the Nigerian Diaspora Commission.