The Duke and Duchess of Sussex receive the Ripple of Hope Award in New York
Crowds gathered in the rain to watch the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a gala dinner in New York, where they were honored for their racial justice and work in mental health.
arry and Meghan will be recognized along with other honorees, including Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky, by Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR).
Members of the public took photos and videos of the couple as they arrived at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel on Tuesday.
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The event comes just hours before the premiere of the Netflix show about the couple, which is scheduled to begin streaming on Thursday (Evan Agostini/AP)
Meghan wore an off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved white dress, the couple smiled in front of the crowd before posing on the green carpet of the event.
They will be awarded the Ripple of Hope Award, which honors exemplary leaders in government, business, advocacy and entertainment.
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”.
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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)
The 2022 ceremony will be chaired by Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin.
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 bracing for shocker revelations, with Harry talking about “family hierarchy”, a “dirty game” and warning “we know the whole truth”.
RFKHR President Kerry Kennedy said the Sussexes had been “extremely brave” in addressing issues of racial equity and mental illness.
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Kerry Kennedy, president of RFKHR, says Meghan has ‘normalized’ discussion about mental health (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Ms Kennedy, daughter of Robert F Kennedy, said she was “proud” to honor them at the gala dinner.
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“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.
“In this world, after the rise of Covid, there has been a spike… of people globally 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.
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The 2022 ceremony will be hosted by Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin (Evan Agostini/AP).
So I’m very proud.
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 will also recognize NBA legend and civil rights icon Bill Russell with a posthumous award.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/duke-and-duchess-of-sussex-to-accept-ripple-of-hope-award-in-new-york-42201176.html The Duke and Duchess of Sussex receive the Ripple of Hope Award in New York