The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: A glimmer of hope can turn into a wave of change
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said that “a glimmer of hope can turn into a wave of change” after being honored for their activism in New York.
arry and Meghan received the Ripple of Hope Award at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) Gala Dinner on Tuesday night.
The awards honor exemplary leaders in government, business, advocacy and entertainment, and the pair are recognized for their racial justice and mental health work.
During the ceremony, the couple announced a new partnership between their foundation The Archewell Foundation and RFKHR – The Archewell Foundation Award for Gender Equality in Student Film.
“Our hope with this award is to inspire a new generation of leaders in the arts, where diverse and up-and-coming talents have a platform for their voices to be heard and their stories to be heard. Theirs is told,” the couple said in a statement.
“The values of the RFK Foundation and the Archewell Foundation are consistent with our shared beliefs about courage overcoming fear and love overcoming hate.
“Together, we know that a glimmer of hope can turn into a wave of change.”
It comes just hours before the premiere of the Netflix show about the couple, which is scheduled to begin streaming on Thursday.
The royal family are braced for shocking revelations, with Harry talking about “family hierarchy”, a “dirty game” and warning “we know the whole truth” in movie trailer.
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Harry and Meghan received the Ripple of Hope Award at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) Gala Dinner on Tuesday night (Evan Agostini/AP)
Elsewhere in the night, the duke joked that he thought he was taking his wife on a “date night”.
Speaking on stage 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 find it rather odd that we’re in the same room. with 1500 people.
“We don’t go out much these days because the kids are so young, so it’s completely unexpected.”
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To the laughter of the audience, he added, “But it was great to share a date night with all of you, so thank you for coming.”
Meghan added: ‘Thank you for bringing me on this very special date night.
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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, from left, Prince Harry and Kerry Kennedy attend the Robert F Kennedy Ripple of Hope Human Rights Awards (Evan Agostini/AP)
“Nothing,” said Harry.
The couple was recognized along with other honorees, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to RFKHR, honorees are those who have demonstrated “a steadfast commitment to social change and work to defend and promote equity, equity and human rights”.
Ms Kennedy, daughter of Robert F Kennedy, said the Sussexes had been “extremely brave” in addressing issues of racial justice and mental illness.
“They stood up, they talked about racial justice and they talked about mental illness in a very brave way,” she told US news agency Extra on the event’s green carpet.
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Kerry Kennedy, president of RFKHR, says Meghan has ‘normalized’ discussion about mental health (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
“In this world, after the rise of Covid, there has been a huge increase… people globally are reporting they have severe anxiety and depression.
“It is incredibly important and very brave for Meghan to appear on national television and normalize discussions about mental health at this time.”
Members of the public gathered in the rain and took photos and videos of the couple as they arrived at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel on Tuesday.
Meghan wore a white long-sleeved Louis Vuitton dress complete with a front slit and off-the-shoulder neckline, and the pair smiled at the crowd before posing on the event’s green carpet.
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The Ripple of Hope ceremony in 2022 hosted by Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin (Evan Agostini/AP)
The 2022 Ripple of Hope ceremony is hosted by Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin.
As well as Harry and Meghan, those recognized at the RFKHR event included Frank Baker, co-founder and managing partner of Siris, Brian Moynihan, Bank of America’s chairman and chief executive officer, and Michael Polsky, founder and chief executive officer of Invenergy.
The ceremony also recognized NBA legend and civil rights icon Bill Russell with a posthumous award.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/duke-and-duchess-of-sussex-a-ripple-of-hope-can-turn-into-a-wave-of-change-42201329.html The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: A glimmer of hope can turn into a wave of change