Why Meghan and Archie won't join Harry for second leg of royal tour

Baby Archie will become the youngest royal child to embark on a royal tour when he joins his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to southern Africa later this year.

Archie is likely to be around five months old when the Sussex family travel to South Africa, now confirmed to take place in "the autumn" (i.e. from September to November), according to Buckingham Palace.

The exact dates have not yet been released.

Prince Harry, Meghan and their son will visit South Africa and then the young family will separate.

The Duke is due to continue the tour without his wife or son. He'll carry out a number of solo engagements in Malawi and Botswana, connected to his HIV charity Sentebale. He'll also visit Angola after recently giving his support to a landmine clearing initiative to help rid the country of 153 minefields, a cause previously championed by his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

The reasons for Meghan and Archie not joining Prince Harry for the remainder of the tour have not been revealed by the palace, but there are several factors which could explain their absence.

Firstly, security may explain why Meghan and her son won't visit Malawi, Botswana and Angola. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade currently recommends all travellers exercise a "high degree of caution" when travelling to Angola due to "risk of civil unrest and criminal violence" while the threat of landmines remains. Travellers heading to Malawi and Botswana are advised to exercise "normal safety precautions".

Health may also play a role in Meghan and Archie's decision to opt out of the rest of the royal tour. The Australian government warns of "outbreaks of malaria, polio, zika and yellow fever in Angola".

Thirdly, Archie will be incredibly young – just five months – and such a royal tour involves lots of travel. This would not only be taxing on a baby but Meghan too, having given birth in May. Royal tours involve large amounts of travel and are packed with engagements to allow the Sussexes to meet as many people as possible.

In 2014, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took Prince George on their tour of Australia and New Zealand when he was just eight months old.

Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, became the first royal parents to bend the rules when it came to overseas tours with children. They took nine-month-old William on their 1983 tour for Australia and New Zealand, which lasted a mammoth six weeks.