Kind thoughts for Meghan Markle

Accompanied by her mother Gloria Ragland and husband Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was the picture of elegance in her gold Johanna Ortiz cocktail gown when she arrived at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City to receive one of the Ms. Foundation 2023 Women of Vision Awards.  Meghan arrived to a crowd of news reporters, members of the public and paparazzi trying to get a glimpse of Meghan, being rewarded with also seeing Gloria and Harry. In her acceptance speech Meghan first congratulated the other award honorees Wanda Irving, Kimberly Inez, LaTosha Brown, Olivia Julianna and Rebekah Bruesehoff, before speaking of how as a young girls Meghan would come home from school, settle down before the T.V. to watch Jeopardy, and see an array of things on the coffee table at home: the cat's collar, her homework, some mail and some magazines on which some said Ms . on their cover - joking there were a lot of them has her mother had a subscription. Meghan spoke of how she vividly remembered the

In press announcements released today  the organizers of Invictus Games Dusseldorf  and Amazon let it be known that to ensure full accessibility to the 2023 Invictus Games Amazon will become the Official Ticket Partner of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 and will offer all viewers free admission to all sporting events of the Games between September 9 and 16, 2023. Amazon and the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 stated that they want to lower barriers - also in terms of social barriers, adding "the games should be accessible to everyone who wants to be part of this unforgettable experience." Classic tickets will still be required for the ceremonies of the Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023. For the opening ceremony on September 9, 2023 and the closing ceremony on September 16, 2023. For all competitions in between, admission is free of charge and possible without prior registration.

Meghan and Harry announced through their Archewell website, that in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month 2023, the couple recently visited with a local youth group,  Aha! Santa Barbara  . While there, Meghan and Harry learned about the experiences with social media and societal pressures that this group face and heard how it affects their mental well-being.  Meghan and Harry spent an hour speaking with teens aged 14-18 both "about the opportunities social media can provide for connection and community, as well as the ways in which it also raises issues of insecurity, peer-pressure, and potential for self-harm, among other risks." AHA! state that their mission is to equip teenagers, educators, and parents with social and emotional intelligence to dismantle apathy, prevent despair, and interrupt hate-based behavior.  Since 1999, AHA! has provided social-emotional education to over 20,000 teens and youth care providers. AHA! work to address what they call their five pi l

What better time of year than Mother's Day to support an organization that supports pregnant and parenting youth in LA’s foster care system so that they can build a positive future for themselves and their children. Meghan Markle is doing just that. In photos released by the  Alliance of Mom's organization  Meghan is wearing one of the organization's fundraising T-Shirts that sell for $40.00 (US) a piece.  Like many non-profits Alliance for Mom's relies on volunteers, in this case a group of moms who each experienced their own personal journeys and who volunteer to offer hands-on support to facilitate better outcomes for young families in LA’s foster care system. Statistics published on the Alliance of Mom's website advise us: Children born to parents in foster care have a higher likelihood of entering foster care themselves. Only 58% of youth in foster care graduate from high school on time.  Only 10% graduate from college. Over 1 in 5 youth in foster care report e

Wishing Prince Archie a very Happy 4th Birthday. The Sussex family supporters group   #Sussex Community Events  have put together this cute little birthday  video . Supporters of Harry and Meghan (myself included) have already raised over $50k in the two days since launching the Archie and Lili 2023 birthday charity fundraiser. Whilst Harry is in London attending the Coronation of his father King Charles, Meghan will be at hand in California to ensure young Archie enjoys his birthday and more importantly - gets his cake!

Followers of Meghan and Harry have kicked-started another 2023 charity fundraising event, this one to honour the May and June 2023 birthdays of Archie and Lili. The fundraiser is organized by members of the #SussexSquad or Squad as they often refer to themselves, who communicate predominantly through social media.  The kid's play spaces charity  Kaboom  has been chosen to receive the donations. Kaboom's mission is to unite with communities to build kid-designed play spaces that "can spark joy and foster a sense of belonging for the kids who are often denied opportunities to thrive." Kaboom often work with communities living in deprived areas or with those who have suffered trauma. In 2022 Meghan and Harry through their Archewell Foundation partnered with the City of Uvalde, Texas and KABOOM! to create a play space for kids and the community to enjoy at DeLeon Park, following the tragic shooting at the nearby Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. Sussex Squad members

To commemorate what is the 53rd annual Earth Day and " In the spirit of helping the planet and thinking local to impact the global" members of Harry and Meghan's Archewell Foundation team took part in a cleanup of the LA River in partnership with  LAWaterkeeper  .  Los Angeles Waterkeeper’s mission is to fight for the health of the region’s waterways, and for sustainable, equitable and climate-friendly water supplies.  The Archewell team, under the guidance of LA Waterkeeper, spent the morning helping to clean up along the LA River, a river that it 2022 was named as one of America's most endangered rivers .  According to the LAWaterkeeper website: The LA River represents one of the few remaining freshwater habitats for native species in Los Angeles, yet the LA River has been treated for far too long as a polluted flood control channel instead of a living river that could provide a host of benefits to the Los Angeles region. On the Archewell website, Meghan and Harr

The ultra loyal followers of Meghan and Harry collectively known as the "Sussex Squad" received Royal recognition for their 2022 fundraising efforts for the African based non-profit Sentebale. Sentebale was created 16 years ago by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso.  The Sussex Squad have organized multiple fundraisers for various charities and causes linked to Harry and Meghan and over the years they have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. Last year to honour both Meghan and Harry's 2022 birthdays the Squad raised just under $61k which they chose to donate to Sentebale. This donation received a special mention  in the Sentebale 2022 Annual Report. The Sentebale annual report also acknowledges Prince Harry's personal donation to the charity he co-founded in the amount of $1.5 million U.S.  Harry had previously advised that these funds were from the advance funds he received for his chart topping auto-biography "Spare." The Sussex Squad will soon kick off a

Prince Harry and Harry Potter are both making all the news this April. Prince Harry because he has confirmed that he will attend the May 2023 Westminster Abbey Coronation of his father Charles. We are told that Meghan, Archie and Lili are not coming to the UK for the event with no official reasons, as yet, as to why. This has not stopped lots of speculation in the media. Like everything, in time we shall get to know all. And Harry Potter, well the popular J.K. Rowling books and films are now going to transformed into a multi-series T.V. show and will be streamed on (HBO) Max. No news yet on the anticipated release date. 

The Ms. Foundation for Women announced that the Duchess of Sussex is an honoree for the 2023 Women of Vision Awards, which will take place on May 16, 2023 in New York City. The Ms. Foundation for Women is a non-profit organization for women in the United States, founded in 1972 by Gloria Steinem, Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin and Marlo Thomas.  The mission of the Ms. Foundation for Women is to build women’s collective power in the U.S. to advance equity and justice for all, by investing in, and strengthening, the capacity of women-led movements to advance meaningful social, cultural and economic change in the lives of women. Per their website, during the  2022 fiscal year the foundation announced grants of  $5.2M supporting more than 150 grantee partners across America and with 97% of its grantee portfolio comprised of organizations led by women and girls of color.  The funds support key programs and ongoing initiatives that center the voices of women and girls of color o

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed in a post on their Archewell website that they have provided support to two aid organizations who are meeting the immediate needs of those affected by the February 2023 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria.  Meghan and Harry have partnered, through their Archewell Foundation, with both of these organizations before, being World Central Kitchen (WCK) and Humanity Crew.  Humanity Crew provides mental health aid to children, caregivers, and emergency responders. World Central Kitchen immediately deploys teams, liaising with local chefs to provide hot meals in the area.  The Humanity Crew organization was founded in 2015. They focus their work on forcibly displaced children and their families. They support refugees around the world through direct intervention. They also train others as mental health first responders.  Humanity Crew state that they know that establishing a new narrative in a child's memory can reduce future stress-related disorders and

In a week that saw Prince Harry at the High Court of Justice in London, UK continuing his battle against the underhand tactics of the UK tabloids - this time the alleged phone hacking and other stuff by the UK Daily Mail - wife Meghan received some positive news in respect to her defence of the defamation claim brought against her by her half-sister Samantha, when a Florida judge dismissed part of Samantha's claim in its entirety - with prejudice. Samantha Markle started the court case alleging that Meghan had both defamed her and subjected Samantha to 'injurious falsehood' as a result of comments printed in the Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand book Finding Freedom, as well as during Meghan's 2021 interview with Oprah that aired on CBS. Per the court pleadings, Samantha took issue with many things written about her in Finding Freedom, alleging that Meghan was responsible for these defamatory statements.  Samantha also stated in her court pleadings that when Meghan told Op

José Andrés the founder of the humanitarian non-profit World Central Kitchen (WCK) has announced a fundraising cook book called "The World Central Kitchen Cookbook Feeding Humanity Feeding Hope" that will be published by  Penguin Random House and is available for pre-order now at a cost of $35.00 US ($48.00 Canadian.) The book, that will come out in September 2023, is actually a bit more than a cook book, being described as a "captivating collection of stories and recipes from renowned chefs, local cooks, and celebrity friends of José Andrés." The WCK charity feeds communities impacted by natural disasters and humanitarian crises. For the past year the charity has been feeding Ukrainians after Russia invaded.  This will be the first WCK cook book which as well as recipes inspired by the places where the organization have cooked, will include narratives from the chefs and volunteers on the front lines.  Famous WCK supporters have shared recipes too, like Breakfast T

OK so Lili was not made a peer of the realm but in a story  that was broken by People Magazine  we learned that at Lilibet's March 3rd 2023 christening,  the 21 month year-old second child of Harry and Meghan was officially baptised Princess Lilibet Diana - and it is the Princess part that is making world headlines. True to Harry and Meghan's usual method of releasing stories whenever they can,  we learned of the baptism of Lili 5 days after the happy event.  We are told that the religious ceremony was held at the family home in Montecito, with the bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor officiating and with Tyler Perry confirmed as Lili's Godfather - something he had revealed during the December 2022 airing of Meghan and Harry's Netflix series.  The name of Lili's Godmother has not yet been revealed and may not be. A statement for Rev. John Taylor on the  Episcopal Diocese of Los Angles website  reads as follows: " On behalf of Pres