The recent Royal tour by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan was a whirlwind of events over 16 days, four countries, with 76 engagements. They met hundreds of people and one of those was a former resident of Ross-on-Wye, Melanie Hopkins.

Melanie, the High Commissioner for Fiji, had the privilege and honour of welcoming the Royal couple to her home. She is still revelling in the aftermath of the successful tour. She told the Ross Gazette that it was an incredibly ambitious tour, but Harry noted that one of HM The Queen’s tours was six months long, so this was quite short in comparison.

Melanie told the Ross Gazette: “They are probably the most famous couple in the world. I have never worked on anything like this in my career.” She added that one picture where she is in the background as they arrived in Fiji was seen by people around the world.

She believes that the visit has raised the global profile of the country and an ITN documentary had helped with this, as well as increasing the understanding of the contribution women make.

Melanie hopes to return to Britain soon and plans to include a visit to her former school, John Kyrle High School, and is sure to talk about the amazing visit as well as other facets of her role as High Commissioner.

As part of the civil service, Melanie’s job is non-political, instead, she told the Gazette, the High Commissioner represents the British Government’s interests taking forward the British government and promoting the United Nations. She said people do not realise that Fiji is a very small country leading a global movement to increase awareness and understanding between the countries of the commonwealth.

This tour placed a lot of emphasis on women’s rights. Fiji is a male dominated society run on a chief system where more important roles are taken by men. Melanie said that the Duchess met some incredible female members of the Fijian Navy, as well as those working on women’s development in rural areas. Many had never met before so they had a wonderful time talking about their experiences.

The links between the Uk and this small country look to be stronger than ever thanks to the recent Royal visit.