The Duke and Duchess of Sussex say “a ripple of hope can turn into a wave of change” after being honoured for their activism work in New York.
Harry and Meghan received the Ripple of Hope Award at a gala by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) organisation on Tuesday night.
The accolade honours exemplary leaders across government, business, advocacy, and entertainment, and the pair were recognised for their racial justice and mental health work.
During the ceremony the couple announced a new collaboration between their foundation The Archewell Foundation and the RFKHR – the Archewell Foundation Award for Gender Equity in Student Film.
ANDREW KELLY
“Our hope with this award is to inspire a new generation of leadership in the arts, where diverse up and coming talent have a platform to have their voices heard and their stories told,” the couple said in a statement.
“The values of RFK Foundation and The Archewell Foundation are aligned in our shared belief of courage over fear, and love over hate.
“Together we know that a ripple of hope can turn into a wave of change.”
It comes just hours before the launch of the couple’s tell-all Netflix show, which is due to begin streaming on Thursday.
The royal family is bracing itself for bombshell revelations, with Harry speaking of a “hierarchy in the family”, a “dirty game”, and warning “we know the full truth” in a trailer for the show.
Elsewhere in the night the duke joked he thought he was taking his wife on a “date night”.
Speaking onstage with RFKHR president Kerry Kennedy, Harry said: “I’ll be honest with you Kerry I just thought we were just going on a date night so I found it quite weird that we’re sharing the room with 1500 people.
“We don’t get out much these days because our kids are so small and young so, this is completely unexpected.”
To laughter from the audience he added: “But it’s nice to share date night with all of you, so thank you for coming.”
Meghan added: “Thank you for bringing me on this very special date night.”
“You’re welcome,” Harry said.
The pair were recognised alongside other honourees including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
'People paid ONE MILLION DOLLARS to sit this room with them!'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) December 7, 2022
Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield discusses Harry and Meghan being honoured for their work with mental health and racial injustice at a New York gala. pic.twitter.com/656TBGdpqg
Speaking on GB News, royal commentator Kinsey Schofield said the award was given for "standing up against racism within the royal family."
Talking to Rosie Wright and Martin Daubney on GB News Breakfast, the podcast host said the couple had been heckled when they entered the venue.
"People paid $1million to sit in this room with them!
"Meghan looked beautiful. She was in a custom-made Louis Vutton dress. They did small group of people that were waiting for them at the entrance. We did have a heckler, that yelled 'why are you trying to destroy the royal family?', but for the most part they are considering the evening a success."