When the Duchess of Sussex announced the first patronages she would take on following her marriage, many of us were excited when she announced she would rep for Mayhew, an animal charity based in England. Post-Sussexit, there was some conversation about whether Meghan would “abandon” her patronages but it looks like she’s holding on to them for now. She visited Mayhew once with the “royal rota” and she also made one visit in January of this year with only a staffer recording the visit with a couple of photos. Still, we know animal charities will always be near and dear to Meghan’s heart. So what’s going on?
Meghan Markle has made secret calls to an animal charity fighting through the coronavirus pandemic to keep homeless people with their dogs. The Duchess of Sussex is patron of Mayhew, which has running costs of $7,400 a day but has seen its income devastated. The charity gets all its money from donations and relies heavily on public fundraising events which have been cancelled due to social distancing rules.
They have launched an urgent appeal for funds to buy food as well as flea and worming treatments for their animals. Some are still being looked after in their shelter in North West London, but the charity is also unusual in that it helps homeless and other vulnerable people keep pets in the community.
A source in the Sussex camp told Newsweek: “The Duchess is in touch and working with Mayhew at this time. One thing many people may not realize is the range of work Mayhew does. It is not your classic animal charity. They are supporting so many other people in the community too.”
The Mayhew’s work is partly designed to aid the mental health of homeless and other vulnerable people who rely on their pets emotionally. Helping keep the animals well fed and healthy involves face-to-face contact with clients at high risk from coronavirus. This hands-on approach has had to be scaled back since the lockdown came into effect in Britain. However, they have been continuing some face-to-face meetings with their clients in emergencies.
I would hope that Meghan is doing more than just contacting Mayhew’s people. I hope she’s making calls to would-be donors, many of whom would probably love to Zoom with a duchess for five minutes, you know? I mean, I’ll be fair – this is the kind of vague “she’s doing something,she’s making calls!” announcement which the Keens would probably make and we would totally trash them for it. I’ll hold my tongue on Meghan because she’s shown that she’s quite innovative with how she raises money for charity, so maybe she’s working on something which will be unveiled shortly.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.
I grew up near Mayhew and our family used to adopt our animals from them. They’re a wonderful charity.
Meghan fans and supporters heard…………..I follow some of them on twitter and they are donating…..I will donate as well but when I think it will go to UK charity!!! we have enough hate in the world and it is Meghan! only for HER…….
Heard about it and donated last night. Only for Meghan.
“Only for Meghan.”
Yeah, who gives a fu%@ about the dogs, right?
I will donate today -only because of Duchess Meghan.
I will also check this out and donate because it is Meghan.
VS…so glad you’re able to look at the big picture and offer help for this charity. I support many of the Duchess’ causes, but , just can’t with the UK right now. Do hope the organisation remains solvent.
@ VS
I absolutely love the idea of battling against hate by giving specific amounts to specific causes. That way the solution is tangible and has a real impact for someone. I’ll go donate as well. #onlyformeghan. 😘🎉
One of the more striking things I’ve learned from relatives who work with animal charities/shelters/etc. is that a LOT of pets are surrendered by heartbroken pet parents who can simply no longer afford basic care items for their animals (not bc they wouldn’t rather keep them), yet there are generally few systems in place at shelters to address this aside from just taking animals in. Of course doing so is quite heroic (I certainly don’t mean to sound disparaging, these people are doing the lord’s work!) but in many cases it turns out that supporting pet parents’ abilities to access basic things like pet food, etc. allows them to keep their pet at home – a win for them, their pet AND the shelter that would otherwise have to carry the burden of housing and caring for the animal full time. Such a simple seeming thing, and one that it sounds like Mayhew’s community initiatives address.
I admit I haven’t done the research yet but my next step is to learn more about Mayhew and donate what I can today (indeed despite my feelings on the UK). So happy to hear that others in the CB community are doing the same 🙂 Go team!
I donated last night in her name. A lot of her supporters have done so as well.
I have just donated to Mayhew when I read the post on a Sussex fan page. Anything to support Meghan’s patronage.
I have just donated as well and included the £3 treat took plus the processing fees which I always pay! I dedicated it to the Duchess as well🐾
I did donate as well and only did because of Meghan
I’m just glad she can work in peace and not have to deal with that family and pack of Royal rota anymore. I will forever respect Harry especially for being an actual human being and great person for protecting her and Archie and Meghan for keeping her grace and dignity despite all that has been thrown at her. Keep working and thriving and let the others back at the House of Horrors destroy themselves.
I think they should be renamed to the Royal Rottweilers! It’s much more accurate, don’t you think?
Though @Britt, I agree with you and anyone who states that Harry saw the need to protect his family over his Royal position and for that it shows how much character and devotion he has to his family. I would imagine that TQ never thought that they would actually leave, I only state this because she revoked his military standing and thought that he wouldn’t give that up for his wife and son, but he did. Though I am judging by what I read and my own conclusions, nothing more. I think that the fact that The Firm never coming out to protect Harry and Meghan in the first smear campaign spoke volumes to Harry. Then The Tatler comes out swinging at Keen Kate and they are immediate at denying the piece. Nothing more to be said as actions speak louder than words.
We don’t even hear the the Keens are making calls, we hear that they’re keen to learn more about blah blah, so no I don’t have anything bad to say about Meghan, especially since she’s put out results and the details aren’t privy to us until after it’s done anyway.
Well, there was that one call from the fake desk….
@L84Tea, don’t forget the bingo numbers! What dedication and a worthy cause 🤣
Agreed, and the comment by the spokesperson saying they didn’t want to divulge too much too soon suggests to me something is cooking 😉
Based on her history I’ll reserve judgement
We heard that Mayhew was next before the pandemic so I’m sure they have something in the works. I think COVID may have thrown things out of whack and they’re adjusting accordingly.
Thank you! The suggestion that Duchess Meghan should be criticized for staying in touch, making calls and working behind the scenes to support the Mayhew didn’t land right to me. Especially during pandemic lockdown which is still in effect in Gavin Newsome’s California. And especially since she is no longer a working royal. I’m only going to laugh because I know Catherine D’Great and her passive aggressive fandom are doing Jack Schmitt.
I heard she had a project coming for the Mayhew but it might be on hold due to the pandemic.
Mayhew did allude to a new project with her months ago. Was it teased with a short animated video on their site?
“The Duchess is in touch and working with Mayhew at this time.”
This suggests Meghan is doing more than calling them. We typically don’t find out about actual Sussex initiatives until they are complete.
I agree Kaiser about the whole “if it was the Cambridges we would be making fun of them” thing so I hope that these calls are actually going somewhere and not just on a superficial level of “just here to do the bare minimum so it looks like I’m doing something useful!” that her in-laws are known for
BUT Meghan has demonstrated a genuine passion for all of this and had 3 good projects within a year and a half so hopefully she is cooking something up (and hopefully it won’t be a 5 question survey)
Meghan has a history of working behind the scenes and actually getting things done. So no I wouldn’t compare her work ethic to Catherine D’Greats nor would I bash her and laugh at her efforts with the Mayhew.
I am not comparing work ethics nor am I bashing her. I am a massive supporter of Meghan and you can ask any regular commenter here.
In my second paragraph I literally praise her projects and say she’s demonstrated a genuine passion and in both my paragraphs I basically mock Kate and William.
I was responding to the part in quotations. I perhaps could have worded it differently. I don’t doubt your support for the Sussexes at all.
As already said, Meghan is innovative and always thinks out of the box.
I thought the whole “she’s making calls” thing was super vague too, but even just this article had people on twitter donating to it, so maybe its enough just for this to have gotten out.
Considering others with the rota tried to hurt Harry and Meghan’s projects in the past, it’s smart to be vague.
How is it vague? When have we seen the other duchess maintain connections with her patronages and inspire donations or new collaborations to not only keep the charity from going bankrupt but to thrive as has been the case with the hubb kitchen and smartworks? Why do the goalposts keep changing for a duchess who isn’t even officially a “working royal” ?
The goalposts aren’t moving. I’m a huge Meghan supporter and I don’t doubt she’s working behind the scenes. It’s perfectly fair to say that if this had been article about Kate, we all would have laughed at how keen she is. We know Meghan is different, but based on THIS ARTICLE all we know is she is “making phone calls” and its okay to acknowledge that we would have given Kate a hard time for the same thing.
I’m not sure if you mean to come across this way, but you are being sort of…..harsh with people who are big Meghan supporters (Sofia up above being another example.)
I understand Kaiser partial caution here due to the wording and the fact we are all in lockdown, but I think just the fact their team is able to put forward such a piece is a plus. Pay attention to the text: they do not waste all paragraphs gushing over Meghan and her commitment- they actually go into detail about the charity ,their work and they even outward say how much the charity needs per month, with quotes from people that work there.
This is what I find amazing. Yes, we can assume she is doing more and even donating money, but she is already doing more by setting the tone: use my name as much as you want, but focus on the charity and the people behind it.
Great catch… her name is attached to it, but the charity’s work is still the main story. It’s nice to read just facts without snarky opinion. I didn’t know that some of the dog owners (or foster parents) are vulnerable people, which I don’t think has ever been mentioned in other articles by the you know who’s….
It’s also interesting to see that even such a vague report had people donating! I think a lot of people are eager to help organizations and these kind of reminders help people decide how to support.
Go on Duchess.
Is there low key shade being thrown toward the Duchess of Sussex? It’s not at British RR levels but still detectable. If any of it is to be believed the article does say she is in touch AND working with the charity. She isn’t the Duchess of Cambridge with all the hoopla over things she’s keen to do yet never does. Meghan actually gets shit done. No need to trash her. She’s been trashed and bashed enough. Her Twitter fandom is already !making donations to the Mayhew and showing receipts. If her patronage inspires fundraising what else need be done? None of her patronages have gone bankrupt I see.
The article is not to be believed. Look at the author. He is an ex-SUN tabloid writer who hates Meghan. Now he is working in the U.S. / or working for newsweek.
Also, she’s now doing this completely voluntarily, right? Compared to Kate et al, who are all (effectively) getting paid in taxpayer money for supporting their patronages? So even if it was “just a call”, which I don’t believe it is, Meaghan is already going above and beyond what any of the other Royals would do.
(Seriously, can you imagine W & K doing anything if they didn’t have to??)
Absolutely right. I was also wondering how things would work for their Commonwealth Trust positions in particular. Petty Betty yanks all funding, their staff and office but says, OK, I will leave you with these two Trust positions? It’s her trust but she is not supporting the Sussexes? So, any work and expenses (travel, security…. everything) are to be borne by the Sussexes? Appallingly bad form on the part of the Queen (and just plain b*tchy to boot).
I’m putting out into the universe that Meghan will come out with a book to support this charity.
I have hoped for a while there would be a children’s book featuring the dogs!! Someone wrote an adorable one about rescue Beagle Guy moving to England.
Oh that would be amazing, would definitely buy as gifts!
If this is true, I’m definitely buying.
We can assume she is doing more because she always does. We assume Kate doesn’t because we’ll … she doesn’t.
LO…talk about getting straight to the point. Thanks for my morning laugh!
@ Lo : Well, there is that of course. 🙂
I agree that just ‘making calls’ is unlikely to be of much help. But as you say, we should give her the benefit of the doubt given her track record of actually doing things.
“Making Calls” is how things get done.
“Making Announcements” is just that.
Louder for the people in the back👏🏾
I have to come back here after reading this article and it’s “wonderful comments from the British readers” on the Daily Fail.. One would think that Megan and Harry physically entered each of their homes and robbed them at gun point… The racism is unreal.. Their hatred for MM holds no bounds 🤭
Yeah I bet Harry must be so pleased that he left the terribly racist hotbed of the UK to move to the so much less racist United States. What a shock it must have been for Meghan to come live in the UK where POC don’t get murdered by the police all the time and where there aren’t race riots frequently, the British are so racist.
@grumpy………..do you see what is going on in the US right? people are protesting; I guess it is so much better to hide the problem and pretend nothing is wrong!!! when we are fed up, in the US, we protest! yes we have elected an idiot but we call his idiocy every day……..at least some do!
H&M are much better in the USA than they could ever be in the UK where tall poppy syndrome is the rule of law; so many envious people over the success of others!
@ Grumpy I don’t remember their statement saying they were splitting time in the US to flee racism- it’s just obvious that some of the press harassment was because of racism& we are hearing that some in the palace looked down on her because of it.
I’m seeing a lot of takes like Canada, Europe etc is so much better than US. Racism & specifically anti-blackness is a global issue so I can’t see why any country should be claiming the moral high ground here least of all one of the original colonisers and with a current government headed up by Boris Johnson (with his illustrious history of racist comments) & behind the Windrush deportation scandal& hostile immigration environment. Britain may not have same scale of police brutality incidents as the US but it IS an issue in Britain as this thread illustrates https://twitter.com/illh0eminati/status/1266441604170223617?s=21
I see grumpy went real quiet, real quick. Here’s a nice little quote from Thomas Jefferson, our favorite problematic founding father “.the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants”. Don’t confuse their personal reasons for leaving U.K. and the political turmoil we are going through here.It’s deliberate ignorance.
And this is Newsweek. So, the actual demonstration of journalism (I.e., lack of opinion, innuendo, and the focus on the charity, it’s mission and the effect COVID has had on it) isn’t surprising. This is an example of the Sussex’s stated media strategy of working with legitimate media after dumping the Rota.
I agree that Meghan is working on something with Mayhew and that it probably got derailed because of the pandemic. Behind the scenes calls to regroup makes sense.
ETA. The mere release of this article has already prompted donations, so if for no other reason, it’s accomplishing something good.
Yep that’s Meg, working hard not complaining once about her workload, helping husband settle into a new life, spending time with child and probably working on baby number 2. I don’t see how people can not like her over the WK whose mainwork consists of runnning to the media, blame blame blame and complain.
Meghan is no longer a working royal, she doesn’t owe anybody a work ethic anymore. Any charity work she does now is a bonus.
@Samantha….she MADE THE CALL. She didn’t pose with a phone in her hand at a fake desk, and fake wrote with a pen in her LEFT hand when she is right-handed. And guess what? that one call (from across the pond) and story signaled to her supporters to actually start donating so the Charity could stay afloat and not close up like charities of other Royals actually living in the UK. I’ll wait and see the outcome before criticizing her effort.
For those of you donating to Mayhew, I encourage you to also look for similar organizations in your own community! Our local humane society has given away literal tons of pet food during this pandemic and they wouldn’t be able to do so without donations!
Ridiculous