Prince Harry and Meghan Markle site to ‘unleash power of compassion’

Prince Harry used a photograph of his late mother Princess Diana and described himself as his ‘mother’s son’ as he and Meghan Markle today launched the website of their non-profit organisation Archewell.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex set out their goal to ‘build a better world’ in an open letter on the newly-updated website this afternoon, saying they wanted to ‘unleash the power of compassion’.

But the site also prominently plugs the couple’s commercial ventures – Archewell Audio, the brand they have chosen for their £30m podcasting deal with Spotify, and Archewell Productions, their chosen name for their Netflix production tie-up said to be worth as much as £100m. 

The royal couple used two photographs on the new homepage of Archewell.com – one of Harry as a boy with Diana, taken at Highgrove in July 1986, and one of Meghan as a girl with her mother, Doria Ragland. 

Harry and Meghan said in a joint statement on the website: ‘I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother.’ However there was no mention or photo of Harry’s father Prince Charles.

The couple wrote that the name of their organisation is a mixture of the Greek word ‘Arche’, meaning ‘source of action’, and the word ‘Well’, defined as ‘a plentiful source or supply; a place we go to dig deep’.

They also announced partnerships between their foundation and several tech and research-focused groups.  

 Harry and Meghan wrote: ‘At Archewell, we unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change. 

‘We do this through our non-profit work within Archewell Foundation 501(c)(3), in addition to creative activations through the business verticals of audio and production.’

The website features the picture of Diana with Harry on her shoulders, while in another monochrome image a young Meghan stands as her mother Doria crouches down to hug her daughter.

In a joint statement, called a ‘letter for 2021’ which overlays the pictures, the couple say: ‘I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell. We believe in the best of humanity. 

‘Because we have seen the best of humanity. We have experienced compassion and kindness, From our mothers and strangers alike. In the face of fear, struggle and pain, it can be easy to lose sight of this. 

‘Together, we can choose courage, healing, and connection. Together, we can choose to put compassion in action. We invite you to join us. As we work to build a better world. One act of compassion at a time.’   

Among the five organisations Harry and Meghan said they have chosen to support include the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, which they say is investigating techniques for ‘developing compassion and promoting altruism within individuals and society’.

Another is the Center for Humane Technology in San Francisco led by former Google ‘design ethicist’ Tristan Harris which aims to ‘create the conditions for safer, more compassionate online communities’.

A third is the Loveland Foundation, which is an organisation providing affordable and accessible mental health resources to black women and girls.

Archewell is also supporting the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry at the University of California in Los Angeles, which aims to champion racial and economic justice in the technology world.

The final organisation is chef José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen, which is building four community relief centres in regions affected by hunger, starting in Dominica and Puerto Rico.

Since stepping down as senior royals in March and moving to the US, Harry and Meghan have been working towards this moment to officially launch, albeit softly, the website and the philosophy behind their organisation Archewell.

Their decision to leave was based as much about financial as personal freedom and the huge sums – thought to be well over £100million – they have earned from deals with Spotify and Netflix, gives them the capital to pursue their new lifestyle and public goals.

The announcement follows their first Spotify podcast on Tuesday which saw their son Archie make his broadcast debut.

Commentators have already speculated that Harry and Meghan will have to draw in large audiences if they are to justify the lucrative contract their production company Archewell Audio signed.

Archewell’s press secretary said today: ‘Founded earlier this year by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell uplifts communities through non-profit partnerships and creative activations.

‘It’s a place where compassion matters, communities gather, and storytelling is the engine.

‘The website has been updated to reflect the work Archewell has undertaken throughout 2020 and to create a place for people and communities around the world to share their stories.’

The updated website is Harry and Meghan’s final act of a year which has seen the royal family endure some of their most turbulent problems in recent history – with the messy Megxit saga at the forefront of the issues.

The Duke and Duchess sparked a major royal crisis in January with a bombshell statement saying they intended to stop being senior royals, earn their own money and still support the Queen. 

But the dual role was unworkable. The Queen held a summit at Sandringham to deal with the crisis and the outcome was a hard Megxit.

At the end of March, less than two years after they wed, Harry and Meghan quit as working royals completely and stopped using their HRH styles.

They have since settled into a new life in Montecito in California, bought an £11 million house, secured lucrative multimillion-pound deals with Netflix and Spotify, volunteered during the Covid-19 crisis and been working on their Archewell foundation.

Meghan gave an impassioned black lives matter speech to her old high school about the death of George Floyd in the US. But controversy has not been far away.

Harry was criticised for political interference after he urged people in the US to ‘reject hate speech’ and vote in the presidential election.

The duke and duchess were also accused of staging a publicity stunt after they invited a fashion photographer to take pictures of them at a national cemetery in LA to mark Remembrance Sunday.

In August, a new biography, Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, revisited the rift between Harry and William.

The book said Harry was angered by what he perceived as his brother’s ‘snobbish’ attitude to Meghan, and Kate was accused of not reaching out to Meghan and of snubbing her at the Sussexes’ final public engagement at Westminster Abbey.

The Sussexes’ son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor celebrated his first birthday, with Meghan reading the boisterous youngster the children’s book Duck! Rabbit! in a video for Save the Children UK.

But the couple also experienced heartache, with Meghan revealing in an article in November that she had suffered a miscarriage in the summer, writing: ‘I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.’ 

Earlier this week, Harry and Meghan released their debut Spotify podcast on Tuesday which saw them chat about ‘the power of connection’, ’empathy’ and ‘collective mental health’.

But one simple word stole the show – ‘fun’, uttered by their 19-month-old son. When Archie’s voice – complete with a slight American accent – at the end of the 34-minute broadcast. 

It was the first time the public had heard him speak. Harry and Meghan encouraged him to talk into a microphone, with Harry telling him: ‘You can speak into it.’ Meghan also asked: ‘Archie, is it fun?’

Archie then replied: ‘Fun.’ Harry said: ‘After me, ready? Happy.’ Archie said: ‘Happy.’ Meghan and Harry both then said ‘New’ and Archie said ‘New Year’ – prompting laughter from his parents and giggles from the youngster himself.

The couple have fiercely defended Archie’s privacy. They refused to confirm where he was born or who his godparents were. They have also launched legal action against photographers who took unauthorised pictures of him in the US and Canada. 

Finding Freedom, the controversial biography of the Sussexes published in August, reported that Meghan had complained she was being expected to ‘serve my child on a silver platter’ after the couple faced criticism over keeping his christening a secret. 

Harry and Meghan recently signed an estimated £18million deal with Spotify after acrimoniously quitting as working members of the royal family in March.

This week their first offering was billed as the ‘2020 Archewell Audio Holiday Special’ with the blurb underneath saying: ‘Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, present a special collection of inspiration, reflection, and perspective from guests around the world.’

The guests – or ‘a few friends’ as the couple called them in the podcast – included Sir Elton John and James Corden. There were also Tyler Perry, the Hollywood tycoon who lent Harry and Meghan his £14.5million mansion when they first moved to LA, Democrat activist Stacey Abrams, Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka and British rapper George the Poet.

The podcast began with the couple introducing themselves as ‘I’m Harry’ and ‘I’m Meghan’ before they paid tribute to healthcare and frontline workers for their efforts during the pandemic.

Harry told listeners: ‘We’re glad you’re here. As we all know, it’s been a year. And we really want to honour the compassion and kindness that has helped so many people get through it.’

Meghan added: ‘And at the same time, to honour those who have experienced uncertainty and unthinkable loss. Our thoughts have been with you.’

As the year neared its end, Harry said, it was time to ‘look to the future’, adding: ‘Let’s hold on to the lessons we’ve learned about how important it is to take care of one another, and how meaningful our connections are… even when they’re physically impossible.’  

Harry explained they had asked guests to send them audio diaries. ‘We were curious to hear what they’d reflect on when they had a moment to themselves without navigating the sometimes awkward dance of a video chat. 

‘Meaning no one having to say you’re on mute over and over again, which is probably one of the defining phrases of 2020,’ he said. Meghan, laughing, added: ‘So true.’

Near the end, Meghan said: ‘From us I’ll say no matter what life throws at you guys, trust us when we say, love wins.’ Harry then said: ‘Love always wins.’

They included the gospel song This Little Light of Mine, which was played at their wedding.

Quoting Martin Luther King, Meghan said: ‘It was the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together. Because as we all know, ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that’.’

Harry added: ‘The message of this song is one we hold so dearly. It’s about using the power we each have within us to make this world a better place.’

Also this week, it was revealed the Duke and Duchess had boosted their rapidly expanding stable of staff by rehiring two palace aides who lost their jobs when the royal couple left the UK.

In recent months Harry and Meghan have made a series of key appointments to head Archewell as well as starting their own in-house PR outfit. 

Now, they have employed ex-palace staff Clara Loughran and Beth Herlihy on a freelance basis to work on charity projects in the UK.

The pair, both in their 30s, lost their jobs in March when Harry and Meghan moved to North America. Their appointment is in addition to the couple’s UK PR chief, James Holt.

With a string of new employees in the US as well, including a head of communications, a press secretary and a chief of staff, industry experts say the bill for the couple’s team so far could easily top £1million a year.

This does not include PAs, staff working on their production and podcast ventures, household employees and private security.

New Zealand-born Mrs Loughran, who is married to Harry’s ex-assistant communications secretary, Nick Loughran, had worked for the prince since 2015, organising his official engagements and charitable initiatives.

She was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order – an honour given to those who have served the monarchy with dedication in a personal capacity – by the Queen, on Harry’s recommendation.

Miss Herlihy worked as the Sussexes programme manager from September 2018. She had also worked alongside Harry for more than four years as an events co-ordinator at the Royal Foundation, first started by Harry and the Duke of Cambridge. 

She and Mrs Loughran were among 13 plus tax-payer-funded employees who lost their jobs in March when Harry and Meghan quit royal duties.

Recently, the two well-respected women formed Herlihy Loughran, which describes itself as an ‘advisory partnership’ that links ‘influential people’ and organisations to good causes.

Harry and Meghan are among their first clients, sources confirmed. They have been employed in addition to Mr Holt.

Last month it was announced that the Sussexes had snapped up Christine Weil Schirmer, 42, former head of communications at internet site Pinterest, to lead their PR assault on the US.

The mother-of-one attended the same US university as Meghan, Northwestern.

They have also appointed a press secretary. Toya Holness has worked for the celebrity William Morris Endeavor agency. A ‘stellar’ footballer who played for her university team in California, she is described by friends as ‘bold and outgoing’.

The Sussexes had already poached another major figure, Catherine St Laurent, as their chief of staff. She is also the executive director of Archewell, which is expected to launch in the new year after months of delays.

Miss St Laurent had been responsible for Melinda Gates’s profile and communications activities at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Industry experts said the wage bill for the three US appointments alone was unlikely to be any less than £650,000-a-year plus benefits.

PR expert Mark Borkowski said the extent of the new appointments proved the ‘global’ ambitions of the couple.

‘There’s clearly a big operation being set up there. What will be interesting to see is whether these [new] people challenge the way [the couple] go about things,’ he said.

‘The focus on them is pretty relentless and they clearly want to change the established narrative around them now they are trying to launch themselves in America.’ 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first ‘holiday special’ episode of their £30m Archewell Audio climbs up UK Spotify podcast chart to seventh place – after beginning at 17th (below deep sleep sounds of whale noises)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first 33-minute episode of their £30million podcast has climbed the UK Spotify charts to seventh place.

The programme, a Christmas special featuring Sir Elton John, initially charted in 17th place – below a podcast designed to send people to sleep with whale noises, called Deep Sleep Sounds – after being released on Tuesday afternoon.

However the episode slowly climbed through the ranks reaching 7th place today in the UK Spotify podcast charts, and 26 in the US.  

The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, called on a number of their famous friends to appear during the first episode, which feature a range of prominent British and American artists, activists and musicians.  

These included Sir Elton John, Brené Brown, Deepak Chopra, Stacey Abrams and James Corden, who they invited to review 2020.

Discussions focused on mental health and mindfulness in the first episode before sweetly concluding with the gospel song This Little Light of Mine.

The royal couple promised their podcast will ‘uplift and entertain audiences around the world’ as they spoke with a range of people who ‘inspire us’. 

PR guru James Henderson said that calling on their friends had been a wise move for the Royal couple.

He told The Sun: ‘Access to very well-known people willing to talk out about issues and their thoughts and experiences will always command interest.’

He added that their inclusion of their 19-month-old son Archie’s voice during the podcast – in which they encouraged him to say Happy New Year – seemed not to fit with their continued plea for privacy.

Archie – in his first public words – wished listeners a ‘Happy New Year’ in his American accent and said it was ‘fun’ to speak into a microphone.

Harry and Meghan, who have fiercely defended Archie’s privacy since his birth in May 2019 and filed a lawsuit this year to fight to protect it, encourage their son to talk into the microphone, with Harry telling him: ‘You can speak into it.’ Meghan also asks: ‘Archie, is it fun?’

Archie then replies: ‘Fun.’ Harry then says: ‘After me, ready? Happy.’ Archie says: ‘Happy.’ Meghan and Harry both then say ‘New’, and Archie says: ‘New Year’.

Judi James, a leading TV expert in social behaviour and body language, likened the double act to TV pairings Richard and Judy and Holly and Phil.

She claimed Prince Harry has dropped the Queen’s English accent in favour of a more ‘slurring mid-Estuary’ twang in his new podcast.

Judi observed: ‘Describing the podcast as ‘Our tweny-tweny holiday special’, Harry drops the second ‘t’ in ‘twenty’ in a verbal slurring that sounds either American or South London, although the ‘holiday special’ wording probably places it in the US. 

‘He says they ‘wanna’ honour rather than ‘want to’ and he pronounces the word ‘look’ more like ‘luck’, both of which would probably sound right in the Queen Vic in EastEnders.

‘Although his ‘meaningful our connections’ appears to have more of a US twang.’

The Sussexes called on many of their most famous friends to appear on their first Archewell Audio podcast, which they promise will ‘uplift and entertain audiences around the world’.

Meghan said they asked people who ‘inspire us’ to appear on the podcast and give ‘their thoughts on what they learned from 2020’.

Sir Elton was a friend of Harry’s mother Diana, Princess of Wales and has regularly supported her son over the years.

Corden was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding and was asked by the duke to perform at the couple’s evening celebration.

Other guests include Democrat activist Stacey Abrams, tennis star Naomi Osaka, American filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry, wellness icon Deepak Chopra and teenage activist Christina Adane from London, who campaigns on food issues.

Experts have called the couple’s Spotify tie-up as another big step towards building what experts believe could become a $1billion business empire in the US after a super-deal with Netflix to make documentaries about their pet projects.

But the podcast received a mixed response on social media yesterday. While some praised the podcast, one Twitter user commented, ‘Pass me the sick bucket’. 

Meghan quotes  Martin Luther King as she tells the audience that: ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that’. The couple end the podcast – the first of a series thought to be worth £30m ($40m) – by saying, ‘love always wins’.

Many Twitter users criticised the show, with one calling it ‘dull and preachy’ while another wrote ‘I’d rather watch concrete [set]’. 

However, fans called it ‘heartwarming’ and praised Archie’s appearance as ‘adorable’.

Other social media users suggested it was ironic that the couple had decided to feature their one-year-old son in the multi-million dollar podcast shortly after having moved to the US to protect their family’s privacy.

Simon Oakden tweeted: ‘I hope others will join me in respecting the wishes of these people and decide not to invade their privacy by listening to it.’ 

Nigel Roberts agreed, adding: ‘Great to see you getting the privacy is so craved for before leaving the United Kingdom…’

Other listeners gushed over Archie, the couple’s one-year-old son, as he made a brief appearance to giggle while trying to say ‘Happy New Year’ at the end of the podcast.

One person commented: ‘What a cute, pleasant surprise from little Archie. His laughter – so infectious.’ 

From an ‘explorer of consciousness’ to a poet-cum-rapper: How Harry and Meghan lined up all-star cast including Sir Elton John, James Corden, Naomi Osaka and Tyler Perry for their podcast debut

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released their first podcast and called on a number of their famous friends to appear.

The couple’s first 33-minute show as part of the deal with the streaming giant worth an estimated £30million ($40million) is a ‘holiday special’ that concludes with the gospel song This Little Light of Mine.

The guests appearing on the first episode feature a range of prominent British and American artists, activists and musicians.

The royal couple promised their podcast will ‘uplift and entertain audiences around the world’ as they spoke with a range of people who ‘inspire us’. 

Sir Elton John 

Link: Sir Elton was friends with Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, and he has remained a close friend of the prince since her death in 1997

Net worth: £360m ($485m)

Lives: Windsor, London, Nice and Los Angeles

One of Britain’s most famous rock stars, Sir Elton has been in royal circles for years, from performing at Prince Andrew’s 21st birthday party to Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.

The 73-year-old kept in touch with Harry, and has worked with him on AIDS charity work, a cause close to Diana’s heart.

In 2019 he performed at the lunch reception when Harry tied the knot with Meghan, and even gifted them the use of his private jet and home in Nice for which they were heavily criticised.

When Harry and Meghan forfeited their royal duties to move to America, they rented a mansion close to Sir Elton’s in a gated LA community. 

After they move to their current mansion in Montecito, it was reported they even consulted Sir Elton’s extravagant designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard for help choosing the decor.

James Corden

Link: He was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding and was asked by the duke to perform at the couple’s evening celebration.

Net worth: £22m ($30m)

Lives: Los Angeles and London

A breakthrough star of several British comedies including Gavin and Stacey, Corden left the UK in search of Hollywood stardom in 2015, and now presents the Late Late Show for CBS.

On news of Harry and Meghan’s engagement, the TV funnyman, 42, used his show to subtly plead for an invitation to the wedding, and was later invited.

It was reported Corden even managed to set up a ‘dance-off’ between Harry, William and their father Charles at the star-studded reception afterwards.

Corden is now one of the most prominent Britons in US showbiz – making him the perfect figure to generate publicity for the podcast on both sides of the Atlantic.  

Tyler Perry

Link: Through his mutual friend, Oprah Winfrey, Perry invited Harry, Meghan, and Archie to stay in his $18million Californian mansion while they searched for a permanent home

Net worth: £744m ($1bn)

Lives: Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York

Once-homeless Perry has earned a fortune through writing, developing and starring in dozens of films, TV series and stage plays, including as his most famous ‘Madea’ character. 

In 2011, he was listed by Forbes magazine as the highest-paid man in entertainment. 

The couple had been staying in Perry’s £15m ($20m) 12-bedroom Los Angeles mansion before moving to their current home in Montecito. 

The actor had previously posted images of the house on Instagram, which showed a  sunken Grecian-style bath and a huge terrace with stunning views of LA. 

Stacey Abrams 

Link: Meghan spoke to Abrams in August to discuss voter suppression in the US and how it affects people of colour

Net worth: Unknown, but Abrams said she was $200,000 in debt in 2018, owing $54,000 in federal back taxes and holding $174,000 in credit card and student loan debt

Lives: Atlanta, Georgia

Abrams is a key political figure in Georgia who was catapulted on to the national arena in the wake of the contentious 2020 US election.

She served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 before becoming the country’s first African American female nominee for a major party in a gubernatorial race.

She lost the 2018 vote to the Republican Governor Mike Kemp in an election which she accused her opponent of engaging in black voter suppression.

Abrams then founded Fair Fight Action to tackle the issue and register more voters from minority backgrounds.

In the 2020 Presidential election, Georgia was a crucial swing state, and many have credited Abrams and Fair Fight Action for turning it blue, along with many other states where she campaigned.  

Christina Adane

Link: Campaigning

Net worth: N/A

Lives: South London

At the age of 17, Christina has already served as co-chair of a campaign tackling food injustice and launched one of the most successful petitions in recent UK political history.

The teenager from London serves on the youth board of Bite Back 2030 which is fighting for young people to be given equal access to a good diet. 

The young trailblazer has also written poems about the Black Lives Matter movement and delivered speeches at global climate summits.

Christina, who received free school meals when she was younger, was at the forefront of Marcus Rashford’s campaign to help poorer children be fed during the school holidays this year.

She started the petition which was later championed by the Manchester United footballer which forced the government into two U-turns.

The 17-year-old has made it her mission to ensure that no child in the UK goes hungry. 

José Andrés

Link: The royal couple announced earlier this month they had partnered with the chef for their new charitable venture

Net worth: £37million ($50million)

Lives: Maryland, US

The chef and restaurateur is credited with bringing small plates to US cuisine from his native Spain.

Arriving in the country in 1990 with $50 to his name, he has since gone on to earn three Michelin stars, owning dozens of restaurants.

But he famously pulled out of a restaurant deal at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC in 2016 after the then Republican presidential candidate made disparaging comments about Mexicans.

The father-of-three has often featured on TV but later turned to more charitable work, starting the non-profit venture World Central Kitchen.

The organization provides free meals in the wake of natural disasters, starting in 2010 after the Haiti earthquake.

It has since helped deliver food to Americans during the Covid pandemic. 

Brené Brown

Link: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they ‘adore’ self-help guru Brené Brown in August. Her other celebrity fans include Oprah Winfrey, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Aniston.

Net worth: £2.2million ($3million)

Lives: Texas, US

Brené Brown has had a varied career, working as a professor, author, podcast host and self-help guru.

She has spent two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy and imparts her wisdom to students, readers and listeners.

Previously struggling with addictions to smoking, alcohol and emotional eating, she has since transformed her life and now helps others.

She has penned five New York Times bestselling books and her TED Talk on The Power of Vulnerability further propelled her in the public eye, going viral with millions of views on YouTube.

Brown also hosts two hit pocasts, Unlocking Us and Dare to Lead, where she recently interviewed Barack Obama. 

Rachel Cargle

Link: Meghan and Harry hosted a virtual discussion featuring Cargle in October for a special episode of the Time100 Talks

Net worth: £2.2million ($3million)

Lives: New York

Cargle came to prominence after a photo of her at the 2017 Women’s March against Donald Trump’s presidency went viral.

She held aloft a placard reading ‘If You Don’t Fight for All Women You Fight for No Women’, in front of the Capitol. 

The activist has since then used her platform to speak out on issues of race, gender and inequality on her ever growing social media accounts.

She is an advocate of intersectional feminism, which means different inequalities such as class, gender or race are treated as intersecting rather than separate issues.

Cargle tours a lecture, Unpacking White Feminism, and regularly appears in the media speaking out on issues of inequality.

The author has also founded the Loveland Foundation which helps provide therapy to black women and girls.

Deepak Chopra

Link: Meghan’s lifestyle blog The Tig, which she wrote before meeting Prince Harry, cited the works of Chopra

Net worth: £110million ($150million)

Lives: New York

The Indian-American author is one of the best-known figures in alternative medicine and the New Age movement. 

Chopra, who calls himself an ‘explorer of consciousness’, believes the human body can attain perfect health, avoiding ageing, disease and pain.

His claims have been heavily disputed by scientists who have dismissed his beliefs as ‘pseudoscience’.

The doctor and prolific author shot to fame with his appearances on Oprah Winfrey’s show where he discussed his views that someone’s mental health can affect their physical reality. 

Chopra and his wife currently live in a ‘health-centric’ condominium in Manhattan.

Matt Haig

Link: Meghan is one of the author’s high profile fans and included his poem in her guest edit of British Vogue last year 

Net worth: £3million ($4million)

Lives: Brighton, UK 

Matt Haig has been very open about his battles with mental health and has fed the subject into his successful books.

The author, 45, has written a number of bestsellers including Reasons To Stay Alive, How To Stop Time and Notes on a Nervous Planet.

Haig, who is married with two children, struggled with depression and anxiety in his 20s and nearly took his own life.

In the September issue of British Vogue, Meghan hailed his poem, which is an ode from a beach telling swimmers not to be body-conscious. 

Matt added that Meghan’s choice to include his piece is a ‘surreal honour’ and that he is glad she ‘digs my stupid humour.’  

Hussain Manawer

Link: Before Meghan met Harry, Manawer revealed the Suits actress approached him backstage at an event where they discussed mental health work

Net worth: N/A

Lives: Essex, UK

Hussain Manawer is a poet and campaigner who teaches about the importance of mental health. 

His success has seen him share stages with global popstars, reciting poems alongside Ed Sheeran, Cher and Ellie Goulding.

He has even performed with Justin Trudeau and Kofi Anan. 

The poet holds the record for the world’s largest mental health lesson and is also an ambassador for mental health charity Samaritans.

His poem The Sound of Support opened the FA Cup final in England this year, cheered on by Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Naomi Osaka

Link: Not known, but Meghan is close friends with fellow tennis star Serena Williams

Net worth: £19m ($25m)

Lives: Beverly Hills

At 23, Naomi Osaka, has already made a huge name for herself on the tennis court.

The Haitian-Japanese former World Number One became the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles tennis.

Osaka has already won three Grand Slam titles and is the reigning US Open champion.

She famously defeated Serena Williams in 2018 to win the US Open, her first Grand Slam.

The match is also remembered for Williams’s on field dispute with the umpire, causing her to receive a game penalty.

Osaka has become increasingly outspoken and this year attended Black Lives Matter protests and wore face masks bearing the names of black people killed by police to her tennis matches. 

George the Poet

Link: Harry and Meghan have had a long association with the British spoken-word artist. Prince Harry shared one of his poems to mark World AIDS Day in 2016, before George The Poet performed on the couple’s wedding day in 2018.

Net worth: N/A

Lives: London, UK

George the Poet is a man of many talents, performing as a spoken-word artist, rapper, poet and podcaster.

The artist uses hip hop influences to discuss social and political issues.  

His influences range from Maya Angelou, Tupac Shakur, Nas, Dizzee Rascal and George Watsky.

Last year, he was offered an MBE but turned down the award because the British Empire’s treatment of his ancestral homeland of Uganda.