While the Windsors were doing everything but stand on their heads to get attention on May 19th, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated their third wedding anniversary with a simple announcement on their Archewell site. That announcement wasn’t even *about* their anniversary, and yet it speaks to who they are and what their shared goals are. Harry and Meghan announced a new venture, in association with their partnership with World Central Kitchen. The Sussexes have previously partnered with World Central Kitchen to build relief centers in Dominica and Puerto Rico. And now they’re building one in Mumbai, India.
Happy anniversary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are celebrating their third wedding anniversary on May 19, using the special occasion to announce a new philanthropic project from their Archewell Foundation. In a statement shared on their Archewell website on Wednesday, the couple announced plans to build a Community Relief Center in Mumbai, India, through their partnership with World Central Kitchen. The release cited the nation’s alarming second wave of COVID-19 as grounds for erecting the center there.
“Right now, COVID-19 cases are spiking across the entire country of India. On Tuesday, India’s total virus cases exceeded 25 million, with 260,000 new cases and 4,329 deaths reported in the past 24 hours,” the statement said. “Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions have been infected, and there is widespread concern that the crisis is even worse than reported.”
With sights set on serving the long-term needs of the local community, Archewell and World Central Kitchen (run by celebrity chef José Andrés) will open their third of four Community Relief Centers in India’s largest city. Mumbai is also home Myna Mahila, “an Indian organization focused on women’s health and employment opportunities that The Duchess of Sussex has long supported.”
“The purpose of these centers is to provide relief and resilience (as well as healing and strength) for the communities in which they’re based,” the statement said. “During future crises, these centers can be quickly activated as emergency response kitchens—or vaccination sites—and through calmer times they can serve as food distribution hubs, schools, clinics, or community gathering spaces for families.”
Before anyone starts up with “this won’t be up and running in time for the current Covid crisis in India,” they know that and that’s why they’re talking about long-term solutions for future crises. And this is not the only thing they’re doing in India either – their work with Vax Live and the Vaccine Alliance has raised millions for struggling, vaccine-poor countries around the world, including India.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Wonderfully amazing
This was such a classy move by the Sussexes to announce this on their anniversary, rather than congratulate themselves. It really makes all the RF shenanigans yesterday look all the more foolish.
Agreed. They are just living their best lives, and I adore them for it.
“This won’t be up and running in time for the current Covid crisis in India” this is also a very stupid critique/observation because the population of India is enormous. We are talking 1.366 billion people, and just over 150 million have been vaccinated. Covid won’t be letting up anytime soon, so anytime is good for a relief center. I love that they are providing tangible, real help to people that need it.
It’s also a very smart choice since as a low-lying city, Mumbai is likely at risk for extreme weather events due to climate change. Having a disaster relief center in a location like that is perfect. Same thing for the choices of Dominica and Puerto Rico as locations.
And i thought it was a good that they noted it can be used for vaccinations later if need be. It will take many many months to vaccinate the population there and there might be a need for booster shots as well so this will definitely be good use made of this. The other one in Dominica was up and running by February after being announced qt the end of the year so it might be up within the next 1-2 months depending on when they started planning and developing it.
That’s my Duchess.
I’m not just in awe of them, but also of the team they’ve put together. So professional and organized, so good at bringing their foundation into a larger network of organizations – just like the networking they’re doing with their personal lives. Really smart.
Isn’t it funny how they’ve had the same team for nearly a year now and not once has their been a complaint of them being terrible bosses? Just goes to show that KP staff really is that incompetent. And i bet that was a real shock for meghan. That for an institution that likes to pretend their relevant on a global stage its all run so amateur-ish.
I can’t remember where I read (it may have been a comment on here!) but it rang so true to me. That the BRF is a fantasy that sells itself as this big business and that Hollywood is a big business that sells itself as a fantasy. Meghan, coming from the latter, fell for the pretense put forth by the former and was probably shocked at how incompetent and do-nothing the Firm actually was. That the point of all the “work” was to put forth as little as possible that met the minimum standards of a PR smokescreen for the BRF to justify itself as a public institution.
And I distinctly recall that when they were leaving the UK for good and held that going-away lunch for their own employees that they handpicked after leaving KP and going to BP, there were all sorts of stories about how everyone was teary at the lunch. I also recall stories about how some of those handpicked employees had been hoping to be able to follow them to the U.S. Sure doesn’t sound like horrible bosses to me.
I love how they are about tangible output and measurable impacts. Advocacy is great but action and results-oriented work is even better.
Very well stated.
I truly can’t love and respect these two more than I already do. Turns out that one can live a life of service outside of the confines of the British monarchy.
I’m full of warm fuzzy feelings for them and their work!
Letting the work speak for itself!
I just love that this is happening. I love that they teamed up with WCK.
If the royal family want to increase their influence on a global scale this is the type of stuff they should be doing. But no, they are in a petty competition. Anyway, once again i would like to express how happy i am that they decided to collaborate with WCkitchen.
Oh, how interesting.
(I’m SORRY I couldn’t help it!!)
I’m assuming you then pointed at something and tilted your head slightly?
With as much faux concern as I could muster!
Kate’s complete lack of empathy is, sadly, unsurprising by now.
I love this. I really do. This warmed my heart when I read it because I am Indian so it hits more for me I suppose.
Massive thanks to the Sussexes, Jose Andres and WCK for doing this.
Reading the comments about this on social media I have to ask…..are people in England deeply stupid? Like us Americans had Donald trump, sure, but British people seem completely void of any sort of comprehension at all.
I’m not going to apologise for the disgusting bile from all racist a$$holes here in Britain because they should be the ones apologising for their actions, but I am sorry that anyone has to be in their line of fire. I really hate the people here sometimes not least because so many are really f*ckin stupid and have no ounce of compassion (and yes, often comprehension too, Lara). I’m sure that is a mutually exclusive group of people that none of the other British CB readers are in though 😀
I hope Meghan and Harry just keep ignoring all the nonsense, because everything they do has real, tangible and properly beneficial effects. It will only become more realised as time goes on and I can’t wait to see it.
Someone on Twitter compared them to QAnon, and I think that’s a good comparison. They’ve literally been brainwashed by a disinformation campaign created by the British media to prop up the RF.
It’s not just British people, so I’m not painting everyone with the same brush, but there is definitely a large segment of Twitter that just does not ever give H&M the benefit of the doubt about anything and yet they comment on everything they do. I don’t comment on the Cambridges for the most part. But these people are obsessed. Yesterday someone commented on one of the (many, many) stories about this center and it was something like “this won’t happen once they realize they can’t make money off it.” I replied back and said that one was already up and running, one was under construction – so yes, it seemed this was going to happen. There was no response to that but I fully expected to get a response that was like “yeah you’re just brainwashed and believe whatever you’re told.”
Another example is one time someone asked for examples of the Cambs leaking to the press, and I mentioned that DW had the Sussexit story before it was officially announced and the person was like “oh and you believe him, he’s just full of lies.” which….yes….but this time he wasn’t, and we know that because it was announced shortly after he broke the story. But alas, I was unable to convinced them.
@ Lara — “the people in England” are no more represented by the DM than people in the US are represented by the Enquirer. This is an echo chamber where every gossip article gets repeated and commented on over and over — the overwhelming voice of the Celebitchy Brits that comment on this forum is that the average person doesn’t really pay attention to the family. Most folks just aren’t invested in team anyone in this saga.
The difference is that in the US, no reputable news organisation would be quoting from and giving a vast platform to the Enquirer or entertaining any of its reporters, whereas in the UK, the freaking *BBC*, which is supposed to be the bastion of good, decent, honest, factual reporting, not only prominently presents the tabloids’ lies and smears re the couple on its website, it also hosts prime time morning and evening television and radio programmes which broadcast these lies to the entire country (and world).
It compounds this disreputable behaviour by inviting the authors and participants in the smear campaigns onto their programmes to further hammer home the lies into the consciousness of people who avoid tabloids (including the Times and Telegraph – they’re all tabloids now), with virtually NO pushback or fact-checking. ITV, Sky, Channel 4, Channel 5, etc.. they are ALL in on it. Even the Guardian has joined in from time to time. So at this point, it is entirely fair to say “the people in England” even though there will be exceptions. Clearly the majority don’t mind the bile they are being fed on a daily basis from the UK media, otherwise many of them would be out of business by now.
It’s so insidious because it is everywhere: print media, radio, television and online. And they all sing from the same hymn sheet. Couple this with the steep drop in reading and listening comprehension which has been witnessed in schools over the last couple of decades and this is what you get: walking zombies who accept and cling to any rabid talking points they are fed, even when the narratives are polar opposites.
I love that they are doing this – and while it won’t be up and running immediately obviously, they are showing that they are positioning themselves well to help countries with future crises. I also loved reading about what WCK is doing in India – there’s a quote from the head chef on the ground there, I’ll get it wrong but its basically “just because it’s free food, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t good food” and talking about how they are using local fruits and vegetables as much as possible, taking into account local dietary preferences or customs, etc.
Wait. What? No video of them playing Happy (Royal) Family with Archie? No photo shoot with them being all lovey-dovey? Just an announcement about OTHER PEOPLE’S NEEDS? Boy, they have a lot to learn about how royals roll. *sarcasm off* This is another great project. I was actually shocked at how much Archie’s birthday campaign raised. This is something he can really be proud of as he grows and matures. Plus, it occurs to me there are hundreds of authentic lovey-dovey pictures of H&M.
This is the stuff “William and Kate” would be “doing” if Harry would just leave the black strumpet & her black kids in America and come back home to his family.
How insane the people are the people who actually believe this? The Cambridges can’t do any work because Harry isn’t there, alone, to do it with him?
The UK really has the royal family it deserves.
They’d never do anything remotely close to this. They’d show up for a few hours, take photos next to a stove, then leave. That’s it.
Nailed it!
@emmitt, are you being satcastic?. Just asking.
Not really. Harry was the brains and the brawn behind William and Kate. Harry would be the one to come up with the ideas and execute them while William and Kate would take the credit. Then Meghan showed up and all of that stopped.
If Harry left Meghan and the children and came back “home” to the UK and rejoined the trio of William/Kate/Harry, he totally would’ve come up with the Mumbai kitchen idea and William and Kate would’ve taken the credit. It’s really telling that William and Kate have not come up with anything successful since Meghan showed up.
William and Kate are lazy bums. They are disasters. They are below average when it comes to the reigning monarchs and heir apparents of Euro monarchies They can’t even compare to the next generation of monarchs like 15 year old Leonor of Spain. They all know it, which is why they desperately need Meghan and the children gone and left in America and for Harry to come back “home” to prop up William and Kate again.
These two are just amazing. They deserve our support in every way.
I am inspired by these two again. Bless them and their growing family.
This is such a good way to mark their anniversary and do something so needed. They are really getting going. Cute little side note, Padma Lakshmi posted a pic on Twitter with Chef Jose Andres. She ran into him at a nail salon in NY. He was getting his nails done to look nice for his daughters graduation.
I’m sure they aren’t perfect because no one is.
But they are fundamentally good people who care about others and the world around them and care enough to be effective. They truly are inspiring.
Who said they’re perfect? Asking for a friend.
Word.
What? The non working exiled royals doing more for a commonwealth country than the Very Keen and Non (lol) racist future saviors of the monarchy have done for their future commonwealth?
Cue the overly negative and stupid commentary and articles.
I’m sure this relief center is mostly about the Long term impact of the cyclones that hit Mumbai regularly much like the hurricane issue in the Caribbean where the previous centers are being built. Like I saw recently they had to cancel vaccine appointments for at least a day in Mumbai because people needed to shelter for a cyclone.
These two continue to show their work and enact real change.
This is perfect.
The work continues. I’ve seen a lot of royal commentators saying that Harry and Meghan need to move on and but it’s the press and the Royal Family that have failed to move on.
The press are such liars, at least the Ratchet Rota are. The last thing they want the Sussexes to do is move on from the Royal drama, then they really wouldn’t have a legitimate reason to cover them. The Sussexes are not working on behalf of the Queen anymore, they are representing themselves and Archewell. As Archewell is an American foundation, no need for royal experts to “explain” things to us here in the US since Harry and Meghan are right here and can speak for themselves.
They really are moving quickly with these kitchens, the initiative was only launched last year. Good for them, no need to be “keen” for a few years, just jump in and get to work!
Great work by the Sussexes. But I’m interested to know how it’ll work out. There are a lot of on ground organisations like RSS and Reliance who are doing a lot of relief work. And right now the government is a bit strict about foreign NGOs, specially non profit organizations. Mumbai is the economic capital of India and most of the celebrities are found there, it bases the film and television industry. And right now there’s a problem in vaccination because when the vaccine drive started, the opposition leaders spread a lot of misinformation and rumours which led to vaccine hesitancy. And the same people are now harping about the shortage of vaccines when the second wave struck. Hope everything clears soon 🙏.
WCK teams are already working on the ground in India.
RSS? As in right wing Hindu RSS?
I’m sure WCK did their own research before working with any group in India.
Nivz don’t believe propaganda about RSS. It helps everyone irrespective of religion.
Pretty fair reporting from People.
Well done, WCK & Archewell! I’m so proud of the work that Harry & Meghan are doing. Lovely announcement on their anniversary.
If you asked me, action is better than words …service is universal.
WCK teams are already on the ground in India. The teams are active in ten cities across India. WCK teams are serving 20,000 fresh meals daily to front line hospital workers and to Covid quarantine centers.
https://wck.org/news/wck-india-archewell
What was that drivel that chick Victoria Arbiter was saying ?
that H & M should “moving ahead to the future instead of looking up” . Isn’t this action? Isn’t his effecting change?
Those royal commentators really have had their feet in their mouths since the Sussexes left, and haven’t really noticed they cannot keep up to them.
Surprise surprise, non of this has been reported in the news here, but they would flood the airwaves and newspapers if it’s something negative. The bias and hate for the sussexes are so obvious!
This is wonderful. I just love the work these two continues to do and how they just plow through the nonsense and treat it like noise. From what I’m seeing on social media more and more of the fans of HnM have caught on to the schemes of the RR and are learning to ignore them and not amplify their noise and that of the trolls who constantly attack every good action of the Sussexes. I think this is another tangible example of service is universal and hopefully in time their work alone will speak for itself to the naysayers. In the meantime, it’s forward and onward they go and I’m here to cheer them on.
This is outstanding. India could use some good news
The Sussexes have accomplished more in a year in terms of service than some royals have done in ten.
Covid relief goes way beyond initial treatment. Income, housing, and food insecurity can result when a family member is sick, disabled, or dies. Through Give India you can donate money to families who have lost someone to Covid. https://covid.giveindia.org/?utm_source=subs_ticker
Just a thing-I’m from India & we are not vaccine-poor. We are the largest producer of oxford medicine in the world! But we were hit by the raw material shortage as Biden (&previously Trump) banned exports.
I didn’t think it was even possible but the BRF look even MORE like garbage. 🤣🤣 #AbolishTheMonarchy. This brought tears to my eyes~what a lovely, thoughtful way to celebrate their anniversary. #KeepHarryAndMegan