Prince Harry was the guest in the March 4th, 2023, virtual event titled "Spare: Prince Harry in conversation with Dr. Gabor Mate."I was not sure what to expect of the event. I suspected perhaps a more intellectual review of Prince Harry’s book.  What we got was an hour and a half’s worth of discussion including a few pre-selected questions from attendees, on the topic of all things trauma and mental health.  The conversation included a section where Dr. Mate provided Harry, based on what Mate had read in Harry's memoir Spare, a clinical diagnosis of Harry’s mental health. So a light and fluffy conversation this was not – but informative and interesting none the less. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

It has been a while since you have heard from me and that is because after Harry’s PR appearances for his memoir "Spare" he and Meghan have been pretty much out of sight, no doubt still working but keeping a low profile.  I was sort of wondering whether I had got to the point of having said everything that I want to say about all things Harry and Meghan then out of the blue we get the shocking news,  broken by the UK tabloid the Sun,  declaring that King Charles was evicting Harry and Meghan from their UK Frogmore Cottage residence. Well of course I was incensed and so here I am!Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

People who regularly follow all things Meghan and Harry on social media will be very familiar with the UK journalist Omid Scobie.  Since 2018 Scobie’s posts and reporting on the UK Royals made him a go-to person to get the current news. In fact, Scobie often broke exclusive stories on the Sussexes,  so much so that it became widely rumoured that he was a close friend of Harry and Meghan. Scobie has recently denied being a close friend. However it is clear his career has benefitted from the illusion of this connection. In recent months,  anyone following Scobie’s Twitter account will have noticed that he no longer exclusively breaks stories about Meghan and Harry.  I had already started to wonder if there had been a falling out / cooling off between Scobie and Harry & Meghan,  then this past week I came across headlines that seemed to reinforce my feelings.  Listen to hear my thoughts on this possible break-down in their working relationship. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Contact me regarding receiving my spare copy of Prince Harry's memoir "Spare"  either through my blog  https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ or maybe through my Twitter account Jeanette Songolo (@JeanetteSongolo) / TwitterShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all and thank you for your continued support of this podcast. For those of you who are waiting or are in the process of reading Prince Harry’s memoir 'Spare' – you might not want to listen to this episode until after you have read the book. I have sped read through the book once and plan to re-read it, in the meantime here are some of my take away thoughts after my first reading.Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The final three episodes of Meghan and Harry’s Netflix docuseries were just as gripping as the first three – As before,  I watched the episodes through twice,  let it all sit with me for a while, and then observed the UK reactions (including the vile attack by the UK TV host Jeremy Clarkson printed Rupert Murdoch's The Sun UK newspaper. )Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

As with everything to do with Harry and Meghan everyone has an opinion about the first three episodes of their Netflix docu-series that is called simply "Harry and Meghan."  I have mostly avoided reading everyone else’s opinions and having watched the first 3 episodes through - twice - here are my takeaways and my thoughts on what is coming next.Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

It was an East coast West Coast kind of week for Harry and Meghan as they and their team picked up Awards in America. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In America the Thanksgiving Thursday holiday is followed by the shopping frenzy that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday,  and since 2012 a global movement to support non-profits called Giving Tuesday.  Ahead of Giving Tuesday 2022 Meghan has teamed up with the eco-friendly lifestyle brand Cuyana, https://www.cuyana.com/ that will see 500 of their Classic Structured Tote Bags, that retail at just under $250.00 each,  donated to the UK charity Smart Works  the non-profit where Meghan remains Patron.This new initiative from Meghan came on the back of another and related press release posted on the Archewell website, informing us that the Archewell Foundation team helped prepare a Thanksgiving lunch for over 300 Downtown Women’s Center (DWC) residents in Los Angeles. The DWC provides services and resources aimed at ending homelessness for all women including female veterans and their families in the Greater Los Angeles region. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In October of this year Kerry Kennedy,  daughter of the late US Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a niece of the former US President John F. Kennedy,  released a statement saying that Meghan and Harry were chosen and had agreed to accept one of the 2022 Ripple of Hope Awards given out each year by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Foundation. Ms. Kennedy further announced that Meghan and Harry would be given their award at a gala ceremony in York City on December 6th, 2022.Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry commemorate Veterans Day and Remembrance Day 2022 by thanking servicemembers around the World,  and reveal that they are working with The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation (TGGF).Also,  Meghan and Harry both individually make the Hello Magazine 2022 Kind List. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

You know how last time I said that we wait and wait for news stories about Meghan and Harry and then a whole slew come along at once.  This week  Meghan and Harry downloaded a motherload of some 13 news stories to their Archewell website covering their work during the months of September and October 2022. Most of these stories have been already well covered in the media. There were, however, two stories that had not been widely publicized prior to this week. In this podcast I chat about these two 'new' pieces of news. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Welcome to the 150th episode of this podcast.  Waiting for news from the House of Sussex sometimes feels the same as when you are waiting for a bus - nothing, nothing then a whole slew come along at once. And so it was this week with all things Meghan and Harry. In this episode I talk about the just some of the news that we heard this week concerning Meghan and Harry. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Over the last few days we have seen the couple re-start the work that they had put on hold as a mark of respect during the official mourning period for the late Queen. In part inspired by Meghan’s podcast, Archetypes, she and Harry announced a new partnership, with their Archewell Foundation teaming up with the VING Project.https://vingproject.org/ The VING Project is an American national movement aiming to inspire the next generation of givers. High School students aged between 14 and 18 can nominate an adult, not in their family, who is in need of an encouraging boost by surprising them with a $1,000 tax-free donation, and with the funds provided by VING and their partners. Please listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Harry and Meghan have been handling unfolding events in the UK with respect, grace and dignity. From what I have observed they haven't put a foot wrong during the period of mourning leading up to the Queen's funeral.  They have stayed pretty quiet,  trying to keep the focus rightly on the Queen.  So, you might think that the UK tabloids and their carnival of Royal experts and the social media trolls would give Meghan and Harry a break.  Sadly,  the nastiness and abuse has continued unabated . In this podcast I'll give you some examples of what Harry,  but more so Meghan has had to endure so far this week.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

As I was getting my daily fix of Royal T.V. news following the Queen's passing,  I caught sight of William and Kate,  now officially known as the Prince and Princess of Wales emerge from their car at Windsor Castle. Then to my delight and to my surprise, I saw Meghan and Harry step out of that same car.  I dragged my chair close to the TV screen and for the next hour I was transfixed as I watched the live TV broadcast of the four of them together,  side-by-side, as they met and chatted with members of the public at Windsor.  Who could have predicted this would happen?Seeing the four back together again, I couldn't help but wonder what might have been and maybe, what could be? Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Harry and Meghan were two thirds  through their successful charity events in the UK and Germany, when on September 8th, the sad news came of the unexpected death of the Queen at the age of 96. Harry and Meghan altered their plans and will, we are told, stay in the UK until after the state funeral for the Queen, that will take place in the coming days. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry took an eco-friendly train from London to Manchester in the UK,  for the opening ceremony for the  2022 One Young World summit.  Having spent a bit of time ahead of the summit’s opening  meeting privately with some of the delegates, Meghan and Harry were given a rapturous welcome as they entered Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Meghan was welcomed to the stage as a counsellor for the One Young World organization, a position she has held since 2014 (before meeting Prince Harry).  Meghan gave a speech to official open the summit.Click here to learn more about the One Young World Organization https://www.oneyoungworld.com/Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In Episode 2 of Meghan Markle's Archetypes podcast titled "The Duality of Diva" she and Mariah Carey talk, amongst other things, about the word diva - the historical definition and use of the word in the past,  then how the word came to be used as a derogatory term against a certain kind of woman.  In the podcast, Mariah says at one point to Meghan "you give us diva moments sometimes." So is Meghan a diva or not?Keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

As we head towards the fall it seemed a good time to do a re-cap of just some of the things that Meghan and Harry have been doing this past summer - their brief trips to the UK and NYC; Harry's summer of polo; Harry's trip to Africa; Meghan's podcast launch and her recent interview with The Cut magazine.Keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In honour of adorable Archie's 3rd Birthday and the forthcoming 1st Birthday of baby Lili,  Meghan and Harry supporters’ group, the Sussex Squad  - as well as other Sussex followers  - are raising money in support of Jose Andres’s World Central Kitchen (WCK). WCK use the power of food to nourish communities in crises. WCK are currently doing wonders in feeding those living in or fleeing from the war in Ukraine. World Central Kitchen has been a partner with the couple's Archewell Foundation since 2020. Archewell is funding 4 community relief centers that can be activated in times of crisis as emergency response kitchens or vaccination sites while standing as community gathering spaces, food distribution hubs, or clinics throughout the rest of the year. The first relief center has been completed in Dominica with construction underway on centers in Puerto Rico and Mumbai, India.In addition to the relief centers, Harry and Meghan have backed WCK's emergency response efforts in Haiti and Ukraine, as well as supporting women restaurant owners during the COVID-19 pandemic.Sussex Squad have tweeted a link to the site set up with WCK to collect donations made in Harry and Meghan’s name. The site says “Like Harry and Meghan, their supporters always show up for communities in need." https://donate.wck.org/team/425216This is not the first time that Meghan and Harry followers, either the Sussex Squad or other groups or individuals,  have organized major fundraising events. There is now a tradition of marking key events in Meghan and Harry’s and now their two children’s lives,  with charitable fundraising events. Sometimes the fundraising has been kick started by a call to action by Meghan and Harry  themselves. At other times Sussex followers have taken the initiative.In this podcast I chat about some of the previous fundraising events over recent years.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Today I am taking a look at a topic that everyone and their dog has an opinion on – the question as to whether Harry and Meghan should travel to the UK to participate in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations? It is not yet known whether or not Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili will make the trip over from California to attend all or some of the Jubilee Celebrations.  Whilst rumour has it that the Queen would like them to come, when asked recently if he would be coming Prince Harry did not commit.In this podcast I chat about some of the pro and cons that Meghan and Harry might consider when reaching their decisionPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

During the week of the Invictus Games at the Hague in Holland - Prince Harry did a fair few press interviews to promote the Games. In these interviews Harry,  for the most part,  kept the topic limited the Games and only answering the odd question about fatherhood and his children.  Not so when he sat down with NBC’s Hoda Kotb. This interview did explore Harry's private life.  This podcast is an overview of their interview, the reaction to it by the UK press, and my thoughts.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

As I mentioned before we don’t have live TV coverage of the Invictus Games The Hague here in Canada, but I have been trolling all over social media and news reports so as to keep up to date on how the Games are going.Amongst the many hard-hitting stories of the competition,  such as the fact that the Ukrainian team who despite the on-going war with Russia did manage to travel to Holland to take part, and also the serious part of the games for each of the 500 plus competitors who have either conquered a service-related or another injury, and who who may still be on their road to recovery,  some stories and events have, for me at least, stood out more than others.  This podcast has a few of those stories - including the story of 'the kiss.'Here is a link to Prince Harry's speech at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games The Hague -  https://mobile.twitter.com/WeAreInvictus/status/1515420737405960194Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

On the Thursday evening before Good Friday many of us were knocking off work early so as to extend our Easter weekend as much as possible. As is my norm,  I was keeping one eye on the Twitter feeds about all things Meghan and Harry when a story popped up on the My Royalty Account  https://mobile.twitter.com/BurnerRoyalty a post by The UK Sun newspaper reporting that Meghan and Harry had been to visit with the Queen.Tweeter went ballistic when shortly thereafter a spokesperson for Meghan and Harry confirmed that yes, they had indeed visited with the Queen, having stopped off in England on their way to Holland and to the Invictus Games at The Hague. Also confirming that the couple had spent Thursday morning in Windsor, England with the Queen, their first joint visit with her after more than two years apart.So, what was all the fuss about you might say – nothing extra-ordinary about Harry visiting with his grandmother and taking his wife along?And that might have been the case but for the way that some UK and Australian news outlets and so called Royal Experts, had been pillaring Meghan and Harry firstly for not attending Prince Phillips memorial service, and secondly the media had been widely reporting that Meghan and Harry were not planning to visit with the Queen whilst they were in Europe, reporting that Meghan and Harry would be 'snubbing' the Queen.Even as Meghan and Harry were meeting with the Queen,  the UK Daily Express newspaper was reporting on-line that Meghan and Harry were definitely not coming to visit. Oops. What is also amusing about the report of the visit by Meghan and Harry with the Queen was the source of the news? Did it come from a royal correspondent or one of those numerous palace sources? No it did not.  News of Meghan and Harry’s visit would have gone completely unnoticed bar the fact that some sharp-eyed pensioners who happened to be at Windsor Castle that day to collect their Maundy Thursday gifts from Prince Charles and Camilla,  for their contributions to the community,  had spotted Meghan and Harry walking on the grounds of Windsor Castle while the pensioners were being transported away from the Maundy Thursday service by bus. What is known,  is that the UK media were covering the Maundy Thursday event and so it is even more amusing that Meghan and Harry’s visit went unnoticed. What the story also tells us is that far from being the attention seeking couple that the UK media like to portray, Meghan and Harry are able to keep things low key and secret from the press. Afterall, they managed to book an appointment with the Queen, fly to England, travel to Windsor Castle, meet with the Queen, fly out of England and arrive in Holland before anyone had got wind of the trip. But for the eagle eyes of the pensioners none of us would have been the wiser. Catching a glimpse of Meghan and Harry as well as meeting with Prince Charles and Camilla certainly made these seniors day out even more special. A perfect start to their Easter weekend.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

At a time when we are constantly bombarded with hateful and polarized media and social media commentary and when it is becoming increasingly difficulty to sort out the real news from the fake, Meghan and Harry have issued a couple of new charitable grants, re-committing themselves "to convening, bridging, and accelerating leaders, ideas, and solutions for an online community rooted in equity, safety, participation, and belonging."In the statement released on their Archewell website Meghan and Harry admit that technology has changed how we all experience everyday life: connecting us and at times making our lives more productive. Meghan and Harry also point out the down side of increased use of social media and other technologies, including our "lack of trust in the information we read and view, the safety and health of our kids being placed at risk, civil rights and human rights being threatened, and marginalized communities being targeted by a barrage of hate and vitriol."Meghan and Harry write that they feel that many of the underlying societal issues created by technology remain unaddressed. Hence their existing work with various organizations and academics working in the field such as the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2), Color Of Change and URL Media and now the new grants that Meghan and Harry announced this week to Cortico’s Local Voices Network  https://cortico.ai/  and the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society https://cyber.harvard.edu/programs/institute-rebooting-social-mediaCortico Community Local Voices Network is an initiative that is working in cooperation with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. What they do is record small-group conversations in various communities when the participants discuss their lives and experiences.  Think of what they do as a lot of separate interviews and discussions, say with local government or community groups and non-profits, similar to what you might have heard in the past on a local radio or TV show. Cortico collect and store these conversations on a searchable library using artificial intelligence (AI) tools that allow search by topic or key words or even by speaker. The second new grant announced by Meghan and Harry is to the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Meghan and Harry are helping to fund a new three-year initiative, in work that is addressing urgent concerns surrounding social media, including hate speech and harassment,  misinformation and privacy. Meghan and Harry are also supporting what is called the Rebooting Social Media Assembly Fellowship during the 2022-2023 academic year. The fellowship will bring together renowned experts and new innovators from diverse backgrounds to address the challenges and opportunities of social media. Meghan and Harry have said before and they reiterate in this week’s statement, that they believe new innovations in technology and media "should strengthen our communities, empower families, restore trust in information, and ensure that all of us can experience a better and safer world online."Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The countdown is on to the start of the Invictus Games that are taking place this year at The Hague in the Netherlands.  The opening ceremony and a few sporting events take place on Easter Saturday, continuing thereafter up to the closing ceremony on Friday April 22nd, 2022. The Invictus Games, founded by Prince Harry and based on the US Warrior Games,  are designed for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The idea is to use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and to generate a wider public understanding, acceptance and respect for those servicemen and women who are injured while serving their country. Meghan Markle accompanied Harry to the Sydney Games in 2018. We have heard that she will be travelling with Harry to the Hague Games this year. The Games will take place in the existing Zuiderpark or South Park in the Hague, an area established in the city in 1936,  where recreational, sporting events and outdoor concerts are often held. Approximately 700 volunteers will be helping out during the week-long Games. So, what can you expect to see at the event? There will be the more traditional athletics, powerlifting, cycling, and swimming as well as wheelchair rugby, sitting volleyball, and one of my favourites the indoor rowing. This year,  they have added a Land Rover Driving Challenge that sees competitors drive through a series of  obstacles in the right order from start to finish – a bit like a horse-jumping event but using Land Rovers. Ticket prices to watch the competitions are modestly priced,  with free access to other parts of the park and a Fanzone where the public can listen to music or take part in other side activities,  all geared to accommodate people with disabilities.Dutch Royalty are also taking part. Princess Margriet is honorary chairman of the Committee of Recommendation of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020,  and she will be present at the one and a half-hour opening ceremony, which includes the flag parade similar to what takes place at the opening ceremony at the Olympics. King Willem-Alexander will attend the closing ceremony.This will Meghan’s first official trip outside of the United States since she and Harry stepped back as senior working royals.  According to media reports she and Harry will be joined by a Netflix documentary crew.  This makes perfect sense as we know from Meghan and Harry’s Archewell website that their Archewell Production company is producing a documentary series called "Heart of Invictus," which will showcase stories about the Games, the competitors,  and will follow some of the competitors on their journey leading up to and including taking part at The Hague 2020.It will be great to see Meghan and Harry back in action. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Concurrently with a new report from the US National Women’s Law Centre (NWLC) about the impact of the pandemic on women and mothers, Meghan and Harry through their Archewell Foundation have started a new campaign,  a call to action,  asking us alongside themselves to take actions to support women in our communities.The NWLC report https://nwlc.org/resource/resilient-but-not-recovered-after-two-years-of-the-covid-19-crisis-women-are-still-struggling/  authored by  Jasmine Tucker and Julie Vogtman is titled Resilient but Not Recovered after two years of the COVID-19 crises women are still struggling,  focuses on the negative impact of the pandemic on working women in America.The report finds that women, who have long taken on the bulk of caregiving responsibilities for children and others in their households—and the additional caregiving  demands produced by school and childcare disruptions and quarantine periods - appear to be holding women back from re-entering the workforce, whereas men have more than recouped their pandemic related labor force losses.The net effect of this is that many women continue to struggle financially, with more women than men living in poverty. The report tells is that even before the pandemic began, women experienced poverty at higher rates than men, were overrepresented in low-paid jobs, and suffered from racist and sexist wage gaps. These trends continued during the pandemic and have contributed to women’s economic insecurity in this crisis. Women continue to be overrepresented in jobs with low wages.NWLC are advocating for what they term a Women Centred Recovery plan.The NWLC acknowledge that they have received financial grants from Archewell. The authors of the report state that the findings and conclusions presented in the report do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation. Meghan and Harry did post a link to the report from their Archewell website with a statement saying that “if like us, you are compelled by these finding to help improve the issues that the report brings to light, we encourage you to visit our action page where you will find ideas for meaningful ways to show up for women in your own communities and around the world.”On Meghan and Harry’s action page there is a list of 18 ideas for actions that we can take in support of women in our communities. The actions are split into the sub-headings of:  family care; wellness; food; economic empowerment and mentorship. Some examples of things that we might be inspired to do include:Help a woman to return to the workforceSupport policy efforts for gender equality, paid family leave, or to create safe spaces for womenProvide a meal for a Ukrainian woman in crisesContribute to mental health services and resources for black womenOffer a mother an afternoon of childcare.When you look at this list you can see that Meghan has already completed all of the 18 suggested actions. She is not asking us to do anything that she has not already done herself.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The question that I am posing for you all this week is  "Should Prince Harry have travelled to the UK to attend the memorial service for his late grandfather, Prince Phillip? "Although Harry had let everyone know in advance that he was not going to come, this did not stopped everyone from:(a)           Speculating as to why Harry chose not to attend, or (b)          Taking an opinion  over whether this was the right decision or not.Prince Harry was at Prince Phillip's carefully planned funeral in April of 2021.  Back then,  things were frosty between Harry and his brother Prince William,  and we were led to believe that this was due to statements made by Meghan and Harry during their interview with Oprah that aired about a month before Prince Phillip died. Back then, William was said to be so upset with Harry,  that special arrangements were put in place at the funeral such that William did not walk beside or sit beside Harry.At the time of the funeral,  the UK was in a heavy Covid-19 lockdown which included restricting the number of people able to attend funerals to 30. The Queen dutifully stuck to those rules, with her limiting the number of family and other dignitaries inside the chapel at Windsor Castle.In December of 2021 Buckingham Palace announced that a memorial service for Prince Phillip, a religious service of Thanksgiving,  was being planned for the Spring of 2022 at Westminster Abbey.  No specific date was set for the memorial. It was only in the first week of February this year that Buckingham Palace announced that the service would take place on March 29th, 2022. On March 11th, 2022, a spokesperson for the Sussexes advised that Prince Harry would not be returning to the UK for the Service of Thanksgiving,  adding that Harry hoped to visit the Queen as soon as possible. While no reasons were given as to why Prince Harry decided not to come, this did not stop news media and social media from speculating.  The people that know the true reasons for this decision are Harry, Meghan and the Queen. The UK media are weird though. Having swung from Harry is disrespecting the Queen, and Harry is acting like a spoilt child, onto Harry is not wanted in the UK, and Harry would be a distraction if he came to the memorial service, as well as headlines to the effect that the Royal Family will be relieved if Meghan and Harry don’t come -  they are now saying Harry will live to regret the decision not to come and, the British Public are disappointed that Harry did not come!All going to say that Harry,  like all of us,  can never please everyone. So he focuses on pleasing those that mean the most to him.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In a week when Samantha and Thomas Markle made the news for not so good reasons, Meghan and Harry took the high road, announcing that they had made donations to several organizations that are working on the ground to support the people of Ukraine. Ukrainians continue to suffer the effects of Russia’s unwarranted invasion of their country. In a post to their Archewell website,  Meghan and Harry announced donations to a couple organizations that they had not worked with before,  as well as reaffirming their commitment to their existing charitable partnerships with World Central Kitchen (WCK) and with the mine and ordnance clearing charity, Halo Trust, both of whom are heavily involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. One of the new (to Harry and Meghan) organizations receiving funds from them was the group called “Are We Europe” who describe themselves an independent media group that publish stories with local perspectives. Funds will be directed to a few Ukraine Media organizations including the Kyiv Independent. https://kyivindependent.com/Another organization that Meghan and Harry have donated to is HIAS.  https://www.hias.org/  Founded in Manhattan as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in 1881 the organization was set up to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe. Over the years HIAS has continued their work in assisting people to resettle in the US. They describe their client as including some of the world’s most vulnerable refugees.Meghan and Harry end their website post with a link to Project Healthy Minds and a package of Mental Health Resources for anyone who maybe be feeling anxious or otherwise negatively impacted by the war in Ukraine and in need of mental health supports. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Patrick Hill of the UK Daily Mirror newspaper reported in what he termed an Exclusive Interview with Meghan Markle's dad Thomas Markle, writing that Thomas was vowing to tell 'his truth' as he launched his YouTube channel, promising that the chats will be "no holds barred." Co-host of the channel and 'close pal'  to Thomas LA based photographer Karl Larsen told the Daily Mirror that he and Thomas were inspired by people such as the royal commentator Lady Colin Campbell and also podcaster Joe Rogan, and others. The pair have called their YouTube channel "Remarkable Friendship with Thomas Markle and Karl Larsen."In the Daily Mirror interview Thomas promised he would give us his views on his eldest daughter Samantha and her court case. Samantha is suing Meghan for defamation - something I spoke about in my previous podcast. In a prologue to the first episode of their show,  Karl said the aim was for this to be an entertainment show, with the thoughts and opinions expressed being those of Karl and Thomas and with us free to come to our own thoughts and opinions. In other words, we may not like what they have to say.I have now watched the first episode and provide an overview of the topics that Karl and Thomas discussed, as well as my own thoughts and opinions.Here is a link to the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr3YZLiGyYE&t=623sPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

For those of us who have long since given up hope that Samantha Markle would find inner peace and leave Meghan and Harry alone, it was not much of a shock to hear that Samantha has decided that she is not yet done messing around in her half sister’s life, and what better way to garner some more press attention (and maybe get some more paid  TV work) than to sue Meghan for defamation. This podcasts is all about the ins and outs of Samantha's lawsuit.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In America the month of March is National Women’s History Month which also encompasses International Women’s Day (IWD) that in 2022 will be celebrated on March 8th. National Women's History Month has been observed annually in the United States and other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, every March since 1987. The month is observed in October in Canada. The National Women's History Alliance is known nationally (in the US) as the only clearinghouse providing information and training in multicultural women’s history for educators, community organizations, and parents-for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of the historic contributions of women. The Alliance designates a yearly theme for Women's History Month. The 2022 theme is "Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope."Per their website, the theme, “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during the COVID pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.Meghan and Harry, as a couple, have  always celebrated International Women’s Day and they have now expanded this to include National Women’s History Month. As we know,  Meghan has throughout her life championed women and girls issues, first off when living in America, then as a working member of the Royal Family,  and also through the work she did when she was a humanitarian ambassador which took her to countries like Rwanda and India. This past week Meghan and Harry released a statement through their Archewell website, saying  "As we cross into Women’s History Month, and ahead of International Women’s Day next week, we are announcing a number of non-profit investments in leading organizations working to advance gender equity, build policies that empower women and families, ensure meaningful media representation for women, and provide women with a network of tools and support for gaining employment."Meghan and Harry continued:  "Part of Archewell Foundation’s core commitment is to build strong, compassionate, and equitable communities across the world. Although these grants have been announced as we recognize Women’s History Month, the work these organizations do is relevant and vital every day of the year."The four non-profits benefitting from the new financial grants are ones that Meghan and Harry have worked with before, namely: 1.   The Center on Poverty and Inequality at the Georgetown University Law Center2.   National Women’s Law Center3.   The 19th4.   The UK charity Smart Works Meghan has been Patron of Smart Works UK since 2019. All four organizations Tweeted their thanks to Meghan and Harry saying that they were thrilled to announce their partnership with the Archewell Foundation and were honoured to be one of the organizations chosen.Meghan and Harry wrote that these investments are representative of the approach that they and their Foundation have taken and continue to take towards advancing racial and gender justice.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

As anticipated,  Meghan & Harry received the NAACP President’s Award during the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards. Meghan and Harry looked absolutely fabulous. They turned up in person for the event and they gave a short speech,  taking it in turns to say some lines. But like all speeches you must not take what they said at face value. Here is a light-hearted take on what Meghan and Harry said,  and what they might have meant by their words?Apologies upfront that it is me doing this skit – it would sound a lot better if either Eddie Murphy or Kevin Hart were doing it.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Within hours of Russia invading Ukraine and on the same day that Meghan and Harry issued a statement to say that they and their Archewell team Stand with the People of Ukraine,  we heard some good news for Meghan and Harry. The couple are to be awarded the NAACP President’s Award during the 53rd annual Image Awards that will be televised on the BET channel on Saturday February 26th 2022.The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans.  https://naacp.org/Per the NAACP website, the organization is leading the fight  for Equity, for Equality and for Justice,  to ensure that Black lives are a priority in all spaces. The NAACP advocate on issues such as police brutality, COVID-19 and voter suppression. Their aim is to work to disrupt inequality, dismantle racism, and accelerate change in key areas including criminal justice, health care, education, climate change, and the economy.In announcing that Meghan and Harry were receiving the President’s Award, Derrick Johnson the NAACP president and CEO said:  “We’re thrilled to present this award to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who together have heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the U.S. and around the world,”  adding:  “Not only do they continue to lead by example, the Duke and Duchess have also decided to inspire the next generation of activists through the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award.”For their part Harry and Meghan gave a statement saying: “It’s a true honor to be recognized by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose efforts to propel racial justice and civil rights are as vital today as they were nearly 115 years ago."It was also revealed that Meghan and Harry have partnered with NAACP to create a new Digital Civil Rights Award that will be awarded through their Archewell Foundation, with the prize being administered by the NAACP.  This new annual award will recognize leaders creating transformational change at the intersection of social justice and technology to advance civil and human rights. Each year, the honoree will be awarded a $100,000 unrestricted stipend to be used to advance new work, expand leadership and expertise or continue to make an impact in the field. The Digital Civil Rights Award’s inaugural recipient will be author and scholar Dr. Safiya Noble, who has pioneered the study of how digital technologies intersect with culture, race and gender.Meghan and Harry have been working with the NAACP since they moved to California. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Prince Harry reconnected with his Welsh friend Gareth Thomas to support 2022 National HIV Testing Week in England.  National HIV Testing Week is the campaign to promote regular testing, particularly among the most affected population groups in England, thereby helping to reduce the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV. For listeners living outside of the UK or for those who don't  follow the sport of Rugby Union, Gareth Thomas is a former rugby player and was also the captain of the Welsh Rugby Union team, at one point being the most capped player in the sport.  He came out in 2009 and in 2019 it was publicized that he was diagnosed with HIV/ AIDS. This week is not the first time that Prince Harry has spoken about the importance of HIV testing. In the past few years Harry had made raising awareness about and de-stigmatizing HIV one of his causes. He and Rhianna both took a much-publicized HIV test in 2016 which resulted in a 500% increase in people getting tested. In November 2019, not long after news of Gareth’s diagnosis was made public, Harry and a whole bunch of press and TV cameras met with Gareth and with rugby players from the English rugby club the Harlequins,  to launch 2019’s HIV testing week.This past December on World AIDS Day 2021, Harry wrote to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the Executive Director of UNAIDS, thanking the scientific community for their tireless work in the treatment of AIDS.To kick of HIV testing week this year, Harry participated in a podcast hosted by Gareth. In 2020 Gareth set up a website called Tackle HIV  https://tacklehiv.org/which provides lots of information in written and video formats aiming to correct misunderstandings, change attitudes and break stigma around HIV with the aim to make a difference for people living with and people affected by the virus. Gareth’s Tackle HIV organization is supported by groups such as the Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK National AIDS Trust and by the Elton John AIDS Foundation.The 30-minute podcast was in the format of a very relaxed conversation between Harry and Gareth. They have met each other many times before and you can tell that they are relaxed in each other’s company, with Harry at one point teasing Gareth over his Welsh accent.This podcast talks about some of the issues that Harry and Gareth chatted about, including the ground-breaking work by the late Princess Diana in breaking down walls surrounding a diagnosis of AIDS.For listeners from the US and Canada, a quick browse on the internet shows that the availability of free HIV testing varies from  state to state and from province to province, but there is generally some free access to testing services.  Information about these services can be found on the relevant state and provincial health department websites. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In his first public event of 2022,  Prince Harry took part in the very first InnerWork Day event by on-line coaching company BetterUp,  https://www.betterup.com/   the organization where for the last year Prince Harry has worked as the Chief Impact Officer. To give you an idea of the reach of BetterUp,  people from every continent around the world attended. I listened in for most of the 5-hour conference.In this podcast I talk about my key take-aways from the event,  as well as chat about the last session of the InnerWork Day Conference called "Boldly Committing to InnerWork" with Alexi Robichaux, Prince Harry and Serena Williams talking about the importance of self-care.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Following their trend of publishing 'breaking'  news stories about Meghan and Harry late on Saturday night, the UK Mail on Sunday and their Mail Online counter part printed the following headline:   “Give me back my bodyguards: Prince Harry threatens legal action against the government and demands return of police protection when he is in the UK because it is not safe for the Sussexes to return to visit.”Having got wind that this story was going to break, Prince Harry issued his own statement late on Saturday night,  so as Prince Harry said "to set the facts straight."  Harry felt the timing of this breaking news was suspicious - possibly leaked to try and  detract from other scandals which are making the news in Britain?Here is a link to the Mail Online story https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10407689/Prince-Harry-launches-legal-action-against-Government-claiming-unsafe-family-return.html- NOTE THE MAIL HAS NOW UPDATED THEIR HEADLINE  This podcast covers the ins and outs of the story.  A copy of Prince Harry's full statement can be viewed on my blog and on my Twitter account.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and / or on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Firstly, a happy 2022 to you all. You will have noticed the new intro music to my podcast, aptly called “New Beginnings” as we pull down the holiday decorations, enter a new year, and hope for good things in the year ahead. We haven’t seen much of any of the Royals over recent weeks as they all take their extended holiday breaks. That said, we have had a steady trickle of news coming out about Meghan and Harry.1.   We heard more details on Meghan’s financial settlement from her court win against Associated Newspapers, owners of the UK Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers. 2.   During the holiday break we also heard about a new media policy that Meghan and Harry have instigated. No more 'unnamed'  sources will speak for Meghan and Harry. 3.   Rumours floating around in the media that Meghan and Harry may be considering moving from their current Montecito home, possibly to another home in the area. Other stories claim that Meghan and Harry may be looking for a home in the UK, to use as a base there?Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

On Christmas Day at  about 6.00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in North America which is 11.00 p.m. in the UK,  the Boxing Day editions of the UK Sunday Newspapers came out and there was a good surprise. At the foot of the front page of the UK Mail on Sunday was the following statement:  “The Duchess of Sussex wins her legal case for copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers for articles published in the Mail on Sunday and posted on the Mail Online website."On page 3 of the newspaper was a small article in which the newspaper reconfirmed Meghan’s win in the court case due to the newspaper breaching her copyright, and adding that financial remedies have been agreed. The newspaper also printed a statement on the MailOnline.The newspaper was ordered by Justice Warby to print the statement of Meghan’s win on a single occasion on the front page of the hardcopy of the newspaper and further ordered to print a statement on MailOnline for a period of one week, and providing a link to the full judgment of the court.On Christmas evening in North America and into the night Twitter went bananas. Meghan followers at first commented on the fact that the newspaper chose to print the statement in their Boxing Day edition of the newspaper, when one might expect fewer people than usual would purchase the paper. Also, it was tricky finding the on-line statement, with the newspaper filing it under the Duchess of Sussex as opposed to their usual Meghan Markle and burying it deep in their website, which was contrary to the order made by Justice Warby who had said it must be prominently displayed.One thing we know is that Meghan followers will not be thwarted nor deterred. Everyone was soon tweeting and re-tweeting copies of the newspaper and the on-line statement, choosing to amplify the good news under  #meghanmarklewon - https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=%23MeghanMarkleWon&src=typeahead_clickOn Boxing Day morning  #meghanmarklewon was trending on social media but still the story had not been picked up by the mainstream media, and you kind of got the sense they were purposely avoiding it. True, the death of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu was getting the headlines and rightly so, but you would have thought Meghan’s story would have warranted a small mention at the very least.By Boxing Day morning UK Meghan fans had picked up the tweeting and re-tweeting and gradually we started to gradually see more and more stories in the mainstream media appear,  starting off in Australia and Canada and spreading from there. One story that had been in the headlines over the holiday period was a study that had determined that Meghan Markle had now taken home the title of “the most intelligent British Royal."  A research study by a group called Oxford Royal used RF member’s high school academic results and looked at the rankings of the universities they studied at, to create what was termed a definitive ranking of the academic brainboxes of the family. Meghan came out on top.I also like to think that Meghan’s fans and followers are pretty smart people and we know when someone or some group is trying to pull a fast one over us. We are a dedicated bunch and if the newspapers and regular news outlets won’t print the story, we will make sure the news gets out into the public, not just in the UK and America but around the World. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and LShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I am sure by now you will have all seen or heard about the Christmas Card that Harry and Meghan gave this year,  that has delighted us all in many ways not least of which was the inclusion of the adorable Archie and our first glimpse of the lovely Lili. The card did wonders in cheering us all up and in giving us all something to talk about -  other than COVID.A truly lovely photo, with Harry and the kids all bare footed,  and credit to photographer Alexi Lubomirski who also took Meghan and Harry’s official engagement photos and their wedding photos. Harry and Meghan wrote in their card "This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa’, and Lili made us a family."In an accompanying digital card from Meghan and Harry’s Archewell foundation Meghan and Harry wrote "As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families – from those being relocated from Afghanistan to American families in need of paid parental leave." The 7 organizations who received the donations were Team RubiconWelcome. USHuman Frist CoalitionHumanity CrewPaid Leave for AllPL+USMarshall Plan for MomsI provide the listeners with some information on two of these non-profits:Human First Coalition is a not-for-profit group that is focused on evacuating American citizens and vulnerable people from Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover. The group uses partners on the ground in Afghanistan to provide shelters for evacuees are still waiting for a way out of the country as well as setting up what they describe as ‘protected transportation’ within Afghanistan. Humanity Crew describe their Mission as to create a world in which mental health support is a fundamental component in all emergency efforts for victims of humanitarian crises.Over the past 6 years they have accumulated a wealth of experience in fieldwork, trained thousands of  people and operated hundreds of volunteers and mental health professionals in both short-term and long-term mental health psychosocial work.  In 2020 they set about transitioning  to work in first response crisis intervention. The organization set up what they call Mental Health Lifeguards who consists of mental health professionals and qualified trained volunteers providing first response mental health intervention on-site and at the point of crises. They travel, like first responders, around the world to where they are needed. All of the organizations that received a donation from Meghan and Harry were very grateful both for the money and for the support. Many tweets were sent thanking Meghan and Harry. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This is the second podcast about the UK BBC 2 television documentary Princes and the Press. Podcast #117 of mine covered Part one of this two-part series. As I said in my earlier podcast,  nothing  that came out in part 1 of the TV program was really new.  We had confirmed from UK newspaper reporters themselves, what we already suspected,  that members of the UK Royal Family work in silos, are highly competitive over the amount of positive press coverage that they receive, and that they occasionally leak stories to the press  - both to push their own agenda’s and / or to make other members of their family look bad.  We also learned that William glad handles the press recognizing that the Royals and the press somewhat rely on each other,  whilst Harry loathes them, with this linked back to his mother’s death and the treatment of his former girlfriends and now his wife Meghan.  The first program touched briefly on the actions of members of the Royal Family and their staff,  briefing the press about other Royal Family members, but without saying which royal household was doing it. The newspaper reporters, the ones providing the narrative in both episodes of the documentary, being extremely protective of their highly placed sources.Despite this vey casual mention on back briefing the press, after the airing of episode one there was an immediate fall-out for the BBC in that Prince William and Kate (Catherine) decided to have Kate’s Christmas Carol concert aired by rival UK TV channel ITV as opposed to the BBC . We all wondered why? It seemed such an over-reaction to the content of the first episode. Well, after finally viewing the second part of the documentary, William and Kate and their Kensington Palace staff do not come out smelling of roses. Here’s what we learned from part 2 of Princes and the Press:1.   The allegations levelled against Meghan of bullying royal staff were discussed as well as the timing of these revelations,  just before Meghan and Harry's March 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview. 2.   The documentary takes us back in time, to when Meghan had good press in the UK, and then the sudden change. Why this change took place, as far as news reporters were concerned. 3.   We learned that the UK press love Kate. 4.   Meghan’s so called 'missteps' are discussed - how  this modern princess that the press and the public so very much wanted, didn't act like other princesses.5.   The creation of the soap opera by the press in comparing Meghan and Kate, and comparing the household of William and Kate v Meghan and Harry. 6.   Meghan and Harry’s handling of the birth of Archie and how this annoyed the press. 7.  UK reporters in the documentary admitting  that they have been deliberately targeting Meghan and Harry with negative news stories, and printing positive ones for Kate and William.I end by asking why any of this is important and ponder are the Royals playing a dangerous game in leaking stories  - are they risking their own survival?Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This week Prince Harry had an interview the result of which being Harry has (a) been accused of speaking about an issue he knows nothing about and / or (b) has once again been misquoted on what he actually did say.Harry’s comments came about as a result of a short written questions and answers interview with the American business magazine Fast Company. The interview was mainly about Harry’s work as Chief Impact Officer for the coaching company BetterUp, with Harry promoting BetterUp’s recently announced commitment to be part of the corporate philanthropy program Pledge 1%,  a program that encourages businesses to divert 1% of their profits to support non-profits organizations. One of the questions posed to Harry in this interview about his work for BetterUp was the following:“Covid has accelerated a lot of trends in the workplace – like increased burnout and job resignations – how have you adapted your strategy to address these?"The specific comment by Harry as part of his response, that has been widely reported or misreported on in the press and on-line, was when Harry said that many people around the world have been stuck in jobs that didn’t bring them joy,  and now they’re putting their mental health and happiness first. That is something to be celebrated.This big trend of mass resignations, at a time when there are lots of available jobs, has been happening in a fair few countries around the world, even here in Canada. The trend has been named the Great Resignation, or the Big Quit.  The term Great Resignation is being credited to Anthony Klotz, a professor of management at Mays Business School at the Texas A&M University.Per and article in Bloomberg Magazine, as 2021 approached, bringing with it the promise of effective vaccines and a return to semi-normal life, Klotz predicted that two things would happen. First, many of the people who wanted to quit in 2020 but held off due to fear or uncertainty would finally feel secure enough to do so. And second, pandemic-era exhaustion and burnout would drive a whole new cohort of people to quit their jobs. Bloomberg reports that in the US more than twenty-four million quit their jobs between April to September 2021, across all industries. Bloomberg say that many people are deciding to stay out of the workplace for good. Bloomberg say there are similar trends in Germany and Japan. When Prince Harry spoke of mental health and being one likely cause, his comments are supported by the data. Professor Klotz, says the great resignation trend may have a silver lining, in forcing companies not only to raise wages and increase benefits, but also to offer more flexibility to attract and retain an in-person workforce.As you can see Harry was commenting on an existing trend in the workplace and one of the researched reasons behind it – quitting for improved mental heath - and maybe drawing on his own reasons when he stepped back as a working royal. He was not telling everyone to go out and quit their jobs. What Prince Harry did not say and maybe he would have done so had this topic been the main reason for the interview,  is that quitting is not always an option people can afford to take regardless of the impact on their health and well being.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In a Court case that continues to grab worldwide attention, the three judge panel of the UK Court of Appeal handed down their judgment today, unanimously dismissing the appeal brought by Associated Newspapers,  the owners of the UK Mail and The Sunday Mail, and upholding the lower court judge's decision that the newspaper did breach Meghan’s rights to privacy and breach of copyright.I will recap with you what the Court case is all about, then take you through a summary of the judgment of the UK Court of Appeal, and finally speak about the reaction from Meghan herself and from Associated Newspapers.Link to the SUMMARY of the Court of Appeal Judgment https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Sussex-v-Associated-News-summary-021221.pdfLink to the FULL Judgment from the Court of Appeal https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Sussex-v-Associated-News-judgment-021221.pdfPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

On what is World AIDS Day 2021,  in his role as the Founding Patron of the African non-profit Sentebale,  https://sentebale.org/ Prince Harry wrote to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the Executive Director of UNAIDS program, firstly to thank the scientific community for their tireless work in the treatment of AIDS and secondly,  urging for fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.In his letter, Prince Harry wrote that 40 years on his mother would have been deeply grateful for all the good work that has been accomplished in dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. However, Harry also spoke in despair that lessons from AIDS have not been learned,  saying that the same issues regarding inequitable access to AIDS treatments are now being seen when it comes to COVID-19 - with Harry saying the risk of repeating the same mistakes when it comes to sharing COVID treatments is 'destructive and self-defeating.'Prince Harry wrote that in not meeting the UN targets for vaccinating everyone in the World, the predictions made by the scientific community foreseeing the emergence of new variants, are going to happen, with Harry seeing the new Omicron variety of COVID as an example of this.Carrying on work started by his mother Princess Diana, Prince Harry has being promoted AIDS testing and working with AIDS and HIV non-profits for a long time. He notes how the world's leading AIDS activists are also leading the call for COVID-19 vaccine equity, with Harry saying that 'vaccinating the world is a test of our moral character' something which the world is failing at right now.For World Aids Day 2021, Prince Harry also partly narrated a short video put together by the UNAIDS program in which Harry and the executive director of the program speak of the world fighting a killer virus and not for the first time. They draw parallels between COVID and HIV with some sobering statistics.What will be viewed as controversial comments Harry notes how scientific breakthroughs for both viruses have helped some but not all to carry on living, and how what Harry called corporate greed and political failures have prolonged both pandemics. The video, which includes some footage of Princess Diana meeting with HIV/AIDS patients, goes on to contrast the vast profits being made by pharmaceutical companies with the poor, saying that the poor are once again being left behind. Harry reiterated points he has made before in asking for pharmaceutical companies to break their monopolies,  and to share the know how,  to allow poorer countries to produce their own vaccines.To the politicians, the video speaks to this being a critical moment in time when some will find themselves either on the right side or the wrong side of history. It is acknowledged that some leaders are listening,  but not much is being done.World AIDS Day has existed since 1988 as an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease.World AIDS Day is also one of the eleven official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Royal Family followers cannot have failed to miss the controversy about a UK documentary titled 'The Princes and the Press.'  The first of this two-part miniseries aired this week on the publicly funded U.K. BBC 2 T.V. channel. I don’t think the show was causing much of a stir in public until a day or two before the first program was due to air. At that time it was reported by the U.K. Daily Mail newspaper  that senior royals such as Prince William, the Queen and Prince Charles,  had united to complain about the program. They had allegedly threatened to boycott future projects with the BBC because they were refused an opportunity to view the series before it was due to air and, the Royals felt that they had not been given a chance to respond to the program's content. So why were the Royals worried?Well,  per the Daily Mail, the documentary was going to talk about allegations of vicious briefing wars between members of the Royal Family, with certain Royal Family members and their staff,  releasing negative stories to the press about other members of the Royal Family. Ahead of the show airing,  Meghan and Harry followers were on Twitter also condemning the show but for a different reason. They were absolutely convinced that the documentary would be another "let’s make Harry and Meghan look bad exercise," with many fans saying they would simply refuse to watch the program.Of course, the net result of this was that many more people tuned into watch the first program then might otherwise have done so had this story not broken. We all wanted to see what all the fuss was about.The format of the documentary was a series of interviews with various newsprint and TV journalists from a cross-section of newsprint publications and TV channels.Here are some of the key points that have come out so far:The UK press will not be controlled and they make this clear. They admit they are not controllable. There was confirmation of what Prince Harry has called the ‘unwritten contract’ or what Mr. Rajan called “the deal’  between the Royal Family and the UK media.The BBC provided the context behind Prince Harry’s attitude towards the media. Part one of the documentary only touched briefly on the issue of the negative briefing by one Royal household against another Royal household. Not one journalist denied that this happened. All of them were keen to protect their sources. It was confirmed how the Royals seem to act in their own little silos. That there is competitiveness between them about how much and how favourable their press coverage. So not a lot of new stuff but intriguing, nevertheless. For my listeners outside of the UK, Part One of the Princes and the Press miniseries, called "The New Generation" is now on YouTube.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

As some parts of the world are opening up,  and for the first time in two-years we might be thinking about going on a trip or travelling once again, we have news from Prince Harry’s Travalyst organization that will help us to make eco-friendly choices on our travels.Per their website, led by Prince Harry and in partnership with Booking.com, Google, Skyscanner, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor, and Visa, Travalyst is a non-profit organisation "working to identify – and help bring about – the systemic changes needed in order for sustainable travel to be taken into the mainstream. " Travalyst are not saying don’t travel. What they are saying is travel better and Travalyst  https://travalyst.org/ are planning to give us tools to do this.We recently heard that one Travalyst partner, Google, had put in place an up-dated Google Flights search app. that allows everyone to see a carbon-emissions estimate for nearly every flight in the search results, also displaying the prices and duration of the flight, with flights with significantly lower emissions labeled with a green badge.This week Booking.com have announced its own launch of a Travel Sustainable badge, further helping travellers to make more sustainable travel choices. How it works is that Travalyst has produced an initial list of 32 specific sustainable measures over five keys areas: which are waste, energy, greenhouse gases, water use and supporting local communities and protecting nature. Booking.com will use this list, that will develop over time, to assess and give weight to the sustainable practices used by the accommodation on their sites, and using this Travalyst framework to come up with an overall score for the properties. So probably a bit like when you a book a property or accommodation that is rated as say 3 or 4 star,  there will some score given to Booking.com accommodation reflecting how sustainable they are. Booking.com say that the weight given to the sustainable practices for each property, will take into consideration the property’s location and size and the market in which the property operates. They give us examples that water-reducing measures in an area prone to drought or sourcing renewable energy options in a country where that is not widely available,  would be weighted as more impactful.The full list of the 32 measures or what Travalyst call 'attributes' can be found on the Travalyst website. In a press release Booking.com say that the goal of their Sustainable Travel badge is to make credible recognition of sustainable efforts made by properties around the world, and to provide travellers with a transparent, consistent and easy to understand identifier. Booking.com say that they hope this badge system will inspire more accommodation providers as well as other partners in the travel industry to take their next step to operate more sustainably.I have put a link to the full Booking.com article on my twitter account. Happy travelling for those of you planning on doing so. Let’s just hope COVID cases stay low everywhere…Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan’s and Harry’s supporters are hard core. If you don’t believe me, take a look at some of their on-line social media accounts, Twitter in particular, where followers congregate to talk all things Meghan and Harry. Pussy cats they are not. More like lions and lionesses, protecting Meghan and Harry like they would their cubs.So, it comes as no surprise that supporters of Meghan and Harry get right behind the causes that are important to Meghan and Harry,  with followers putting their hands into their pockets to donate to various good causes. Here is an example of this in action. On Veterans’ Day in the US Meghan and Harry visited at US Military Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in New Jersey where Meghan and Harry invited some active servicemen and servicemen to lunch, and where Meghan and Harry also met with Afghan women and children.Fort Dix in New Jersey is currently home to some of the 10,000 Afghan refugees who are being supported by the American Department of Defense, and by volunteers from the veteran’s organization Team Rubicon  https://teamrubiconusa.org/ until such time as the families can be found permanent homes.During their visit, Meghan and Harry stopped by a classroom full of young children learning English, whereupon Meghan and Harry interacted with the kids including joining in an impromptu rendition of the children's song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" which is apparently one of Archie's favourites.Two-days after their visit,  a tweet appeared on the Royal Suitor / R.S. Locke  https://mobile.twitter.com/royal_suitor account advising that there was a need for winter coats, footwear, clothing, craft supplies, and other items for the Afghan guests. Within minutes of the tweet, Meghan and Harry supporters were re-tweeting screen shots of photos showing receipts for the purchases that they had made in Meghan and Harry’s honour. Once the purchases arrive at the various  military bases, Team Rubicon volunteers, the so-called 'greyshirts' will help to unpack and sort the purchases and help get them to the families that need them.Team Rubicon serves communities by mobilizing veterans to continue their service, using the skills and the experience that they acquired in the military, to help people prepare, respond, and recover from disasters and humanitarian crises.As well as helping to sort and distribute donations made for the Afghan families, Team Rubicon volunteers are building temporary housing units and are assembling furniture, serving as translators which helps families to move through the resettlement process with dignity and more quickly, and providing logistical and administrative support.I reached out to Ms. Locke who has been unofficially coordinating / monitoring the donations made by Meghan and Harry's supporters to Fort-Dix to see if she had any idea as to the total value of purchases made in Meghan and Harry’s name. As at the time of recording she was not able to tell me how much had been donated but in my estimate, looking at the Tweets, purchases ran to thousands and thousands of $$. Meghan and Harry supporters should be proud of themselves for stepping up, and going on this mega shopping spree to help others. And thanks to Meghan and Harry for throwing some light on this need. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  You can reach out to me through my blog at Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Covered in this podcast are the following 3 topics:  Prince Harry's participation in the WIRED – RE: WIRED conference,  when he was part of a panel discussion about the dangers of misinformation and hate speech in the media, whether printed or on-line. What are superspreaders?Harry's and Meghan's appearance at the Salute to Freedom Gala in New York City, when Harry had the honour of being asked to present the inaugural Intrepid Valor Awards, and the  heartfelt speech Harry gave in support of all veterans, servicemen and servicewomen, and recognising in particular those dealing with mental and physical injuries as a result of their service. And,  the continuation of the UK Court of Appeal case in which Associated Newspapers are appealing Meghan’s win against them, with new evidence revealed which does not help Meghan's credibility, but which may not be relevant. Meghan's lawyers started to make their arguments in the appeal. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan looked good and she said,  when asked,  that she was feeling very good as she participated in person at the New York Time’s DealBook Summit alongside Mellody Hobson. They were being questioned by the journalist and founder and editor of DealBook,  Andrew Ross Sorkin.  The topic up for discussion was How can women reach economic and professional parity? Mellody Hobson is President and co-CEO of Ariel Investments which manages millions of dollars of investments. In 2017, she became the first African American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago and this year she hit another milestone for women and for black women in particular, in becoming the chairwoman of Starbucks. During the 30 minutes discussion, Andrew Ross Sorkin sped over various topics with the ladies both on the issue of gender equity and then,  taking advantage of having Meghan present,  he asked her about various personal issues being talked about by the media right now, including:Meghan's involvement in the Paid Leave campaign in the U.S. and whether she was anxious about seen as being involved in a political issue;Meghan's views on social media and media in general; andThe progress of Meghan's U.K. court case versus Associated Newspapers. This segway’s nicely into my next piece of news from this week.The UK Court of Appeal case in which Associated Newspapers, owners of the UK newspapers the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, and Metro amongst others, appealed the judgment in which they were found to have breached Meghan’s right to privacy and breach of copyright,  when they published extracts from her post wedding letter to her father Thomas back in 2019. Newspaper lawyers on behalf of Thomas, who is not a party to the case (and as we all know is not shy from giving multiple interviews to the press during which he invariably throws insults at Meghan and Harry) claim that Thomas only handed his copy of Meghan’s letter to the U.K. Mail newspaper in response to how he felt he was wrongly portrayed in a 2019 People Magazine article. The newspaper takes the position that Mr. Markel is the poor victim in the story , was misrepresented in the People Magazine article,  and assert that Thomas was justified in defending his "reputation."The UK appeal is being lived streamed, with the newspaper starting to put in their arguments. What they have to show is that the trial judge, Justice Warby, was wrong to have decided the case using the court’s summary judgment mechanism as opposed to sending the case for a full trial,  when witnesses including possibly Meghan and Thomas would be called to testify.  The newspaper has to show that there is a 'triable issue' requiring the Court to hold a full-trial to be able to determine the outcome of the case.As of today, there are at least two more days of arguments left,  which will include time for Meghan’s lawyer to present their reply submissions. I have put the link to the videos of the live stream via YouTube on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/  and on my twitter account @jeanettesongolo https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo. You can also find the links at the UK High Court / Court of Appeal website. An interestinShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry, who in the past have been criticized in the media for using too many aeroplane flights, continue to advocate – using the more environmentally friendly means of letter writing, emails and phone calls –  to push for Paid Leave to be included in the U.S. social spending Bill,  as well as continuing to press wealthy G20 countries to share COVID-19 vaccines with low-to-mid income countries.As other members of the UK Royal Family attended at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Meghan and Harry’s Archewell organization took action and announced that they pledged to a sustainable future, aiming to become net zero by 2030. In their announcement that is published on their Archewell website, Meghan and Harry speak of their long-standing commitment to the planet, both together and prior to their marriage, with global projects and partnerships dating back over a decade. Meghan and Harry say that they will work with an independent consultant to track all Archewell-related activities to understand what their current carbon footprint is, then using 2022 as a baseline year, they will develop a plan for Archewell that aligns with the latest guidance from leading organizations, like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science-Based Targets Initiative, saying they will be offsetting remaining emissions until they achieve net zero in 2030 and beyond. As well as this work, we hear that Meghan will soon join a panel discussion as part of the two-day New York Times DealBook Summit. Meghan's event is titled "Minding the Gap" when she joins Mellody Hobson, the Co-C.E.O. and President of Ariel Investments, to ponder the question - How can women reach economic and professional parity? It has also been announced that Prince Harry is participating in a conference being put on by the  https://re.wired.com/c/re-wired  (WIRED) organization, which will discuss all things technology and how it affects the way that we live, work, and connect. The November conference is being described as a series of conversations between technologists and people who think hard about the consequences of technologies on society, economics, sustainability, and our future.Prince Harry will be part of a panel discussion called The Internet Lie Machine – looking into what is called the real cost of a lie on the internet—to ourselves, our communities, our societies.More details of both of these events and links to them as well as other stories that don’t make it into this podcast can be found on my twitter account @Jeanette Songolo  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

During a period in which there is increasing pressure for social media platforms to do more to curb on-line hate speech,  and when there are more and more reports about the connection between inflammatory speech online and violent acts,  this week a report was released into the hate speech on Twitter directed against Meghan and Harry.The report (click here to see it   https://botsentinel.com/reports/documents/duke-and-duchess-of-sussex/report-10-26-2021.pdf ) was produced by the Twitter monitoring organization called Bot Sentinel. In their report into the Twitter hate directed at Meghan and Harry since they stepped down from Royal life in early 2020,  Bot Sentinel report that a relatively small number of what they term single purpose anti-Meghan and Harry accounts create and disseminate most of the hateful content. Bot Sentinel report that they analysed 114,000 tweets and they isolated about 55 single purpose account as the primary hate accounts, with about 28 secondary hate accounts with these 83 accounts combined having about 187.5 thousand followed.  These 83 accounts were responsible for 70% of the original and derivative content targeting Harry and Meghan on Twitter, with the potential to ultimately reach approx. 17 million twitter users.Bot Sentinel state that the hate messaging was not confined to Twitter. The accounts would often Tweet links to private blogs, Instagram accounts, and YouTube focused predominantly on Meghan and Harry. Bot Sentinel name and shame these 83 accounts,  and conclude that in their opinion the users were violating Twitter’s rules on platform manipulation and spam, abuse and harassment policies, and in publishing private information. Twitter’s terms of service forbid abusive behaviours and engagement that harasses or intimidates or is otherwise intended to shame or degrade others, and they prohibit coordination between accounts that results in harm to others.Bot Sentinel CEO and founder Christopher Bouzy was interviewed by BuzzFeed News about the Meghan and Harry report. He told BuzzFeed that when Bot Sentinel announced they would be launching an investigation into anti-Meghan and Harry accounts on Twitter, he became the target of a fully-fledged harassment campaign unlike he said, anything that he or his team had experienced before. Bouzy described the harassment that he and his team received as different and personal with false allegations being made against him to try to pre-emptively discredit the report’s findings. Mr. Bouzy emphasized that the negative Twitter activity towards Meghan and Harry is not being done by automated BOT accounts but by real accounts run by humans.  He added that these people know how the manipulate the algorithms, manipulate Twitter and stay under the radar to avoid detection and suspension. BuzzFeed approached Twitter about the findings in the Bot Sentinel report who informed BuzzFeed they were actively investigating the information and the accounts referenced in the report, saying they would take action of accounts that violate the Twitter Rules. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In an open letter to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, Meghan asks for all politicians, be they Republicans or Democrats,  to unite to enact a Paid Leave Policy as part of what is being considered under the latest U.S.  budget bill negotiations.Meghan wrote, she said,  not as an elected official nor as a politician,  but as a mother - advocating alongside groups such as  https://paidleaveforall.org/ for rights for parents and caregivers to be able to be able to spend the first few months at home with their babies,  rather than having to rush back to work, due to the fact that they need their wages to financially survive.In her letter Meghan writes of her own humble upbringing and how her family appreciated the value of money. Meghan says how lucky she and Harry now are in their own lives such that after the birth of Archie and Lili, when they were both overjoyed and overwhelmed, they did not to have to face the dilemma of having to choose between staying at home with their baby without pay, versus going back to work - this being the harsh reality for many parents in America. Per the Paid Leave for All website, the U.S. is one of the only countries in the world without a national paid leave policy , which meant that when the pandemic hit, the U.S. were unprepared.  They add that nearly one in four employed mothers return to work within two weeks of giving birth,  and one in five retirees leave the workforce earlier than planned to care for an ill family member. Meghan adds her voice to this campaign writing that  "paid leave should be a national right, rather than a patchwork option limited to those whose employers have policies in place, or those who live in one the few States in the U.S.  where a leave program exists".Meghan’s letter was written as the same time that a group of Democrats in the Senate and House sent their own letter to President Biden, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, urging them to include a more robust family and medical paid leave program in the legislation.This group of Democrats argue that a national paid leave program must cover “all workers” because “at one point or another, nearly everyone will need to take leave from work to give or receive care, whether it’s to welcome a new child, be there for an aging parent or loved one, or to recover from their own major surgery, serious illness like cancer or substance use disorder." Something that Meghan did not point out in her own letter but which was mentioned in other reports on this issue,  is that workers who do currently have access to paid leave in the U.S. are disproportionately the higher-paid employees at large companies and that Black and Latino workers are likely not to have access to the benefit. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In a week when the Queen was said to have berated unspecified world leaders "for too much talking and not enough doing" on climate change issues,  Prince Harry has joined up with the non-profit conservation group   https://www.rewild.org/  in a campaign  to try and protect southern Africa’s Okavango River Basin. The river basin is home to hundreds of thousands of people many of whom are indigenous to this area, as well as endangered wildlife, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  We are informed that the Okavango ecosystem is being threatened by corporate oil exploration that could lead to devastating ecological consequences.Prince Harry, Re:wild, local communities and others in Namibia and Botswana are asking members of the public to sign an open letter to the governments of Namibia and Botswana calling for an immediate moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Okavango River Basin, including by the Canadian oil and gas firm ReconAfrica, and seeking an impartial and independent commission to be established to analyse the effects that oil and gas exploration will have on the area. Re:wild report that since the end of 2020, when ReconAfrica obtained a license for exploratory drilling across a 13,200-square-mile area that covers part of the Okavango River Basin, local leaders and activists have publicly expressed their concerns that the company did not adequately consult local communities, that it may not be implementing sufficient environmental safeguards to prevent the pollution of the region’s sole source of water, and that it may be putting endangered wildlife at greater risk. In an op-ed published in the Washington Post, Prince Harry and a local Namibian activist call on the World to stand in solidarity with the communities in Namibia and Botswana. They write that they believe profit is being put ahead of the protection on an important ecosystem, and say that ‘some things in life are best left undisturbed to carry out their purpose as a natural benefit. This is one of them.’ReconAfrica say on their website that they have been selected to work with the Namibian government and local officials to plan and drill three conventional exploratory stratigraphic wells in Namibia. Results from the first well have now confirmed there is an active petroleum system in the basin. They go on to say that ReconAfrica is using proven, safe, and effective technologies and applying rigorous safety and environmental protection standards in all aspects of their operations in Namibia.In terms of sustainability ReconAfrica states that it is developing plans to address international Net Zero carbon emissions targets but say ultimately, the people of Namibia and Botswana, through their traditional authorities, elected governments and regulatory agencies, will determine how the countries will manage their natural resources. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Move over tabloids as today Meghan and Harry were making news in the business and financial sections of the press.  This followed the announcement that Meghan and Harry are becoming what is described as Impact Partners for a sustainable investment firm called Ethic.It is not totally clear what the role of Impact Partners will be. Ethic in their press release state that Meghan and Harry are committed to address the defining issues of our time, such as climate, gender equity, health, racial justice, human rights, and strengthening democracy and the couple understand that these issues are inherently interconnected. In their press release, Ethic goes on to say that with Meghan and Harry’s partnership, a shared vision for the world in which all investing is sustainable investing can reach millions around the globe.The New York Times reports that Meghan and Harry want to encourage young people to carefully consider investing in more sustainable companies.On their own Archewell website,  Meghan and Harry post that when we invest in each other we change the world… They continue …  be it through the investment of time (as with mentoring), investment in community (as with volunteering), or the investment of funds (for those who have the means to), our choices—of how and where we put our energy—define us as a global community. By all accounts, ethical or sustainable investing has been growing in popularity. The firm Ethic was established in 2016 and according to an article in the New York Times currently manages about $1.3 billion in the ESG or Environmental, Social, and Governance space.I am not a financial expert and would not even start to give out any investment advice and admittedly I am somewhat cautious when it comes to investing.  Investments can go down as well as up. With that in mind,  I personally see the news of this partnership and how the news of the partnership has been posted and released as risky for Meghan and Harry for a few reasons. I will tell you about my own thoughts in this Podcast.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry’s three-day whirlwind visit to New York City has ended. So, what did we learn from their visit? I am out of practice in keeping up with the speed of the news when Meghan and Harry get going.Meghan and Harry are no longer worried about appearing to be involved in political issues. We learned that certain UK, US, and Australian tabloid news services will never love Meghan and Harry. Meghan did show some back to work nerves. Meghan and Harry adopted the style of their former Royal Tours - for now.It was good that Meghan and Harry still combine that element of Royal / celebrity,  with the common touch that we like so much.What did their visit achieve? – well they gave us a harmless distraction from the almost constant stream of bad and depressing news that we get right now.  And they reinforced the serious message of getting the COVID-19 vaccines to everyone around the world, a message that you would think other members of the Royal Family would also be pushing.All in all during their New York visit Harry and Meghan showed us that they continue to make a good team. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Day 2 of Meghan and Harry’s working visit to New York City started off with a visit with some of the City’s young children,   with Meghan and Harry receiving and dispensing lots of hugs. The couple joined NYC Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter at the P.S. 123 Mahalia Jackson Elementary School in Harlem. The stated aim of the visit was to promote early literacy. As Meghan and Harry arrived at the school's playground they were asked how their children, Archie and Lili were doing. "They're good!" Meghan responded adding that Lili was beautiful and giving a thumbs up for Archie. Meghan and Harry’s visit mostly took place outside in the sunshine on the playground and under a marquee. They viewed a flower power mural painted by fourth and fifth grade pupils. The school children swamped Harry and Meghan reaching out for hugs from them both. Meghan read her book "The Bench" to a group of mainly 2nd Grade schoolchildren gathered outside. Prince Harry joined the kids on the ground, sitting among them as Meghan read.Meghan explained that she had dedicated her book to "the man and the boy who make her heart go pump-pump," and she told the children that the phrase came from teaching her then 2-year-old son Archie how the heart works. She also explained to the children the idea of representation saying she wanted everyone to be included in her book.Asked by one of the students if she planned to write another book,  Meghan said: “At the moment I don’t plan to write another children’s book, but never say never.”  The students were all given a copy of her book to take home.The children had drawn pink paper hearts with their personal stories and dedications on them and Meghan went through these and engaged with the students by name.Meghan and Harry had been shown around the school by Principal Melitina Hernandez. Meghan and Harry donated two garden boxes filled with vegetables and herb planters to support the school's ongoing community efforts and support the need for fresh food. Through Meghan and Harry's Archewell Foundation's partnership with Proctor & Gamble, they are also providing health products for families at the school as well as a washing machine and dryer for students' uniforms.Harry was very relaxed as he always is around children and it was cute seeing him sitting cross-legged amongst the children engrossed in Meghan reading her story.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and through twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Looking much better than I ever did just 3 months after giving birth,  Meghan with Prince Harry kickstarted their 'tour' of New York City. Whilst Meghan and Harry have both individually spent time in New York City on many prior occasions, this was their first ever joint official engagements in the City, arriving a few days ahead of the Global Citizen LIVE concert that is taking place on Saturday September 25th.Meghan's  and Prince Harry's itinerary of events began with a visit to the rebuilt One World Trade Centre. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife and their son posed for photos with Harry and Meghan at the observatory on the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center.Unfortunately, it wasn’t a bright and sunny day for their visit but the panoramic view was still impressive. Videos of the event show us what goes on behind the scenes with cameramen asking for Meghan and Harry to remove their face masks and to look this way and that to ensure the best shots were obtained. For those of you who are interested to see some less well published behind the scenes photos of  Meghan and Harry’s visit go the New York City Governors website and click on the governors Flickr account.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/govkathyhochul/ During their visit, during which Meghan and Harry were pictured smiling as well as holding hands. They responded to one question from the press about whether they were enjoying their trip to New York, with Meghan responding, “It's wonderful to be back, thank you." And with Harry saying “It's wonderful, thank you.”Harry and Meghan then visited the neighboring Sept. 11 Memorial Plaza. Meghan and Harry spent some time in the tranquil tree-lined gardens looking at the twin waterfall pools and the bronze parapets accompanied by National September 11 Memorial and Museum President Alice Greenwald. Thereafter, Meghan and Harry were given a private tour of  the 9/11 museum. Meghan and Harry’s visit in New York City will be give a boost to tourism, with the public encouraged to see that these venues are back open albeit with health and safety restrictions in place. Meghan and Harry’s visit is certainly attracting the attention of the World’ media. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ or through twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In what will be the first official appearance by Meghan outside of California since March 2020, Meghan and Harry are to attend in person at the Global Citizen LIVE event. Whilst the event is being hosted from Central Park in New York, the 24-hour event will feature performances from top artists all over the world, including: Lagos, London, Los Angeles,  Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Seoul, Sydney and other locations.Back in May of this year Harry and Meghan acted as campaign chairs for Global Citizen’s VAX LIVE: "The Concert to Reunite the World" in Los Angeles,  during which Harry appeared in person and Meghan by video conference. That event focused on driving a worldwide effort to equitably distribute the COVID-19 vaccines and treatments around the world.Prince Harry also spoke on the issue of vaccine equity when he recently presented the GQ Magazine Heroes Of The Year award to the entire team of dedicated scientists whose research led to the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine – notable a team almost entirely made up of women.Global Citizen was founded by Hugh Evans who from an early age was involved in humanitarian work with the World Vision organization. Hugh has in the past founded or operated other non-profit organizations including the Oaktree Foundation; Australia’s first youth-run aid organization; and the Make Poverty History campaign in Australia.In 2008, with grants from the United Nations, Australian government and British government, Hugh co-founded the Global Poverty Project (GPP) an education and advocacy organization aiming to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action to end extreme poverty. In 2011 Global Poverty Project worked alongside the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation to execute The End of Polio campaign. In August 2012, GPP launched the annual Global Citizen Festival. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic Global Citizen joined forces with the European Union to help finance COVAX which buy vaccines for countries who cannot afford them.The sharing of COVID vaccines is only part of Global Citizen’s plans for the immediate and long-term future. In their 2021  white paper called “A Recovery Plan for the World – A Campaign to end COVID-19  for all and Kickstart the Global Recovery” Global Citizen sets out their five pillars of action for 2021 and beyond which are:Ending the COVID-19 pandemicStopping the hunger crisisResume learning for all childrenProtecting the planet and Promoting justice and equity for allGlobal citizen announced that for their part, Prince Harry and Meghan will join the 24-hour global broadcast event in New York City’s Central Park, to continue their urgent work with other world leaders in the pursuit of global vaccine equity so as to end the COVID-19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere and,  hoping that the G7 countries and the European Union will commit to share at least 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses as well as calling on Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna to share their mRNA vaccine technology with the World Health Organization.Global Citizen founder Hugh Evans tweeted “We are honored that Prince Harry and Meghan, are coming to #GlobalCitizenLive in Central Park event." Adding:  "Their leadership on vaccine equity is of global importance as we seek to end the pandemic for all."Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

It was announced on what was Prince Harry’s 37th birthday that Meghan and Harry are included in the 2021 TIME 100 Most Influential People List,  in the ICONS category.Meghan and Harry are introduced in the TIME 100 Most Influential People magazine article, by their charitable partner and friend Chef Jose Andres who is the co-founder of World Central Kitchen. Chef Andres speaks of Meghan and Harry's sense of urgency that drives Meghan and Harry as humanitarians and activists. Chef Andres points our that springing into action is not the easy choice for Meghan and Harry who although blessed through birth and talent, have been burned by fame. He says,   it would be much safer to enjoy their good fortune and stay silent. But instead Meghan and Harry turn compassion into boots on the ground through their Archewell Foundation,  and they give voice to the voiceless through media production.  Chef Andres concludes that in a world where everyone has an opinion about people they don’t know, Meghan and Harry have compassion for the people they don’t know. They don’t just opine. They run toward the struggle.In the same Magazine article Meghan and Harry wrote an article to congratulate another TIME 100 honouree, praising Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, the first woman and the first African to assume the position.  So how did the tabloids react to the Meghan and Harry’s inclusion in the TIMES 100 list?To be fair most did simple report the fact that Meghan and Harry were included in the TIME 100 list without much fanfare.  However, The UK’s Daily Mail, Sun, and Daily Mirror as well as the New York Post’s Page SIX spent more time reporting on the styling of Meghan and Harry in the three Photos in the Magazine. Maybe the press would have been happier to see Meghan and Harry in head to toe black and with balaclava’s covering their faces a.k.a. Kim Kardashian’s body suit at this week’s Met Gala. Keeping the newspaper theme going,  in case you missed my posts this week, the UK Daily Express printed a very brief apology to Meghan and Harry for a reporting error in an earlier news story.The Daily Express published a correction which went as followsWE recently reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had criticized the Queen's handling of their allegations of racism. The allegation of criticism reported in the book "Finding Freedom" did not come from the Duke and Duchess. The authors of "Finding Freedom" do not speak on behalf of the Duke and Duchess. We are happy to set out the correct position and we apologise to the Duke and Duchess.The link to the original copy of the apology is on my blog and my twitter account https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Prince Harry had been due to attend the 2021 Warrior Games at Disney in Orlando this week but unfortunately just one month ago it was announced that the in-person Games were cancelled due to COVID 19 health concerns. Typically, hundreds of elite athletes would have competed in adaptive sporting events, including archery, swimming, golf, indoor rowing, and wheelchair basketball, volley and rugby. To honour the veterans Harry teamed up with the first lady Jill Biden and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and some of the athletes in a zoom call,  that kicked started what will be a few days of virtual Warrior Games.The Warrior Games is a multi-sport event for wounded, injured or ill US service personnel and veterans established in 2010. Since 2015 the Games have been organized by the US Department of Defense. Prince Harry, at the time serving as a Captain and helicopter pilot in the British Army, opened the 2013 Games which inspired him to create the Invictus Games. Harry has openly admitted to taking or stealing the idea for his Invictus Games from the Warrior Games. Dr. Biden is a military daughter, mother and grandmother. In 2011, then First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden came together to launch Joining Forces, a nationwide initiative calling all Americans to rally around service members, veterans, and their families and support them through health and wellness, child education, and employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. Both the Warrior Games and Invictus Games are supported by Fisher House Foundation.  Fisher House Foundation is a charity that builds comfort homes where military & veterans families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in hospital. Fisher House Foundation also operates the Hero Miles program, which uses donated frequent flyer miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members as well as the Hotels for Heroes program using donated hotel points to allow family members to stay at hotels near medical centers without charge. The Fisher House Foundation’s current CEO is Ken Fisher, grandson of the founder Zachary Fisher. Ken emceed the zoom conference today. Dr. Biden spoke first thanking all servicemen and women and their families and caregivers for their dedication.  She spoke of the heart and the commitment she saw when she attended the Invictus Games in London in 2014 and said that courage, sacrifice,  and resilience are words that sum up what she saw. Prince Harry spoke of first meeting Dr. Biden at the 2014 Games and thanked her for her continuing support of military families. Prince Harry gave a big hello to the Warrior Games athletes that were participating in the zoom call,  saying these games were all about them. He expressed his sorrow that the in-person Warrior Games could not go ahead knowing all of the hard work that athletes would have put in to train for the event. Harry spoke of the power of sport to get the service men and women and their families through the dark times to where they are now both physically and mentally.Harry was pleased to see the partners, care-givers and children of the athletes on the zoom call. Like Dr. Biden, Harry spoke of the importance and strength of the families and friends who support injured service men and women. Of them being very much part of the team. The zoom call ended with some input from 2 injured servicemen and their families.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The UK news has been abuzz this week following a report from the UK TV regulator Ofcom,  that many news outlets claim has cleared or vindicated TV host Piers Morgan after his offensive and potentially harmful comments about Meghan Markle,   following hers and Prince Harry’s March 2021 sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey.This podcast will give you an overview of the findings of the Ofcom investigation.Link to the full Ofcom report here https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/223746/Good-Morning-Britain,-ITV,-8-March-2021,-0600.pdfPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/and through Twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Prince Harry was literary back in the saddle when he hosted the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup in Aspen, Colorado, USA. Funds raised will be used to help to meet the funding for Prince Harry’s and Prince Seeiso's charity Sentebale,  an organization that supports vulnerable children in Southern Africa who are impacted by extreme poverty, inequality, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.Sentebale was founded by Harry and Prince Seeiso in 2006 following Prince Harry’s gap year to Lesotho in 2004. After ten years working in Lesotho, in November 2016, the charity launched operations in Botswana.Sentebale means 'Forget me Not' and the name was chosen as a memorial to the charity work of the two Princes' mothers, as well as a reminder not to forget Lesotho or its children. Dr. Handa and his International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS Handa) has been sponsoring Sentebale’s polo matches for quite a few years. https://ispsgolf.com/Dr Haruhisa Handa is a Japanese businessman, musician, writer and philanthropist, and has founded numerous charitable organizations both in Japan and internationally. He believes that sport has the power to inspire, transform, and unite people and communities across social, racial and socio-economic barriers. Handa is the founder of the Japanese and International Blind Golf Associations. Sentebale reported on their website that this year’s Polo Cup, together with Prince Harry's generation personal donation,  will allow them to operate at full scale and will mean more children and young people across Lesotho and Botswana will receive essential support, care, and build skills to be more resilient and self-sufficient in the future. In other Prince Harry news, Harry’s Invictus Foundation has become part of the newly launched WeThe15 campaign. WeThe15 describe themselves as sport’s biggest ever human rights movement to end discrimination. WeThe15 aims to transform the lives of the world’s 1.2 billion persons with disabilities who represent 15% of the global population.Launching at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, WeThe15 say that like race, gender and sexual orientation, the organizers want to have a movement all persons with disabilities can rally behind. A global movement that is publicly campaigning for disability visibility, inclusion and accessibility.https://www.wethe15.org/ is being spearheaded by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and International Disability Alliance (IDA) and will be working with a coalition of international organizations from the world of sport, human rights, policy, communications, business, arts and entertainment. Prince Harry’s Invictus Games Foundation is part of the coalition.On the sports side of things WeThe15 say sport, and events such as the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, are hugely powerful vehicles to engage global audiences. There will be at least one major international sports event for persons with disabilities to showcase WeThe15 each year between now and 2030. On 19 August, more than 125 iconic landmarks, spanning 30 countries and multiple time-zones were lit up purple, the international colour for disability to celebrate the Launch of WeThe15. This was my 100th podcast in the Kind thoughts for Meghan Markle series. Thank you all for your continued support. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Aside and apart from video conferences and TV appearances it has been a long time since we have seen Meghan out in public at in-person events.  We last saw Harry and Megan at events together back in September and November 2020.  So it was very good news to hear that we may soon see Meghan and Harry back out and about in public.  According to an upcoming article being published in People Magazine,  Meghan and Harry are coming to the end of their parental leave following the birth of their daughter Lili, and they are 'intentionally planning' to re-enter public life, planning a busy list of public engagements beginning in the fall and winter of 2021.The People article comes as the Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand book "Finding Freedom" is being republished in paperback, with the paperback version of the book containing a new epilogue that is being excerpted in People Magazine.The epilogue is said to include comments from sources close to Harry and Meghan about the fall-out from the couple’s controversial Oprah Interview and about Harry’s trip to the UK to attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral and attempts to repair his family relationships.  The updated book is already causing controversy in the media  - which will likely  boost sales!Looking forward, according to Scobie and Durand, Meghan and Harry having spent a period of time prioritizing their mental health are now really excited to be back working with their causes and interests and expanding their in-person work. Meghan and Harry are said to have missed the human interactions that were very much a part of their former Royal lives. I can’t wait to see them both back in action.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In carefully worded statements in which Meghan and Harry are clearly trying to avoid saying anything that might be construed as been overly political,  the couple have provided information on non-profit organizations who we might donate to if we are feeling the need to do something to assist the people in Afghanistan and Haiti.In their statements posted to their https://archewell.com/ website, Meghan and Harry describe how the situation in Afghanistan is leaving us speechless and how the growing humanitarian disaster in Haiti leaves us feeling heartbroken. Meghan and Harry encourage us to support a number of organizations doing critical work in these regions. They have posted a list of organizations for us to consider supporting,  two of whom they already work with,  being the World Central Kitchen who are back in Haiti helping out after the recent earthquake and Prince Harry’s Invictus Games Foundation who have urged Afghanistan war veterans around the World to reach out to each other in support.Meghan and Harry are the first UK Royals to issue any sort of statement about the situation in Afghanistan.  They avoid giving any direct opinion on whether the decision to pull out US and other troops from the country is a good or bad move. What Meghan and Harry do say is the following:  “Archewell is committed to putting our values into action and we hope to do what we can to meet the moment by offering support to the military community and the troops who served in Afghanistan, as well as to the Afghan people facing violence and terror.”Meghan and Harry are on politically safer grounds when it comes to offering support to the people of Haiti. No one should criticize Meghan and Harry for wanting to offer support to NGO’s helping the Haitians following the most recent natural disaster there. The Queen has also issued a statement of sympathy to the people of Haiti with the Queen saying that she was deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life and destruction caused by the recent earthquake.Meghan and Harry say in their statements that they recognize that many of us may feel helpless right now,  but we should have faith in the power of shared purpose, action, and commitment to our collective well-being. In other words, if we all chip in a few dollars together we can have a meaningful impact. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan Markle used her 40th Birthday to issue a call to action asking us to volunteer 40 minutes of our time to someone in need. For her part Meghan committed to doing the same and she asked 40 friends, activists, athletes, artists, and world leaders to contribute 40  minutes of mentorship to support women re-entering the workforce. The initiative is called 40x40. Meghan got her birthday message via an open letter published on hers and Harry’s Archewell website, and in a novel little comedy skit that saw Meghan and comedian and actor Melissa McCarthy poking fun at themselves. In her open letter Meghan reminded us of the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on women, many of whom have had to adapt their work life or even give up their jobs to resume childcare or care for relatives as a result of the pandemic.So, who are the 40 friends and associates of Meghan that she asked to join her in her 40x40 project ? According to an article written by Omid Scobie and published in Harpers Bazaar these include singer Adele, poet Amanda Gorman, Deepak Chopra, Kendi, Gloria Steinem, Chef Andrés, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Canadian Prime Minister’s wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, and fashion designer Stella McCartney.In other birthday news, members of the Meghan supporter’s club the Sussex Squad raised over $47,000.00 in honour of Meghan’s 40th Birthday,  with the money being donated to Myna Mahila foundation in India.I love the fact that once again Meghan came out with something completely unexpected for her birthday, sending a message to the tabloids that they got it wrong, again! This is certain to annoy the media so we can expect some anti Meghan news by way of fall out over the next few days. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ or through Twitter.Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

A very happy birthday to Meghan Markle who is turning 40.  The world’s media has been obsessively speculating about Meghan’s and Harry’s plans to mark this milestone birthday.  "Close sources" have reported many varied birthday plans with various media outlets suggesting they have the inside scope.  Basically, the press don’t really know what Meghan is planning for her birthday celebration and gosh how they hate that!However she is choosing to celebrate, let’s wish her a joyful and a stress free birthday. I for one hope that she is spoilt rotten on what is her day. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In an interview with US Fox News this past week, Thomas said that he would be petitioning the Californian Courts for rights to see his grandchildren in the very near future. So do you think that Thomas should petition the Court for some access with his grandkids? And if he does, is he likely to be successful? According to an article in US Weekly in the opinion of celebrity divorce attorney Mark Gross, Thomas would be unlikely to win his petition for visitation with Archie and Lili under Californian Law.  Mr. Gross told US weekly that whether or not the Californian Courts will grant Thomas visitation would depend of the closeness between the grandparent and their grandchild.  Mr. Gross argues, that without this established relationship between Thomas and his grandchildren his petition could be unsuccessful.Here in Ontario in Canada,  the best interest of the child is the overarching test when it comes to decisions affecting children. In terms of grandparent access the lower courts have developed two competing views:1       A pro-contact approach 2       A parental autonomy approach (this view has support from the Ontario Court of Appeal)The parental autonomy approach can be challenged. A grandparent can still ask a  Court to make an order for access in Ontario, even though the child’s parents are saying no. However, similar to the law in California, a grandparent would have to show the court that they have a positive and pre-existing relationship with the grandchild;  and the parent’s decision to deny access to the grandparent imperils this positive relationship;  and the parent has acted arbitrarily in denying access. Under Ontario law Thomas’s own actions could be his downfall. Thomas's continued airing  of his grievances about Meghan and Harry and his denigration of their parenting skills before the world press,  would be unlikely to reassure an Ontario Court that Thomas is considering the children’s best interests ahead of his own.  Also, a Court might not want to grant access to a grandparent when when doing so could subject the child to conflict. Thomas has in the past thrown insults at both Harry and Meghan. Even in his Fox Interview this past week Thomas call Meghan and Harry ‘bad’ parents claiming that they had made mistakes in raising Archie and Lili.US Attorney Mark Gross told US Weekly that these issues are also problematic under Californian Law. One can image a Court worrying that if they did grant access visits to Thomas would he then parade them on the TV or take photos and sell them to the world’s media?These cases are never easy and I am sure the judges hate having to decide them, especially those judges who are grandparents themselves. Many a judge has tried to persuade the parties in such cases into mediation or some sort of therapeutic counselling knowing that a Court case is really going to make an unfortunate situation much worse.Let me know what you think - Should Thomas be given Court ordered access to his grandkids?Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I was just saying last time how quiet things were in terms of Meghan and Harry lives and then out of the blue came the news that Random House will be publishing Harry’s memoir, with the anticipated release date of the book in late 2022  - just in time for Christmas. It seem that Harry and the publishers did not intend to release news of the book just yet. The announcement appears to have been forced upon them after The New York Post got wind of the project. The book has already caused a stir,  with some newspapers reporting that this is Harry’s chance to tell his side of the story, and others already accusing Harry of preparing to drop more bombshells that will embarrass the UK Royal Family.For Harry’s part he released a news story through his and Meghan’s Archewell website under a heading "Prince Harry to Author Book Reflecting on Lessons Learned Throughout His Life." Alongside a description of his book is a statement from Harry in which he says  “I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become. I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story—the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned—I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.”The press releases did not say that Harry has written the book himself. Some news outlets are reporting that Harry is getting some help from J R Moehringer, a Pulitzer-winning former journalist with the LA Times and now author. This has not been confirmed nor denied at this time.Harry is taking heat for seemingly wanting to have privacy in his life but then being willing to tell us lots of intimate details. One Royal commentator, already fearing that Harry will release more bombshells in his book, has labelled Harry a traitor to the monarchy and to his family. How intimate the book will be remains to be seen. What we do know is that between now and when the book is released the press will have a field day speculating about what will or won’t be in the book. And once it is published, every little bit of it will be micro-analysed. It was good to hear proceeds from the book will be donated to charity. The press releases did not say that all of the proceeds will go to charity. However, even if only a fraction of the proceeds are donated, it is sure to net a tidy sum that non-profits and charities around the world so desperately need.Don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast  and you can read other stories and reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

It has been quiet in terms of Meghan and Harry and their charitable work. The pair had made it known that they intended to take an undisclosed amount of time off,  after the birth of Lili,  as parental leave allowing them to adapt to being a family of 4.  The gossip mill hasn’t stopped. As Meghan once said she can be nowhere yet everywhere. We heard this past week that Meghan and Harry took another step in fulfilling their business contract with Netflix, with news that Meghan will Executively Produce, alongside Sir Elton John’s husband David Furnish, an aminated series about a 12-year-old girl, who, as she faces life's daily challenges, is inspired by a variety of influential women from history. A very Meghan theme that will she her continuing to advocate for girl power and gender equity. We also got to hear this past week that Meghan and Harry and their Archewell foundation took their first step in fulfilling their commitment made back in May of this year, to support in a practical way the Los Angeles based mother and baby charity Harvest Home. This past May, Archewell Foundation announced that as part of Meghan and Harry’s mission to build a more equitable and just future for women, that in partnership with Procter & Gamble, Meghan and Harry would be working with organizations such as Girls Inc. and the National Women’s Law Center. And in honour of Mother’s Day, they made a commitment to purchase supplies for the second residence for Harvest Home LA, the homeless shelter specifically for expectant mothers.Procter & Gamble both through their community support program as well as in collaboration with other non-profits like Archewell are keen to be seen as a company that gives back.For their part Meghan and Harry whilst no longer working Royals, will want to ensure that the companies that they work with have high ethical standards. Rightly or wrongly,  Meghan and Harry will be held accountable in the media if they chose to work with dodgy people or organizations. Regardless of the amount of control that Meghan and Harry have over the actions of other people,  in the eyes of the world’s highly judgmental media, the blame for any unsavoury activities will be laid at the feet of Meghan and Harry. Meghan and Harry appear to have found a relatively safe partner in P & GP & G say they want to lead the charge in doing the right thing and use every opportunity, no matter how small, to set change in motion. To be a force for good and a force for growth. They have set up various campaigns around doing good deeds or Acts of Love  as they call them to support parents and children around the world. P & G have also set themselves up as a company that is inclusive and one that supports gender equality. Per the P & G 2020 Citizenship report P & G in the US has turned their attention to addressing systemic racism and inequality.In was in this context that as part of their on-going collaboration and fulfilling their Mother’s Day promise to support Harvest Home in practical ways, that this past week pallet loads of diapers were dropped off on behalf of P & G, Meghan and Harry,  and Archewell.  Harvest Home were extremely thankful for the 'pallets and pallets of diapers' and posted as much on their social media accounts.  Don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast  and you can read other stories and reach out to me through my blog at  https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

To honour what would have been the 60th Birthday of the late Diana, Princess of Wales,  William and Harry unite at the unveiling of a statue in honour of their mother.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, and Harry and Archie and Lili and don't forget to rate and to subscribe to my podcast!https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Media outlets this past week were bombarding us all with a constant stream of negative "news" about Meghan & Harry.  Bucking this negative trend,  I am using this episode to recap on just a few of the many positive things that Meghan and Harry have done in the service of others during the first half of 2021.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie, and Lili. You can read other stories and reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

MacKenzie Scott, author and the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continues to donate the income generated from assets that she received as part of her divorce settlement to non-profit organizations. In 2020 Ms. Scott announced nearly $6 billion in gifts to some 500 non-profits; this past week MacKenzie gave another $2.7 billion to 286 groups around the world, working in the areas of  racial inequality, the arts and education. Two of the organizations that are benefitting from Ms. Scott donations are US based Homeboy Industries and African based mothers2mothers, both of whom Meghan and Harry have supported in the recent past.I will tell you more about these two organizations and about their reactions to receiving generous gifts from MacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie, and Lili. You can read other stories and reach out to me through my blog at  https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

After he was born in 2019,  one of the first photos of Archie that Meghan & Harry released was on Mother’s Day.  Posted on their old Instagram account Sussex Royal,  it showed Archie’s feet in Meghan’s hands,  against a backdrop of forget-me-not flowers.  That was Meghan’s first Mother’s Day and whilst this year is not Harry’ first Father’s Day,  I for one am hoping that Meghan and Harry reveal a little photo of both Archie and Lili. Meghan has already given one Father’s Day tribute to Harry by way of her book, The Bench.  This is a book written to honour all fathers of sons.  I think it would make a good Father’s Day gift to a father of a baby or young son.  And if you are buying the book chuck in a garden bench to go with it. The book is illustrated by Christian Robinson. The pictures are soft and easy on the eye whilst still giving readers lots to chat about with children as they turn the pages.  Meghan and Harry have posted on their Archewell website what they call a conversation with Christian Robinson.  A questions and answers session where we get to read a bit more about Christian’s own background and hear what motivates him to do the work that he does. Spoiler alert. I do read Meghan's book The Bench during this podcast. The story is a gentle one.  At a push you can actually make the story work for baby girls too. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie and Lili. You can reach me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Baby Lili is not yet a week old and already the media are gunning for bad news to spew about her. If this is how Lili’s life is to be from now on,  this poor little child doesn’t stand a chance. So what is the drama. The fuss is over Meghan and Harry’s decision to give their daughter the first name Lilibet a nickname also used for the Queen by close family members.When the announcement of Lili’s birth was made by Meghan and Harry on June 6th the whole world was cooing about how lovely it was,  for Meghan and Harry to have honoured the Queen by choosing Lilibet as their baby girl’s first name and Diana as the middle name. There was a day of grace when it seemed that hardly anyone had anything bad to say about Meghan and Harry. Harry’s Royal relatives were very happy for Meghan, Happy and Archie, with Kate and William and Princess Eugenie posting their well wishes on social media and even on the Queen’s twitter account. The choice of name was acknowledged in the Queen’s message saying “Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of Lilibet Diana! The Queen, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted with the news.” By then end of Friday the media claws started coming back out. True to form,  it was the UK Daily Mail newspaper who in their June 6th article written by Royal Commentator Richard Kay, first sewed a seed of doubt as to whether Meghan and Harry had sought the Queen’s permission prior to naming their daughter Lilibet.  In his article, Mr. Kay throws in the little hint of controversy when he writes “Such is the closeness between grandmother and grandson many will assume Harry must have sought her permission to use such a private name.”This one sentence then set off a tsunami of media reports all now outright alledging either (1) that Harry did not seek the Queen’s permission prior to naming his daughter Lilibet or (2) Prince Harry presented his request in such a way that the Queen had no choice but to agree. The story continued to grow and grow. Things really heated up when Jonny Dymond,  the Royal correspondent for the BBC news,  wrote an article saying  that according to unnamed Palace sources, the Queen was not asked by Meghan and Harry about naming their daughter Lilibet.Meghan and Harry brought in their official spokespeople & a statement was issued to say:  “The Duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement,  in fact his grandmother was the first family member he called,” .. “During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”Sadly now the lawyers are all involved with law firm Schillings, which acts for Harry and Meghan, reportedly saying that the BBC report that the Queen was not asked for permission to use the name Lilibet was false and defamatory and should not be repeatedAnd Lili is not yet 7 days old at this point. And what of Mr. Kay at the Daily Mail the man whose comment started off the whole ruckus. Well in his article today he asks is there nothing Harry and Meghan do that doesn't involve a row? Mr. Kay adds how desperately sad that even something so uplifting as the birth of their new baby is accompanied by thundering controversy. So there we have it Mr. Kay blames Harry for creating the storm when Harry is merely reacting to the storm that Mr. Kay  helped cause. And that folks is how sneaky the UK press are.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all thingShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Many congratulations to Meghan, Harry, and Archie on the safe arrival of baby Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.  I am so very pleased to hear of the safe arrival of Archie’s sister Lili who was born on the morning of Friday June 4th, 2021, at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California.Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her late grandmother, the Princess of Wales. We are told Lili weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz. Meghan and Harry posted an announcement of the birth of Lili on their Archewell website https://archewell.com/news/congratulations-to-the-duke-and-duchess-of-sussex/ and included a message of thanks saying. “On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili. She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”In lieu of sending gifts, Meghan and Harry are asking for people to consider giving support to organizations working for women and girls: naming Girls Inc., Harvest Home, CAMFED or Myna Mahila Foundation.The hospital where baby Lili was born has a history in keeping with Meghan and Harry’s ideals. The Santa Barbara Cottage Health was founded in 1888 when a group of 50 Santa Barbara women recognized it was time for the growing community to have a hospital. The hospital is organized as a not-for-profit facility dedicated to the well-being and good health of all residents, regardless ability to pay.Will Lili have the honour of having a flower or plant named for her? Horticulturists in the UK have a long tradition of breeding plant or flower specimens in honour of members of the Royal Family.  The UK’s Royal Horticultural Society,  of which Queen Elizabeth is patron,  often at their Annual Chelsea Flower Show, reveal a new plant of flower specimen and name it in honour of one of the Royals. This tradition goes back to at least the reign of Queen Victoria.During her time in the UK Meghan was also honoured by the UK Royal Horticultural Society with a flower in her name.  Clematis 'Meghan'  is described as an exquisite large-flowering clematis, usually offer two flowering seasons each year - the first being the most prolific in late spring or early summer (around the time of their wedding), but then again in early autumn. The flowers on the climbing plant are described as being a rich and opulent magenta-purple, something that will really make an impact when planted in borders.The adorable Archie was also honoured, this time by a private grower called Chrysanthemums Direct.  According to an article published in the UK Town and Country Magazine, Chrysanthemums were the flower chosen by Queen and Prince Phillip to adorn Westminster Abbey on their wedding day in 1947, and now it has become tradition for every new member of the royal family to have a variety named after them. Chrysanthemum ‘Archie Harrison’ is a vibrant lemon-yellow colour and was selected before his birth, explaining the fact that the colour is gender neutral.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I am on my soap box this episode about people whose favourite sport is slamming Meghan and Harry. This week the UK Conservative Member of Parliament Andrew Rosindell  told the UK Daily Express newspaper that Harry and Meghan should be starved of oxygen.  Also this week,  author Lady Colin Campbell stuck her talons into Prince Harry, starting an  on-line petition seeking to have his Royal 'styles, titles,  and rank put into abeyance.' Who is Lady Colin Campbell or Lady C. as she likes to be known?Keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. You can email me at [email protected] out other stories of my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I watched the town hall follow-up to Harry's and Oprah's  Apple+ TV Series,  The Me You Can't See - A Path Forward.  This free to watch episode features members from the advisory board behind the series,  as well some of the people who stories feature in the actual series, and Harry and Oprah talk about what comes next. These are 6 of the many things that I learned from the town hall episode:1.  The Me We Can’t See series was two years in the making. Harry and Oprah said that their advisory board reviewed each episode for accuracy, appropriate language and to ensure that best practices were used.  Harry and Oprah wanted to get it right. Harry also felt it was important to have a global perspective.2. Oprah and Harry expressed their hopes from the series as including.Empowering people to talk about their mental health and their emotional well being.A recognition that physical health and mental health should be seen as equally important – as part of our general Health.To try and create a more supportive culture where people are more understanding and compassionate to one another.To let people with mental heath issues know they are not alone. That mental health is not a 'they' problem but a 'we' issue.To try and remove stigma around mental health. 3.  Stigma and its effects, was discussed at various points during this episode.4.  A good deal of time was spent discussing how best to service people with mental health    conditions and the services or lack of services available. 5. There was a lengthy discussion on suicide and suicidal ideation,  the prevalence of which has increased during the pandemic.6.  We were told that being diagnosed with a mental health illness should not be seen as the end of the world. There was a general sense of hope.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie and if would like,  you can email me at [email protected] written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

What a week in terms of Royal Family news. A pregnancy announcement;  a wedding anniversary;  a Royal Tour; TV interviews,  and then the scandal of the week showing that almost 24 years after her death, Princess Diana still has the capacity to generate world-wide news headlines.The big story of the week was undoubtedly the revelation that the BBC journalist Martin Bashir had, back in 1995, used dodgy tactics to secure the exclusive tell all interview with Princess Diana. The 1995 interview was watched by 20 million viewers back in 1995 and it was huge news, not least of which because of all the jaw-dropping revelations that Diana made about her marriage and about her life in the Royal Family. The interview came 3 years after Diana and Charles had separated. Immediately after its airing,   the Queen wrote to both Diana and Charles and recommended that they immediately divorce. When we think of how huge Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah was, Diana’s was bigger still.So, what is the current scandal all about? In a nutshell, Martin Bashir, a relatively new journalist back in 1995, faked some bank statements. The bank statements falsely showed that Rupert Murdoch’s News International was paying a few of Diana’s aides for gossip about her. Bashir also alleged that Diana was being spied upon by Palace staff and people working for Prince Charles. The false statements were not shown to Diana but to her Brother Earl Spencer. Earl Spencer was duped by Bashir and believed what he was told. Earl Spencer in turn made the introduction of Bashir to Diana, and encouraged her to be interviewed by Bashir.Role forward to 2020 and Earl Spencer and journalists from the UK Times and Daily Mail newspapers revisited the story which eventually led to the BBC appointing retired Judge Lord Dyson to properly investigate. Lord Dyson’s findings were the ones released in the news this week, and which concluded that the journalist, Bashir, deceived Earl Spencer with fake bank statements to gain access to the Princess Diana and then lied about it before finally telling the truth. Lord Dyson panned the executives at the BBC for doing a poor investigation back in 1996 and basically covering up what had happened.The more complicated question is what part did this interview play, in anything, in Diana’s ultimate death. A very tricky question to answer.None of what Diana said in the interview back in 1995 has been discredited as being untrue. Take a look at comments on social media and you will see many many of her supporters are saying that no matter how the interview was procured, Diana spoke her truth, including about her depression and self harming, and nothing about the current scandal should undermine that.I printed off the transcript of the Bashir / Diana interview and there are a few statements that Diana made about press coverage of her then, that are just as relevant today, 24 years later.The crux of the issue in terms of press coverage of the Royals, is that the Royals want the press to cover them as they go about their work and bring attention to all of their good causes, but don’t want the press covering their private lives. The press really really want to cover the private lives of the Royals and the dirt as this sells more,  and the press suck up having to cover the work that the Royals are doing.Keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And check out other stories or reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghaShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Harry took centre stage this week in what was Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. Earlier in the week it was announced that Harry's and Oprah’s 12  TV series “The Me You Can’t See” would start airing towards the end of May.  Later in the week Harry was a guest on the Dax Shephard and Monica Padman’s Podcast, Armchair Expert.  There has been a lot of press about Harry’s conversation with Dax and Monica - something that Harry anticipated would happen, saying the press damn him if he does speak, and damn him if he does not speak, so what does he has to lose?As always some of what was written about the podcast was truthful, some half truthful,  and some a complete spin. I listened to all of the Armchair Expert podcast, the whole 1 1/2 hours of the show,  and made some notes. I take some of the news headlines about what Harry allegedly said,  and tell you what I heard him actually say or give you the context to the comments.Link to Prince Harry Armchair Export podcasthttps://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/prince-harryA lot more was covered in the conversation than has been reported in depth in the newspapers. So, what didn’t you read about in the newspaper’s headlines?  I will talk about some of this. Please keep listening in for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And check out other stories or reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/LET ME KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A GUEST ON THE PODCAST - WE CAN CHAT ABOUT MEGHAN, HARRY AND ARCHIE FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE IN THE WORLDShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

A very busy week for Meghan and Harry and it seems not a day goes by at the moment that we don't hear about a new project.  One of the things I like about following Meghan and Harry,  is getting to know about all of the non-profits that they support. Many are new to me.  This week Meghan, Harry and Archie, donated to the two charities - Harvest Home in LA and I Got Your Back Pack New Zealand. I'll tell you more about the great work that these organizations are doing, and about the donations made by Meghan, Harry and Archie.  https://www.harvesthomela.org/the-needhttps://www.igotyourbackpack.org.nz/Please listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And check out other stories or reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Carlos the Assassin has been seen prowling the area close to where Meghan and Harry live. Not convicted murderer Carlos the Jackal but Carlos the Californian black bear and alleged killer of chickens. Meghan and Harry participated in the Global Citizen VAX Live Concert to Reunite the World this past weekend. I watched the Live Stream on You Tube along with 10s of thousands of others.  The music was almost secondary to the video clips and appearances by various heads of states and faith leaders,  urging either the equitable sharing of vaccines around the world, or alternatively asking everyone to get vaccinated.I hadn’t expected the Pope to make an appearance but there was Pope Francis giving a message pre-recorded at the Vatican. The Pope’s speech was edited down at the live concert, but you can read the whole text on the Vatican website. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-05/pope-francis-vax-live-concert-coronavirus-healing-videomessage.htmlThe Pope speech was almost non-religious, more an appeal to our morals and ethics. The Pope said he was adding his voice to what is a growing chorus of voices seeking wider and more equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Amid the “darkness and uncertainty” brought about by the ongoing pandemic, he said  “we need light and hope." The Pope encouraged everyone not to forget the most vulnerable, saying that  individualism and nationalism  makes us indifferent to sufferings of others. He reminded us that we are all interconnected.Meghan and Harry fulfilled their roles as campaign chairs of the concert, with both of them giving speeches, Harry’s in person and Meghan by video from a bench (maybe The Bench) in the garden of their Montecito home.Their respective speeches showed a lot about their personalities.Harry’s two speeches had an almost a military tone to them as befitting his past career,Meghan’s speech drew on her continuing work for gender equity and speaking as mothers do when concerned for the world that their children will face.  The morning after the concert Global Citizen were reporting the following. ·       $302 million pledged by Canada and Croatia, and $2.5 million from the private sector in support of the ACT-Accelerator to ensure the equitable delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.·       13.25 million COVID-19 vaccine doses pledged from Norway, Spain, New Zealand, Croatia, and the UAE to share doses regionally, and to vulnerable countries around the world.·       $39.6 million in commitments pledged by corporate and charitable partners in support of COVAX, the worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. These pledges have been matched in funding to the value of $23.6 million, totaling $63.3 million. This funding alone will help t purchase almost 12.66 million COVID-19 vaccines.·       Harry and Meghan’s initiative for donations in honour of Archie’s 2nd Birthday to donate to COVAX,  had reached $535,000, which will help purchase 107,000 COVID-19 doses.Please listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie & check out other stories on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you! The adorable Archie turns 2 years old. I hope he gets a BIG cake and some fun gifts like drums and trumpets – you know – all those noisy gifts you give to other people’s kids.One present he won’t quite understand until he is much older is the book that mom Meghan has written to honour Archie’s and Harry’s loving bond. Meghan describes the book in her own words this way:“The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born,” … “That poem became this story. Christian Robinson layered in beautiful and ethereal watercolor illustrations that capture the warmth, joy, and comfort of the relationship between fathers and sons from all walks of life; this representation was particularly important to me, and Christian and I worked closely to depict this special bond through an inclusive lens. My hope is that The Bench resonates with every family, no matter the makeup, as much as it does with mine.”Meghan’s book is available for pre-order and within 24 hours of the announcement of its publication, the book was already making the best seller’s list.  The book is also available as an audio with Meghan narrating.News of the book's release quickly spread around the world. The UK tabloids were at first reporting the fact of the publication in pretty neutral tones, until Piers Morgan delivered a venomous attack on Meghan’s book and on Meghan,  calling it hypocrisy for a lady who does not have a relationship with her own father to write a book about parent child relationships.  Morgan thinks that because your relationship with you one of your parents  has broken down that this means you have nothing to say on parent and child relationships. And of course neglecting to mention that Meghan may be out of sorts with her father,  but she has a very strong relationship with her mom. Morgan also forgets to remind himself that one of the reasons her relationship broke down with her father Thomas,  was because he sold family stories to the likes of Piers Morgan and other tabloids. His comments also assume that our relationships with our kids mirror the relationships we have with our parents.But here’s how nasty the UK press are. The UK Daily Mail also went so far as to accuse Meghan of ripping off British writer Corrinne Averiss' story called the Boy and the Bench. The UK newspaper printed this huge story all over their online edition,  and then do what they always do – rather than be brave enough to admit it is the newspaper coming up with this trash, the newspaper hid behind social media trolls, blaming the trolls for making the accusation. The British author issued a statement denying Meghan copied her story saying:  'Reading the description and published excerpt of the Duchess’s new book, this is not the same story or the same theme as The Boy on the Bench. I don’t see any similarities apart from the use of a bench - which exist in as many stories as they do parks and gardens.'UK Royal correspondent Omid Scobie pointed out that the more the tabloids whinge and throw obsessive tantrums over the book the more it sells.Feel free to reach out to me through my twitter account https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo and by email at [email protected] Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Just released is news that Meghan had convened a roundtable, sitting down with a group of 13- to 18-year-old young women, primarily girls of colour, who are part of the North American Girls. Inc. organization. Also present were representatives from the National Women’s Law Centre. The sit down took place on April 8th, 2021, one day prior to the death of Prince Phillip. Meghan likely delayed releasing details of this event out of respect to the Queen and due to the two-week period of mourning for members of the Royal Family.So, who can guess when Girls Inc. (Girls Club of America) was first established?  Amazingly in 1864, a non-profit organization was set up to encourage all girls to be "Strong, Smart, and Bold" through direct service and advocacy. According to Wikipedia and their website,  https://girlsinc.org/ the movement started in Waterbury, Connecticut after the Civil War, primarily aiming to help young women who had migrated from rural communities in search of job opportunities. In 1945, fourteen charter Girls Clubs joined together to form a national organization.  In 1990 the Girls Club of America changed their name to Girls Inc. As of 2021 the network of local Girls Inc. has grown to 1,500 sites in 350 cities across the United States and Canada. Girls Inc. say that the girls involved in their organization live healthy and active lifestyles and are less likely to engage in risky behavior; they are eager to learn, successful in school, and more likely to graduate from post-secondary education; and they display diligence, perseverance and resilience.Also, at the round table were representatives from Washington based National Women’s Law Center. The MWLC fights for gender justice through advocacy and litigation, working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls. The organization started in 1972 when secretaries and law students at the Centre For Law and Social Policy made 4-demands of their bosses:1.    Better pay for women2.    More women staff lawyers3.    Work of women’s rights4.    And Women not having to serve coffee.According to the news story published on the Archewell website during the sit down Meghan asked the girls about their ambitions, what do they aim to be when they leave school. She also asked them which female figures past or present inspire them. The National Women’s Law Centre posted on their Facebook account that they were honored to have joined The Duchess of Sussex, Girls Inc., and a group of amazing teens in a discussion to address real, systemic change for girls. Please keep listening  out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. Please feel free to reach out to me through my twitter account, and by email at [email protected] Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Big news on the Meghan and Harry front with the announcement that they are the Campaign Chairs of Global Citizen’s VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World.  Meghan and Harry are helping a worldwide effort to ensure the equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and treatments to everyone, everywhere.During the May 8th concert,  Harry and Meghan will be  among many who will be delivering messages for vaccine equity.  Other people slated to give a similar message are US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, US Vice President Kamala Harris, President Macron of France and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada.  A host of actors and comedians will also make guest appearances.  Selena Gomez with hosting the music side  of the event.According to a BBC news article, more than one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have now been administered worldwide. But there are vast differences in the pace of progress in different parts of the world, with some countries having delivered doses to a large proportion of their population and others still waiting for their first shipments to arrive.Meghan and Harry write on their website:“Over the past year, our world has experienced pain, loss, and struggle—together. Now we need to recover and heal—together. We can’t leave anybody behind,” They add:“We will all benefit, we will all be safer, when everyone, everywhere has equal access to the vaccine. We must pursue equitable vaccine distribution, and in that, restore faith in our common humanity. This mission couldn’t be more critical or important.”The VAX LIVE concert is a fund-raising effort, seeking to raise what they call “dollars for doses” to help vaccinate more than 27 million frontline health workers, and to try and get governments, corporations and NGO foundations to pledge a total of $19 billion to get 1.8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses plus tests and treatments to the world’s poorest countries by the end of 2021.Please keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And feel free to reach out to me through email at [email protected] written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This is an updated trailer for my podcast Kind Thoughts for Meghan Markle. In this trailer we take a look back in time,  to set the framework and the context for the July 2020 launch of the podcast.Please check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/And feel free to reach out to me through email at [email protected] written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

A month and a half after Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry, Oprah provided us with a mini debrief on her thoughts about the interview. The context for Oprah’s comments were as part of an interview with US TV host Nancy O’Dell.  Nancy asked Oprah, tongue in cheek, about the one little interview Oprah did with Harry and Meghan.Oprah admitted that she had no idea the interview would cause such a reverberating impact, something which is still continuing.Oprah admitted to doing her prep for the interview and also to asking her crew not to discuss the interview prior to it airing,  saying it was important that what was said in the interview was no misconstrued ahead of it airing.  Oprah also admitted to carefully selecting the clips that were released to CBS as trailers for the interview, again saying she wanted to be careful to ensure that the information in these clips could not be exploited.Nancy and Oprah discussed the work that went into the interview behind the scenes with Oprah confirming that she spent a lot of time and energy on the interview. Oprah repeated something she had told Gayle King the day after the interview aired, that when she preps for any interview she reaches out to the interviewee to chat about what their intentions are, what message do they want to convey in their interview?  In Meghan and Harry’s case their intention was the truth, to tell their story and to be as truthful as possible.Nancy asked Oprah if she was surprised at how open Harry and Meghan were with her. Oprah said she was surprised at the revelations and soon got the sense that Harry and Meghan would not be holding back, and would, as Oprah described it “be going all the way there”.  Contrary to newspaper reports, Oprah did not elaborate any further than this comment, she did not mention the word racism nor any other specific comments made by Harry and Meghan during their interview. That was pretty much what Oprah said before interview went onto talk about Oprah’s and Dr. Perry’s book. The book that Oprah was promoting is about childhood trauma and how it affects our behaviours as adults – basically why we are who we are. It is called "What Happened to You?"Link to the Oprah / O'Dell Interview https://talkshop.live/stream/4506?utm_source=home&utm_medium=tsl&utm_campaign=thenancyodellchannelConfessions of the Daily Mail. The UK Daily Mail newspaper has basically admitted that what annoyed them about Meghan and Harry was that they chose not to involve the UK press in the details surrounding Archie’s birth, and because Meghan and Harry did not release photos of Archie to the newspaper. In an article by Amanda Platell called "What Meghan Markle could learn from Kate Middleton’s family snaps",  the journalist admits that the press were upset that Meghan and Harry did not parade Archie on the steps of the hospital after Archie was born. Something Harry and Meghan said they were not asked to do.Ms. Platell also admitted to what she called the unwritten contract between the Royal Family and the UK press that the press won’t hound you and your kids as much if you offer up some family photos every now and then.Basically, confirming what we all suspected that if Harry and Meghan had played by the rules of the UK press their lives would have been much easier in the UK.  Strongly inferring that because Harry and Meghan didn’t offer up said photos the UK press made their lives hShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I am so happy!  I know we shouldn’t be encouraging the tabloids to hunt down Meghan, Harry and Archie so they can take photos of them, but it was great to see the photos of Archie that the New York Post published this week.  I know that Harry and Meghan are trying to protect Archie’s privacy, but it’s only natural to be nosy and want to see more of the lad. There’s quite a lot that we can read into this one photo. Please keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And feel free to reach out to me through email at [email protected] written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

To honour the passing of Prince Phillip,  Prince Harry and Prince William stand alongside one another to show their respect to their grandfather, Prince Phillip The Duke of Edinburgh. Watch the funeral on the Royal Family You Tube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCY4b6GGkb4Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Within hours after the sad announcement of the death of the Queen's husband, Prince Phillip, the UK and World press were speculating about whether Prince Harry and Meghan would  attend the funeral.In my mind there was never any doubt that Prince Harry would attend. What was not sure was whether Meghan, who is heavily pregnant with their second child, ought to travel in light of the pregnancy and the on-going Covid-19 health issues. Whilst the UK is ahead of the game in terms of vaccinating its residents, the Covid-19 numbers have recently been on the increase in Europe with many countries going back into lockdowns.I am sure it was a very difficulty decision for Harry and Meghan to have to make, with Meghan on the one hand wanting to support Harry and to show her respects to the Queen, but on the other hand not wanting to jeopardize her own health and that of their unborn child, especially after her miscarriage last year.  We soon heard that Prince Harry is to attend and with Buckingham Palace announcing that Meghan, despite wanting to go to the funeral and despite trying hard to make it happen, was cautioned by her doctors not to fly to the UK for the funeral.The UK press have been fairly muted thus far in their coverage of Meghan’s decision, likely because it was Buckingham Palace who issued the statement about Meghan not coming as opposed to spokespeople for Meghan. But certain parts of the Australian press have been taking a poke at Meghan.Regardless of her pregnancy and her health Meghan is in a no-win situation as far as the trolls on social media are concerned.  In the past the UK press have covered Meghan’s planned attendance at Royal events like the as trooping of the colour and the Queen’s Birthday celebrations, such that if Meghan says she is planning to attend, she is accused of trying to take the spotlight and attention away from the Queen, and if Meghan decides not to come, she is portrayed as ‘subbing' the Queen. Meghan can do no right. On a lighter note in what is a somber time for the Royal Family, since the announcement of his death, we have been hearing from many people around the World about the things they loved about Prince Phillip, including his straight talking and his wit. A renowned petrol head who loved all types of vehicles, especially sports cars, Phillip was very loyal to the Land Rover brand, often pictured tooling around in one of their Discovery SUVs. Now we learn from the Royal Family website https://www.royal.uk/ that as part of his funeral arrangements, Prince Phillip’s coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover, which The Duke was involved in designing specifically for this purpose. That’s what you brand loyalty. Which got me thinking about how other famous brand loyal people might design their funerals? Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie  and you connect to me and to other listeners through the LinkedIn group for this podcast.  https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13955922/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Can you imagine waking up every morning to stories in the news telling you that you are a bad person and / or a liar.  No matter what good acts you are doing,  the news keeps telling you that you are basically not good enough to continue breathing. How would you survive that? Further try to imagine that some of these stories about how bad or worthless you are have been generated by members of your own family. This is what Meghan's life is like right now and what it has been like for at least a year, a relentless barrage of hate and for what purpose? Is the only way we can feel good about ourselves or justify our existence by throwing mud at someone else? How shallow have we all become?It is noticeable that many of the people who openly put Meghan down in the media are middle aged men. So, why is that? Rebecca Adams in her 2015 article published in Huff Post called Men See Powerful Women As Threats To Their Masculinity reported on studies which showed that men in the workplace felt very threatened by female supervisors and responded by acting more assertively. The studies Ms. Adams wrote about concluded that the combination of gender and status, jeopardizes men’s manhood and causes them to be pushier. The Fox Nation Morgan / Carlson interview was another  example of an angry middle-aged man putting Meghan down. I am not saying everyone has to like Meghan. But if you don’t like her why do you have to keep trashing her all the time?And I am not saying it is only men. There are plenty of women who for one reason or another like to spend countless hours slamming Meghan.But what is the end game for all of these people? Have they even bothered to consider what their objectives are in constantly bad-mouthing Meghan? Are they looking to literally destroy her / or worse see her take her own life? People need to think hard about the effect of their words and actions and ask themselves can they live with the consequences? Can they look themselves in the mirror and be happy with the harm that they are causing?Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry teamed up with LA volunteer organization L.A. Works and with the “I Have a Dream Foundation” and arranged to mentor a teenager girl during a zoom call.According to an article published on https://people.com/ the teen was immediately aware of who Meghan and Harry were as she had been following the 'Meghan story' in the media.We are told that the teen was surprised and excited when she got on the phone with Meghan and Harry, during which they talked about her schoolwork as well as overcoming challenges in life. Deborah Brutchey, the Executive Director of L.A. Works says that it was a significant call for the young teen, describing how Meghan and Harry very soon recognized the potential this young lady has, and they were able to inspire the teen and undo some damage that had previously been caused by a former teacher expressing their doubts about the teen’s abilities.Ms. Brutchey said that the teenager’s chat with Meghan and Harry really made an impact and is going to forever inspire her.L.A. Works is non-profit, volunteer action center that creates and implements hands-on community service projects throughout the greater Los Angeles area. They strive to empower Angelinos to address pressing social issues through volunteerism and community collaborations.The "I have a Dream Foundation" was started in 1981  when businessman Eugene M. Lang returned to the elementary school he had attended in East Harlem 50 years earlier, to address a class of graduating sixth graders. On the way to the podium the school principal told Lang that three-quarters of the school’s students would probably never finish high school, prompting Lang to make an impromptu change to his speech, in which he promised college tuition to every sixth grader who stayed in high school and graduated. He called these kids his Dreamers.The current mission of the non-profit is to empower children from under-resourced communities to succeed in school, college, and career by providing academic, social, and emotional support from elementary school through college, along with postsecondary tuition assistance.The foundation currently supports a network of 14 affiliates in 9 US states including in California, Colorado, Idaho, Florida, New Jersey and Texas as well as in New Zealand, and serving over 5,000 Dreamers in every grade from Kindergarten through Post-Secondary. Keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, and Archie. And reach out to me through email at [email protected] and through Linked In, where I have set up a group to accompany this podcast. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan has once again displayed her cake baking skills in preparing a lemon olive oil cake using lemons from hers and Harry’s Montecito garden. The cake was a gift to volunteers.This is not the first time since marrying Harry that Meghan has baked a cake by way of a thank you.During 2018 tour of Australia, Meghan baked a banana bread loaf during her stay at Admiralty House and brought it with her to the Woodley family’s farm in Dubbo, along with a tin of Fortnum & Mason Royal Blend tea, as a gift. In November 2019 whilst still living in the UK, Meghan helped to celebrate the opening of the second Luminary Bakery social enterprise café in London. During her visit she helped prepare a beautifully iced cake. The recipients of Meghan’s most recent baked creation were the Chicago based volunteers, working  with World Central Kitchen through the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago and Fat Shallot restaurant. Meghan does not hide the fact that she is a bit of a foodie. Prior to dating Harry she had her own lifestyle blog called The Tig where she would share all of her favourite recipes with fans.In her early days as a Royal, Meghan took this love of food with her to many of the charities that she visited, and it helped her to connect with people from many different cultures and faiths. One successful collaboration Meghan has is with the ladies of the Hubb Community Kitchen, in London. Meghan met with the ladies on many occasions. She came up with the idea of a cookbook containing recipes that the ladies were already cooking. It was a way for the Hubb  to raise funds to improve and expand their kitchen, and provide even more meals to the local community and beyond. Meghan has from time to time received royalties from the book sales which she has ploughed back into other good causes.The most recent recipient of some of these funds was this past week when we heard that Meghan had donated about $13,000 dollars to a food bank and kitchen in a deprived area of Nottingham in England. The organization that Meghan donated to this week is called Himmah. Per their website the organization services the needs of the people in their local community in various ways; by tackling food poverty; and in campaigning about racism, gender equality, LGBTQ and people facing disability and mental health issues.Working side by side Himmah is The Salaam Shalom Kitchen a joint Muslim / Jewish project to provide free meals to people in Nottingham who may be struggling.You can see why Meghan donated to this organization. It ticks all the right boxes in terms of what Meghan stands for.Having one charity cookbook under her belt I can see Meghan teaming up with Chef Andres at World Central Kitchen and doing another for the benefit of his organization.Keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And reach out to me through my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comOr through Twitter Jeanette Songolo @kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle (@JeanetteSongolo) / TwitterShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Harry, a man with a mortgage to pay, gave us an indication that the next stage of his life will be based on the US side of the Atlantic. He has announced that he has taken on two new positions.Announced this week was the fact that two months ago, Harry was hired as the Chief Impact Officer at the executive coaching and mental health company BetterUp. https://www.betterup.com/Following shortly behind the announcement of Harry’s BetterUp position, came the news that Harry Prince has joined a 6-month project with the Aspen Institute's Commission on Information Disorder. Harry will work as one of fifteen Commissioners. https://www.aspeninstitute.org/In this episode I will tell you more about Harry's new roles. What he will be doing and what his goals are.Keep listening out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And reach out to me through my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com or through twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Harry and Meghan have brought in some strong production talent to take charge of their content in Netflix and Spotify. Award winning producer Ben Browning, will be head of content for Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio.So, who is Ben Browning? Well I can’t really tell you as there is no Wikipedia page for him and many of the other on-line sources have not much by way of personal information about Ben. Maybe he prefers to keep his personal life private and  let his work to do the talking. And given the awards he has been nominated for, his work seems to be going just fine. So, moving on to the bad mouthing happening against Meghan regarding comments she made to Oprah, in the chicken coop at her Montecito home, about the fact she and Harry were secretly married by the Archbishop of Canterbury, with just he and Meghan and Harry there, ahead of the official marriage that we all watched on the TV.Meghan and Harry critics immediately jumped all over this. For Christian marriages in Britain, the law require two witnesses and an officiant to be present in order for a marriage to be legal, and the wedding has to take place in a location that has a special licence to hold weddings. In a bid to find the official status of Meghan and Harry’s pre-wedding exchange of vows, UK Newspapers contacted the Official Registrar and were informed that a wedding licence had been issued allowing Meghan and Harry to be married at Windsor on May 19th 2018, the one we all saw on the TV.  A clerk at the Registry mused that what Harry and Meghan likely did was to exchange some vows they had written themselves, which is fashionable, in front of the Archbishop, as a sort of spiritual wedding, or as a simple rehearsal.So no harm no foul you would think?  But just when you thought you might have heard the last from the Meghan and Harry villain Piers Morgan, up he pops to accuse Meghan of being a liar. So how popular are pre-wedding exchanges of vows? In an article published in July 2020 on the US Martha Stewart website called “Why You Should Consider Exchanging Personalized Vows Before Your Wedding Ceremony”, the author of the article, Blythe Copeland, wrote that  sharing your promises privately can help reduce nerves and make the experience more meaningful.Ms. Copeland interviewed Reverend Laura C. Cannon, a professional officiant who's overseen more than 1,000 weddings in the last 15 years. Reverend Cannon is often in favor of a couple exchanging their vows with each other before, or instead of, reciting them in front of their guests. Reverend Cannon said that she encourages her couples to do this for a number of reasons. It gives couples the chance to keep their own personal, custom-written vows just between the two of them instead of making them public.If a couple is sharing a religious ceremony with their guests, this adds a private, personal touch by incorporating custom vows without breaking tradition. Both parties need to understand what they're agreeing to. She says "your marriage vows are the entire reason you're getting married, they are the promises you make to one another that create the commitment of your marriage. "It seems that Harry and Meghan have put the matter to bed in just announcing that they were not married three days before their official ceremony, saying that they exchanged personal vows a few days before their official/legal wedding on May 19 2018. Thank you for rating my show. Please keep listening out for future podcasts on all things MeghaShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

When we thought that UK tabloids couldn’t act any lower, this week it was revealed that UK's The Sun newspaper had hired an American private investigator back in 2016 to dig up private information on Meghan and her extended family. Some of the information that the PI obtained and passed on was illegally obtained. The Sun deny having either requested or used the illegally obtained information and had the PI sign a contract that he would not use any illegal investigative methods. However, The Sun admitted to paying the PI to dig up addresses and telephone numbers for Meghan’s parents, other family members, ex-partners and business associates. Very shortly after this information was turned over by the PI to The Sun, the first stories about Meghan, including details of text messages were published by the newspaper.This latest scandal is kind of weird as all of the players: that is Rupert Murdoch who news organization owns The Sun, the PI , and at least one of journalists who helped to break the scandal - have somewhat shady pasts. I will take you through the background to the scandal and the various players.Keep listening out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. And reach out to me through my at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

It cannot be doubted that race is a factor in the way Meghan has been treated by certain UK tabloids. The clear message from many of the headlines has been racist or at the very least micro-aggression, with readers drip fed a consistent message that: Meghan is not one of us – she doesn’t look like us - she doesn’t act like us - she doesn’t speak like us. The treatment of Meghan was and is, in stark contrast to other members of the Royal family who receive more positive coverage.It seems that Harry and Meghan are not the only people who feel that the UK press needs to take a good hard look at the way in which they report in general. Since Prince Harry’s comments to Oprah that the UK press, especially tabloid newspapers, were "bigoted" many journalists have come out to say that they agree.CNN has reported  on the issue, making reference to a 2016 and a 2020 report by the Reuters Institute which show how underrepresented people of colour and women are in UK newsrooms. Meghan and Harry have announced that they are doing their little bit to encourage diversity in the media. They have made a donation through their Archewell Foundation to the UK PressPad Charitable Foundation. https://presspad.co.uk/PressPad describe themselves as a social enterprise that is fighting to lower the financial barriers of entry into journalism, so seeking to improve the socio-economic diversity within the media. The organization links young people with journalism work experience in London, helping to fund the student in the process. PressPad point out that to get a job in journalism you need work experience. An internship is now seen as an essential part of how people get a chance to hone their journalistic skills and prove themselves to future employers, BUT, most internships are unpaid. This is where PressPad can help.In February 2021 PressPad set up a charitable foundation to help them accept donations and to formulize their bursary and grant scheme, and to make them more financially sustainable. Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie, and reach out to me through my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

With a week almost gone by since the Oprah interview I am starting to feel less tense. I don’t know about you but after watching the full interview it felt like I had received an emotional overload. I needed to take some time to absorb what we had all watched and heard, let it marinate for a bit, before even beginning to be able to say too much about the interview. Even now, almost one week after the interview, I find myself steering away from the sensational headlines, trying to route out editorial and opinion reports that at least try to look deeper at the issues that Meghan and Harry’s interview raised. Asking myself how do Meghan and Harry and their respective families move forward.  Unquestionable there need to be changes made in the workings of the Royal establishment. The more interesting dilemma for me is the family relationships. Can the differences that currently exist between the extended families and Harry and Meghan be reconciled? How does that happen? Who makes the first move?Any reconciliation won’t be easy. They never are. The hardest thing to repair will be actions taken where Harry and Meghan have felt unsupported and where trust has been broken. People will need to have a chance to talk, to be heard, and to have their feelings validated.I hope the family do find a way to make up and get along, if not in the next few weeks and months, then at some point in the future. Maybe this is a naïve wish on my part to see people happy as opposed to broken and sad.  Also, because we have heard so many negative things over the last week or so, there just has to be some positive news sometime soon doesn’t there? Let me know your thoughts.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry,  and Archie. And reach out to me through my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I am hoping by the time you hear this podcast you will have had your own opportunity to watch the 2-hour sit down interview between Meghan and Harry and Oprah as I don’t won’t to spoil it for anyone who hasn't yet watched. In this short little podcast, rather than discuss the bombshells that we heard, and there were many, I have picked out some of the more upbeat and cute things that we learned about Harry and Meghan’s lives, something they can hopefully hold onto as they move away from the toxic and unprotected environment, that they are no longer part of.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie and keep checking out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

One year ago when Meghan and Harry first stepped back as senior working Royals many a UK Royal Expert predicted that within a year Meghan and Harry would be forgotten and irrelevant. Role forward a year and the whole world is still talking about Meghan and Harry and the world will be talking about them even more next week after their sit-down interview with Oprah.Ahead of the event, it is interesting to take a look at how the interview, that is both the idea of Meghan and Harry giving an interview in the first place, and the anticipated content, is being covered in the media in the UK in contrast to the US. I will take you through some of this media coverage.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.You can contact me through my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Over the past weekend some changes were made to Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation website. Meghan and Harry are also using their website to promote International Women’s Day that will take place on March 8th.This is not the first year that Meghan either as a working or non-working Royal has celebrated International Women’s Day.International Women’s day dates back to the early 1900’s with the early focus being on obtaining rights for women to votes. The United Nations began celebrating International Women's Day in the International Women's Year, 1975. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women's rights and world peace.Every year has a theme and for 2021 the theme is Choose To Challenge.Meghan and Harry’s approach on their website is somewhat different. Continuing their theme of Compassion in Action, the couple are encouraging their followers  in the month of March to unleash a groundswell of real acts of compassion for the women in our lives and in our communities. https://www.archewell.com/iwd To make things easy, Meghan and Harry have included links to various non-profits on their website and you can click these to learn more about some of the domestic and international organizations that are active in advocating for women and children, and you can also make donations or shop from the websites of the various charities. What we are learning is that Harry and Meghan are back on a roll. When they were working Royals, they used their Sussex Royal Instagram account to raise awareness to causes and charities that many of us hadn’t heard of.  It seems that Meghan and Harry as non-working Royals are relaunching this initiative, but using their Archewell Foundation website as the means to get their messages out.Those of you listening from America and Canada, don’t forget to set your TV pre-recorders for the CBS Interview between Oprah, Meghan and Harry. Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie and checking my blog at  www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

If you want 17 minutes of fun, check out the You Tube video of The Late Late Show host James Corden showing his friend and fellow Brit. Prince Harry the sights of Los Angeles.  Corden rolled out the red carpet (sort of). James took Harry on a LA Big Bus (open bus) tour along some of the famous streets in LA ; spotting the homes of the stars (actually I think Corden was making that up as he went along); a spot of afternoon tea complete with a tea trolley, cake tier stand, and china cups and saucers on the top deck of the bus; a stop of for a loo break for a pee at the house used during the filming of the TV show the Fresh Prince of Bel Air; and ending up with Harry and James tackling a military style assault course, mud and all. Easy to guess who did well on the assault course. James Corden interviewed Harry along the way and we got to learn some things from and about Prince Harry.The video is intended to be fun and light-hearted. Clearly an interview conducted during a ride on an open top bus was never going to be hard-core. Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie and check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry have made a donation to replace the roof on the transitional housing unit called Annie’s House at Dallas based Genesis Women's Shelter.  Harry and Meghan are  literally helping to put a roof over the heads of women and children!Established in 1984, Genesis’s mission is to provide safety, shelter, and support for women who have experienced domestic violence and raise awareness regarding its cause, prevalence and impact. Genesis Women’s Shelter was founded with a goal to not just help women, but to completely eradicate domestic violence.In 1986 Genesis had a small 7-bedroomed shelter using a property that had been donated by the City of Dallas. By 1988 Genesis had already began building a new wing to their shelter and they started a 24-hour crisis hotline as well as counselling and parenting classes.Genesis has continued to expand and grow as an organization year of year, both in terms of the number of women and children they help and also in terms of their services. They offer emergency and long-term housing, counselling,  education and legal advice. https://www.genesisshelter.org/   According to their website, in 2020 they serviced 3,700 women and children.Genesis describe the women who come to them as often being in a fight for their life. Shelter staff aim to walk alongside each woman and tell her she is not alone and that she deserves to feel safe and happy.On February the 13th the shelter suffered significant structural damage to their emergency shelter. The electromagnetic locks on their buildings stopped working when power was lost meaning the building was no longer safe and secure. Genesis tweeted that for the first time in 35+ years of operating that their emergency shelter and transitional housing had to be completely shut down due to burst pipes and power loss. The shut down led to the evacuation of 87 women and children. The shelter hit reached out to their supporters through their social media accounts, asking for donations. Donations came in quickly in response from private individuals and from organizations, from all across America ad beyond. The shelter got themselves back operating in an amazingly short period of time. Their thrift shop was reopened first. One week after the storm, Genesis had their emergency shelter back open and beds available from women and children.Meghan has always supporting organizations that protect women and children and which advocate for the rights of women.The CEO of Genesis praised Harry and Meghan for their generosity, saying in a statement, "Not only will this gift provide for our critical needs, it shines an international spotlight on violence against women and children, letting survivors know that they are not alone.”Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.And keep checking out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This is a short little podcast, a turning point as it were. It took me a while to catch my breath and absorb the breaking news of the divorce announcement this week. Buckingham Palace announced that Harry and Meghan had decided that they would not be resuming their senior working roles in the Royal Family, and as such, the Queen had asked / told them that they must relinquish their Royal Patronages. A flurry of news stories followed analysing every word of the Buckingham Palace statement and then Harry and Meghan’s own statement, and telling us what these statements were really saying. Regardless, the end result is the same. Harry and Meghan have chosen to continue to live independently from the Royal Family and pursue their own commercial endeavours. Prince Harry is still a Prince. Meghan and Harry are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The current announcement confirms that what was to be a one year trial is now over and what was a trial separation is now a divorce.Maybe in the upcoming interview between Meghan, Harry and Oprah, we will get to hear what it was that made Meghan and Harry decide to stay away from the Royal Family. After all, they clearly have enjoyed working with their charities and patronages and they will be staying on as patrons for a fair few of these.  I suspect their reasons may be the same as many of us may have felt in a workplace. You might absolutely love the work that you are doing but hate the back-room politics. We all know of people who divorced and then a year or so later remarry.  So we can’t rule out that down the road some time a point in time when Meghan and Harry might return to the fold of the Royal Family. But for now let’s continue to follow their journey and let us see where it takes them.Please take a second to rate this show and keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Contact me through my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Wasn’t it just great to hear some good news for a change - to hear that Meghan and Harry are expecting their second child.  Their announcement was released this Valentine’s Day accompanied by a beautifully shot black and white photo taken by Misan Harriman. The announcement itself was a brief 2-line statement by a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan saying, “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” and “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”The media coverage following the announcement was immediate and worldwide confirming the pull that Meghan and Harry still have, one year after they stepped back from being senior working Royals. The announcement was literally covered around the world, in the UK and rest of Europe, across the US, in Australia and New Zealand, Manilla, India, China, Russia and all over Africa.As you would expect when the news of a pregnancy is announced, the news coverage was mostly positive, save and except for a few exceptions. The photographer Misan Harriman has quite a back story. Born in Calabar, Nigeria in 1977, the son of Chief no less, attended school in England and thereafter worked in the recruitment filed in the City of London. Harriman began photography in 2017 and best of all for everyone who has a hobby and has wanted to turn it into a source of income, Harriman is self-taught.Many of Harriman’s black and white photos of the Black Lives Matter protests in the UK were widely shared including in British Vogue, the BBC, and The Guardian. In 2020 Harriman was to be the first ever black man to shoot a cover for British Vogue in its 104-year history. Harriman paid tribute to Harry and Meghan. He sent them congratulations on their joyous news. He tweeted that he was there at their wedding , had witnessed the love story begin, and was honoured to capture the love story continue to grow.A happy Valentine’s Day moment that we all got to share in.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comAnd my new podcast Kind thoughts for Kate Middleton  https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1604284.rss  Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Prince Harry's Invictus Games Foundation has joined up with the UK National Health Service (NHS) with the hope that the people in these organizations can learn from each other’s experiences. To kick-start this initiative there will be a series of podcasts on a variety of themes where military personnel will talk about how their experiences in the armed forces and thereafter can be used by NHS staff  to help them face the personal challenges arising from working on the frontline during the pandemic. Prince Harry said of this new initiative:“For a year now, NHS workers have been engaged in a new kind of battle. They have consistently set-aside their own physical and emotional health in the service of others. This service and sacrifice resonates deeply with so many in the Armed Forces community. With this ongoing project, we know that the NHS and Invictus communities will learn from each other, support each other, and lead conversations that everyone can draw from. It is from these shared experiences I hope people can find strength, compassion, and understanding, and the inspiration they need for their own recovery and resilience.”Episode 1 in the podcast series is out right now  called "Reconnecting with the Family after working away in stressful situations" - here is the link https://audioboom.com/posts/7792635-episode-1-glenn-haughton-obe-reconnecting-with-the-familyKeep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Link to my Meghan, Harry and Archie blog www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comAnd if you are also a fan of the Duchess of Cambridge, listen in to my podcast Kind thoughts for Kate Middleton.Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry dropped in by zoom to surprise participants in a 'Get Lit' Black History Month poetry class - thrilling the people there! February marks Black History Month in the US. Started in America in order to remember the important people and events in the history of the lives of people of African decent, Black History Month was first proposed in the format of a month-long celebration by black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University, in Ohio.  https://getlit.org/The Get Lit organization was founded in 2006 after Diane Lane created a one-woman show about the power of books and toured colleges, high schools, jails, and detention centers, taking New Mexican born poet Jimmy Santiago Baca with her. After the show closed, she says that she couldn’t bear the thought of cutting off the work completely, so she started teaching classic and spoken word poetry in high school. When the semester ended, the students wouldn’t leave, they insisted on meeting after school. The rest as they say is history. Today, the curriculum has expanded to over 100 schools throughout California, and is sold to schools all over the world. In a nutshell, Get Lit uses poetry to increase literacy in students across the US and across the world, and also promotes poetry as a way to empower youth and inspire communities. Poetry as a form as expression in its own right is really huge right now and is set to get even more popular following Amanda Gorman’s two inspiring and uplifting poetry recitals over recent weeks. Firstly at the Presidential Inauguration and then just before the coin toss at the NFL Superbowl.  Meghan and Harry are said to have really engaged in the zoom poetry class with Meghan sharing some of her favorite poetry lines. The participants in their social media post praised the couple for being kind and for genuinely knowing how to connect with people, saying they were so grateful for the visit in honor of Black History Month. Participants posted that it was a most surreal yet epic experience!Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.And check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In a week in which global deaths from Covid-19 topped 2 ¼ million, and when there was a coup in Myanmar, certain parts of the UK press felt it more important to suggest that Meghan had secretly changed her name on Archie’s birth certificate, in an alleged snub to her brother and sister-in-law William and Kate. The headline attributed to Ben Griffiths at UK The Sun newspaper read as follows “HRH Riddle. Meghan Markle secretly erases her first names from Archie’s birth certificate in snub to Kate and Wills.”As it their want, The Sun newspaper dropped this bombshell on Friday evening after the law offices had closed and presumably timing it so they could get a whole weekend of headlines out of the story. And headlines they got.By Saturday spokespeople for Meghan and Harry had fired back against The Sun, with Meghan and Harry releasing a statement straightening out the facts surrounding the matter. Interestingly there were a few things that this saga raised that we didn’t talk about in any meaningful way:Why can’t Meghan have her forenames on her son’s birth certificate? If other female Royals have their forenames on their children’s birth certificates (which they do), why can’t Meghan? Can Meghan and Harry now simply go ahead and re-register Archie’s birth? Will the Palace enlighten us? (Probably not).Please keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, and Archie.And check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Covid-19 restrictions permitting it is likely that Harry and maybe Meghan as well will make a trip to the UK some time in 2021. What will Harry stock up on when he gets a chance to visit? Can you guess what is always top of my list?For those of you listening who are also living away from your country of birth, please let me know what you like to buy when you visit home?  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongoloKeep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, and Archie.And listen to my new podcast Kind Thoughts for Kate Middleton https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1604284.rssShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In the week that we breathed a sigh of relief and when Meghan’s father certainly missed the memo about the importance of Unity - Prince Harry addressed the connection between social media and the recent riots on Capitol Hill in Washington DC as well as addressing recent rumours in the news that he and Meghan were 'quitting' social media.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie and also listen to my new podcast Kind thoughts for Kate Middleton. As always, you can visit my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

LA volunteer veterans with the US non-profit The Mission Continues were treated to lunch by Meghan and Harry, with the lunch catered by women from another of Harry and Meghan's favourite non-profits, Homeboy Industries.Per their website, The Mission Continues  https://www.missioncontinues.org/aim is for all veterans with a desire to continue their service to be part of a nationwide movement to transform communities. The non-profit works by connecting veterans with under-resourced communities, with veterans 'deployed' to volunteer alongside non-profit partners and community leaders.The Mission Continues organize what they call service platoons. These platoons not only allow veterans to connect with and to socialize with other veterans living close by, but collectively allow the veterans to connect with their communities and work to have an impact in what they describe as real and tangible ways. Taking place each third Monday in January, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is the only US federal holiday observed as a national day of service. The day celebrates the life and legacy of the Civil Rights leader and exists to move the nation closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community” by encouraging all Americans to take the time to volunteer and invest in their communities.The Mission Continues are acknowledging the importance of The Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service for the whole of the month of January.  They state that The Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service is a day 'we salute those who fought, and continue to fight, for equality and justice both in and out of uniform.'In was in light of these volunteering efforts that Meghan and Harry sent lunch to the LA service platoon just ahead of the federal holiday. The volunteers at The Mission Continues in LA posted a copy of the Thank You note that accompanied the lunch that Meghan and Harry donated on their social media sites. The volunteers responded to the note by saying that they felt truly honoured to have the support of Meghan and Harry.Please keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.And check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Last year Meghan and Harry hosted an edition of the TIME100 Talks Series. During their talk Meghan, Harry and several of their guests discussed how harms on social media don’t just live on the platforms, but often extend to shaping behaviours that people then act upon. This theory has been proven to be correct. We all witnessed on TV this week in Washington the harm that is caused by propaganda messaging posted on social media.One of Meghan and Harry’s guests on their TIME 100 show was Tristan Harris co-founder of the Centre for Humane Technology. This is one of the groups Meghan and Harry have since chosen to work with under their Archewell Foundation. Following the social unrest that took place at Capitol Hill, Tristan released a press statement saying that the events this week that the whole world witnessed, were the consequences of a broken, yet highly profitable business model, that rewards self-reinforcing cycles of outrage, rumours, and political and racial division. His organization the Centre for Humane Technology,  https://www.humanetech.com/ is trying to make social media platforms more accountable for the negative effects that they cause in society, be it social unrest, or teenagers feeling increasingly suicidal or depressed due to their social media use. I took some time this week to watch Tristan's documentary The Social Dilemma. It raises many interesting and somewhat scary points about how much we are manipulated and basically used by social media platforms. In the documentary many techies who used to work for the big tech companies describe exactly how what we view on social media has been manipulated. Many of the people in the film were the techies behind the software used to do so. Interestingly many of them don’t want their kids anywhere near social media.At the time of their TIME 100 talk Meghan and Harry were derided in the media for calling out social media's "global crisis of hate". Maybe Meghan and Harry can be excused for a little “we told you so” given the tragic events this past week.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In one of my previous podcasts (Podcast 17) I spoke about Piers Morgan, the man who loves to hate Meghan and Harry. He derides the work of Meghan and Harry all the time.  At times it seems this is all he talks about. He certainly gets lots of press coverage from it.  Meghan and Harry’s decision to step back as Senior Royals in 2020 has really inflamed Piers’ indignation at the couple.  He has now started a campaign to call for Meghan and Harry to be stripped of their titles. Whenever Meghan and Harry do or say anything he does not like, which in his opinion is basically all the time, he reacts by saying they should be stripped of their titles. So, has anyone ever had their Royal Titles taken away from them and if so what for? We'll take a look.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I am my mother’s son.And I am our son’s mother.Together we bring you Archewell.These were the words that started Meghan and Harry’s Letter for 2021 that we saw on the opening page of their Archewell website that went live on New Year’s Eve. https://www.archewell.com/The word “compassion” appears five times on the opening pages. Meghan and Harry’s aims are to work to build a better world, one act of compassion at a time. They ask us to share our own stories with them via email: either as a story, a link or with a video, on How We Activate Compassion in the World?This poses the question how do we define compassion?When we look at the organizations that Meghan and Harry have chosen as their initial partners under their Archewell Foundation, it seems that Meghan and Harry will be addressing issues from two angels: (1) by working with chosen organizations to address specific issues ( i.e. The World Central Kitchen and The Loveland Foundation) and, (2) by working with academics and think tanks to drive systemic cultural change.https://wck.org/https://thelovelandfoundation.org/In terms of addressing systemic issues, Meghan and Harry are working with: The Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford MedicineTristan Harris’s Centre for Humane Technology andUCLA Centre for Critical Internet InquiryI'll chat about the press reaction to the launch of the website.Meghan and Harry have started 2021 with increased momentum. They have set themselves a huge goal of working to build a better world albeit with their caveat of working to do so ‘one step at a time’.  In my mind, it is better to try and do some good and not succeed, then to not try at all.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

So, what did we all think of Meghan and Harry’s Holiday Podcast? Well we have all learned the importance of listening all the way to the end of a Meghan and Harry podcast, to the surprise gem at the very end, when we got to hear the adorable Archie make his podcasting debut.Meghan and Harry invited about 13 guests to separately record their own audio diaries, speaking about their thoughts of 2020 and their hopes for 2021. Just like any interesting party the guests were an eclectic mix. There were athletes, writers, poets, politicians, actors, activists, singers and a comedianThe responses of the guests were cut and spliced to make up the show which was very professionally edited. Meghan and Harry did very little talking. They gave a short talk at the start of the show to dedicate this podcast in honour of all those who have helped everyone get through 2020 and in honour of all those people who have lost loved ones this past year. Other than this, Meghan and Harry mainly introduced their guests and gave a little bit of commentary here and there.So, what did we hear?We heard the guests answer the following questions:1.     What they had learned about themselves from 2020?2.     What would they reflect on about 2020?3.     How would they explain what happened in 2020 to a future generation?4.     What were their hopes for 2021?What was very clear is that as famous as these guests are, Covid-19 has impacted their lives just as it has us regular folks.The questions that Meghan and Harry asked are ones that we could all ask ourselves? What did we learn about ourselves in 2020 and what do we hope for in 2021? My thoughts on the podcast. I enjoyed it  - and yes, adorable Archie stole the showKeep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.And reach out to me with your feedback via my twitter account @kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry have written several cheques over the holiday period, sending donations to various non-profits. Per an article published in this week’s New Zealand Herald, Meghan and Harry also made a donation in Archie’s name to the New Zealand knitwear social enterprise Make Give Live. Meghan and Harry have purchased 100 hand knitted woollen hats. Given that the enterprise works on a make one give one model, this purchase will amount to 200 hats that will be donated by the enterprise to people in need in New Zealand. https://makegivelive.co.nz/Archie’s connection with this organization is not new. On January 1st of 2020 Meghan and Harry released a photograph of Archie that was taken whilst the family were living in Canada. The photo that you probably recall seeing, shows Prince Harry holding Archie who is wearing a pale blue double pompom beanie hat. We were to find out that the hat came from the Make Give Live company.The hat that Archie wore that day has since been renamed the Archie Beanie given the demand that was generated after he was pictured wearing it.The company was co-founded by Claire Conza and Becky Smith in 2016. It is set up today such that the enterprise runs community-based knitting groups throughout New Zealand. Make Give Live describe belonging to a knitting group as like having a second family. They knit but also nurture their mental health and wellbeing. They call this connecting through crafting. The article in the New Zealand Herald describes Make Give Live as having donated over 3500 hats over the past year to people in need. Coincidentally to the donation from Meghan and Harry, the co-founders had been wanted to know where they could send a Christmas Card for Harry, Meghan and Archie. On December 14th, 2020 they posted the photo of Archie wearing his Beanie hat on their Instagram account with a message to Archie which said “We're thinking about you Archie. We'd love to send you a Christmas card and thank your mum and dad for choosing to shine a light on the work that we do. Can't believe it's almost 1 year on, and what a year we have all had! Hope you're all thriving and getting into the magic of Christmas 🎄🌟Who can help us get a card to them?"It seems with a little help from New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, their message of thanks got through OK. Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

With much speculation before as to would they or wouldn’t they?, Meghan and Harry carried on the Royal Family tradition of releasing a family Christmas Card, with a twist. The card has been reprinted by hundred of news outlets all over the internet. You cannot of missed seeing it.Recipients of the card are told that with them in mind, donations have been made by the Sussex’s to three charities. So who are this organizations that Meghan and Harry have made donations too?The first, is the animal and community welfare organization the Mayhew Animal Home in the UK. Meghan has been Patron since 2019. The second UK patronage benefitting from Meghan and Harry’s donation is the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund. A charity set up in the memory of one of Harry's childhood school friends. The third non-profit to receive funds from from Meghan and Harry is Transition House, an organization tackling homelessness in  the Santa Barbara area and which is located close to Meghan and Harry’s Montecito home.In a year where many organizations, both for profit and non-profit, have faced financial pressures to their bottom lines, I am sure that these 3 organizations are very pleased to receive a bit of a boost through Meghan and Harry’s donations. Merry ChristmasPlease keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.And check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The announcement that Meghan and Harry have started to work with WCK came in an article published on the Bloomberg News website. According to the World Central Kitchen’s website, Chef Andres and his wife Patricia set up the organization in 2010, with the image of using food to empower communities around the world and to strengthen local economies.WCK have initiated several locally led programs to achieve this goal. The Clean Cookstove programThe Sink to Stove programThe  Food Producer Network Providing emergency food relief around the World and throughEducation Like other non-profits, WCK have stepped-up and provided emergency relief caused by Covid-19 . They have been working across America to safely distribute individually packaged, fresh meals, in communities that need support. WCK also partnered with restaurants to help meet this demand thereby providing jobs for restaurant staff and meals for those in need. As part of its #ChefsForAmerica nationwide emergency food relief program, World Central Kitchen has purchased over 12 million meals from local restaurants totaling more than $135 million, keeping jobs secure. The man (and his wife) behind WCK Chef Jose Andre has his own impressive story. According to the Bloomberg announcement, Harry and Meghan will be backing a series of Community Relief Centres for WCK. The structures are to be permanent, built to act as emergency service kitchens, but with the ability to transition into community centres, schools and clinics. The first of 4 centres will be built on the Caribbean Island of Domenica which had been hit by hurricanes in 2017 and which is slated to open in 2021. The announcement also says that the second centre will be located in Puerto Rico. Harry and Meghan have a knack of finding really good non-profits to work with. Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

2020 - What a year. For many of us, this was our first experience of restrictions on our personal freedoms when living in a world at war, albeit with no bombs or bullets, but with an invisible enemy that crept up on everyone. 2020 will go down as a year that many will want to forget and yet will for many reasons be unforgettable.Meghan and Harry have also had a tumultuous year with highs and lows and negatives and positives. Let’s take a look back over their 2020.Harry and Meghan, have managed to do so much in 2020, even though they have been socially distancing themselves due to Covid-19 and even though they have not been able to travel as much as they no doubt would have liked to. 2021 promises to be an even busier year for them both and maybe for Archie too.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, and Archie.And check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comHere’s hoping that 2021 delivers us good health, some freedom of movement, and some joy. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan was back in action this week.Meghan appeared in a 2-minute video in support of the CNN Heroes 2020: An All-Star Tribute show, hosted by Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa on the CNN Network. Amongst other things, Meghan gave thanks to the many people who are ensuring those in need can access food during the pandemic.The second piece of news that emerged earlier this week was hearing that Meghan is stepping into the world of start-up investing. If Meghan weren’t married to Prince Harry this story wouldn’t have caused a ripple, however it is not often that we get to hear how the royals invest their money. An article about this was published in Fortune Magazine by journalist Emma Hinchliffe, the same lady who had interviewed Meghan earlier this year when Meghan took part in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women – Next Gen. summit. https://fortune.com/2020/12/14/meghan-markle-exclusive-first-investment-clevr-blends/Meghan and Harry have launched their own Podcast being aired exclusively on Spotify in a multi-year deal. The name of their podcast is Archewell Audio. Their  trailer has Meghan and Harry laughing about their podcast voices and informing us what to expect.  We will hear about their passion for meeting people and hearing their stories and learning different perspectives and finding common ground.  Meghan and Harry will be celebrating kindness and compassion and showing us how we are all connected. Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comAnd follow me on InstagramShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Four former award winners at the charity WellChild UK were half an hour into a video conference, when patron of the charity, Prince Harry, zoomed bombed into the call. Were the kids surprised? They were gobsmacked!WellChild UK report that over 100,000 children and young people are living with serious illness or exceptional health needs across the UK. Many spend months, even years in hospital because there is no support enabling them to leave. The charity’s  vision is for every child and young person living with serious health needs to have the best chance to thrive by being properly supported at home with their families.https://www.wellchild.org.uk/ Like many non-profits, WellChild UK had to quickly adapt their service model after the on set of Covid-19. The charity set up a Direct Response Service to help families obtain Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that the children’s parents and carers needed, and  also ensured that the families they work with had access to sufficient food and other supplies.This charity has some awesome ways of fundraising. They have a Sky Dive Challenge where you can do a 10,000-foot tandem jump for a modest fundraising effort of UK 395.00 and no sky diving experienced required!Prince Harry has been Patron of WellChild UK since 2007. He has involved himself in all aspects of the charity and has helped to draw attention to the important work they do. In 2017 Prince Harry hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace, inviting WellChild families, volunteers, staff, and supporters to attend to celebrate the charity’s 40th anniversary. The reason for Prince Harry’s surprise appearance in the zoom meeting this week was twofold – firstly to touch base with the former award winners to see how they were all doing, and  - secondly to encourage people to make their nominations for the 2021 award. These kids were amazing. They all suffer from serious illnesses and at least two were hooked up to medical equipment during the video chat. But these were not young people feeling sorry for themselves. They were all smiles and full of optimism . If these kids can stay positive, we all should be able to do the same. You can email me [email protected] check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Things are pretty quiet on the Meghan and Harry front. Aside from Harry announcing his support for a new initiative by Her Majesty’s Armed Forces to introduce mandatory mental health training, and rumours of a new law-suit by Harry against Associated newspapers, Harry and Meghan are either taking a break from their charity work or are working away in secret.So let's talk Real Estate.This week we heard that Ellen DeGeneres and her partner Portia de Rossi purchased another luxurious property in Montecito where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle currently live. We are told that Ellen and Portia’s most recent purchase is a $49 million estate sitting on over 4.3 acres of land and featuring a 9,000 square-feet main building, a guesthouse, a pool house, a detached garage, and a barn.Oprah Winfrey already owns multiple homes in the area and earlier this year we heard that singer Katie Perry (a native of Santa Barbara) and her actor husband Orlando Bloom had splashed out $14.2 million on a 6 bedroomed 12 bath roomed home in Montecito. Actor Rob Lowe is also rumoured to have purchased a home there this past fall.According to an article by Amanda Eberstein published in the Wall Street Journal this week celebrities aren’t the only buyers after Montecito real estate. https://www.wsj.com/articles/celebrities-arent-the-only-buyers-after-montecito-real-estate-11607551226For celebrities, part of the attraction of Montecito is the fact that it is within 90 minutes drive from Los Angeles. For non-celebrities, families and retirees are attracted by the fact Montecito is a safe community, outside of a city, with good public and private schools, and with access to hiking and beaches.Ms. Eberstein in her article writes that the on-set of Covid-19 has boosted the area’s desirability, with the real estate market hotter than it has been in the past 18 years. Sales in 2020 are up by over 500% from the same time in 2019, with bidding wars and with houses being snapped up and purchased within days of being listed.So we know that celebrities can afford to fork out for expensive estates but what about the other end of the market. What are the costs of entry level properties in Montecito? Well I scoured the Montecito real estate websites and I will tell you what I found.Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.And check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In his role as president of the NGO, African Parks, Prince Harry was interviewed by the CEO and by the Head of Strategy for the newly launched environmental streaming network WaterBear. Prince Harry has been president of African Parks since 2017. In a nutshell the African Parks conservation organization takes on direct responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of protected areas in various countries in Africa, working in partnership with governments and local communities. But they do much more than protect the parks and the wildlife. I would encourage you to check out their website to read about the good work that African Parks do, and to view some beautifully shot videos of the various parks in Africa at  https://www.africanparks.org/Prince Harry was interviewed to help launch the free WaterBear streaming service.WaterBear advertises itself as being dedicated to documentaries about environmental issues, conservation and the climate crisis. The network is set up to be interactive. Not only can you stream and watch free of charge award winning documentaries and short films, but viewers can connect directly with charities and can donate money or their time through advocacy and volunteering. In the Prince Harry interview:Prince Harry was asked whether his love for nature was something he always had or was it from some sort of epiphany?Harry spoke of how he was drawn to work with the African Parks NGO by the people in that organization. Harry was asked about his fondness for Africa and how this came about. In promoting the WaterBear network Harry expressed feeling story telling was a good way to make people aware of issues and to make people passionate about conservation causes, but more importantly the Network would allow people to directly connect with over 80 NGO’s and put their passion into action. Thank you for listening.  Please rate my show and check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

None of us could have failed to be moved by Meghan’s op-ed for the New York Times in which she shared her miscarriage story. As well as giving us a frank insight into what it feels like to go through a miscarriage,  prompting many other people to feel safe in sharing their own stories of loss, Meghan has again came back to the theme that she and Harry often speak about, that of asking people Are You OK? and of genuinely wanting to hear the answer.What Meghan’s article brings home to me, as well as highlighting the issue of miscarriage and making this topic one that can be discussed without guilt or taboo, is her continued willingness to talk openly and unashamedly about things either not talked about or talked about in hushed tones. In an article on the Australian news site SBS journalist Natalie Reilly said of Meghan’s article "that it shared important information not just for women but also for men about emotional effects of grief." This move away from being stoic and away from putting on a brave face,  to openly discussing how we how feeling does not come easy for everyone.  In an article by Brendan O’Neill the editor or Spiked-online titled  ‘Do we really need to know about Meghan’s miscarriage," O’Neill speaks of his discomfort in reading of the intimate details of what Meghan and Harry went through, adding that he felt like a voyeur in reading the piece. What Harry and Meghan and William and Kate have been championing is a movement where it is OK to say how you feel. It is not weak – it is not odd - it is alright to say how you are honestly feeling and not to be judged on that. It is OK to talk openly about emotions and mental health. The more people who talk about these things the more normal they become.Please take a second to rate my show... And check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This podcast is in honour of my American listeners for Thanksgiving. 8 Reasons (that  I have come up with) for Meghan and Harry and Archie to be Thankful!Please rate my show and keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie. Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

While Prince Harry has been making cameo appearances on TV and was spotted this past week quietly volunteering for a veteran’s charity in Compton in California, we have not seen very much of Meghan for almost a month now.Meghan may well be busy meeting with her lawyers as her case against Associated newspapers for publishing her private letter to her father Thomas, continues to wing its way through the UK court.  At the end of October, Meghan asked for and was granted permission to adjourn the trial from January 2021 to later next year. Why? We don’t know – the judgment from the court speaks to ‘confidential grounds’ and segments of the judge’s decision have been redacted to ensure that the reasons remain private. https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/sussex-v-associated-newspapers-ltd/One of Meghan’s favourite charities was in the news this week. Meghan has supported the Myna Mahila Foundation based in India for going on 5 years. Founder Suhani Jalota has been named as one of the 3 finalists for the Global Citizen Prize, Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2020. https://mynamahila.com/Meghan first connected with Suhani in 2016. They met in New York when Suhani was being presented with a prize. In January 2017 Meghan travelled out to Mumbai with the charity World Vision and got to see firsthand the work that the foundation was doing. In 2017 Meghan wrote an article about the foundation for Time Magazine, with the title "How Periods Affect Potential". The same year Meghan included the foundation's founder in a list of "The Ten Women Who Changed My Life" published in Glamour magazine.Meghan not only invited Suhani to her Royal Wedding in May 2018, but instead of asking for wedding gifts Harry and Meghan asked guests to donate to one of seven different charities in their name, of which the Myna Foundation was one of them.Meghan has continued to champion this foundation which works with the women and girls living in the slums of Mumbai in India. For more stories about Meghan, Harry and Archie, please check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Prince Harry had a cameo TV appearance to support his good buddy and ex-Royal Marine JJ Chalmers who is taking part in a TV game show. So what game show is JJ on? As an ex-marine you maybe might think Celebratory Survivor, or Ultimate Fighter or maybe the Titan Games. But no, JJ is taking part in the UK BBC TV show Strictly Come Dancing.JJ short for John James from Fife in Scotland, studied at the University of Edinburg and obtained his Bachelor of Education degree in 2009. He was a Royal Marine reservist and was deployed in 2011. Within 4 days of landing in Helmand Province in Afghanistan fellow soldiers were killed when an IED was triggered. JJ suffered severe injuries to his arms and legs and lost 2 fingers. His right arm had to temporarily grafted to his torso and he still bears the scars from this today. JJ describes spending 8 weeks in hospital dealing with the physical effects of his injuries and undergoing multiple surgeries, thinking he would never walk again. JJ is still impacted by his injuries. JJ went on with his life and has a successful career as a TV presenter. He also helped Harry to promote the first Invictus Games. JJ won medals in the 2014 London Games. So how’s JJ’s dancing going? Well he is going for it with lots of fun and spirit. You should check out the videos on You Tube or on the BBC Strictly twitter account. https://twitter.com/bbcstrictlyPrince Harry spoke to JJ and to his professional dance partner Amy this past week during their rehearsals. JJ spoke of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games being the catalyst to get him moving forward with his life after being injured. Prince Harry thanked JJ and told him he was definitely having an impact on his fellow veterans.Harry couldn’t help but tease JJ for his dance clothing, his shiny dance shoes, and his fake tan. After the interview JJ said Harry is a veteran and also a friend - just like anybody else.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Prince Harry is set to participate in the 14th annual Stand Up for Heroes event that is presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival. This year's event will be held virtually for the first time, and will air on November 18th on ABC network and on various social media channels.One of the aims of this event is to raise awareness and funds for the Bob Woodruff Foundation. So what is the Bob Woodruff Foundation?https://bobwoodrufffoundation.org/Usually the Foundation invests in non-profits seeking diverse and long-term solutions for US veterans, military members, and their families. However, they are not averse to giving some stop-gap investments when times are tough.In 2020, the Foundation gave ‘expedited grants’ totalling 2 million dollars worth of investment to provide urgent support to veterans impacted by Covid-19. Funds were given to a whole multitude of organizations both local and national in America.The work that the foundation does is trying to meet the holistic needs of veterans is a good match to the work that Prince Harry has been doing for UK soldiers. As a former solider and a veteran himself, Harry understands the importance of looking after the long term needs of the men and women who have served their countries. I wonder if Prince Harry will be doing a comedy skit?Here hoping that this years Stand Up for Heroes raises lots of funds for this extremely good cause!Please rate my podcast and as always you can check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Remembrance Sunday is the UK’s version of Remembrance Days or Veterans Days that take place in other countries all around the world.  The UK ceremonies are held at local war memorials in most towns and cities, where wreaths of remembrance poppies are laid on the memorials, and a two minutes' silence is held at 11.00 a.m. followed by the ringing of church bells. The royal family generally attend at a ceremony held in London. Prince Harry would normally have attended the service but was not present this year. There is speculation his request to lay a wreath at the service at the cenotaph was denied by palace courtiers, because of the fact that he and Meghan stepped back as senior royals. Palace politics aside, nobody can take away the fact that Prince Harry is a veteran, having served in the armed forces for 10 years and having completed two tours of Afghanistan. Prince Harry continues to champion the plight of injured servicemen and servicewomen through his Invictus Games. This is at least the second time that Harry has participated in a DECLASSIFIED podcast.  The podcast was started in 2018 with the aim of 'declassifying' stigmas and perceptions around veteran’s mental fitness and wellbeing. The hosts talk in depth about hard hitting subjects subjects like post traumatic stress and physical injuries, and they try to provide hope, guidance, support, and help for individuals who are suffering from both mental and physical illness or injury. All the guests on the podcast are typically members of the military community.Declassified recorded a Remembrance Day Special. About an hour long with lots of guests, including Prince Harry, both veterans and family members of veterans, and each speaking about the reality of November 11th and what it personally means to them.  Here is a link to the DECLASSIFIED website where you can find their podcasts https://declassifiedpodcast.com/Check out my blog for other Meghan, Harry and Archie posts and photos at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Spoiler alert. If you are still reading or if you are planning to read Robert Lacey’s recently released book 'Battle of Brothers' you may want to hold off listening to this podcast. Lacey’s aim in this book is to tell us how it came to be that William and Harry who were once so close, are now seemingly estranged, calling his book "the most intimate vision yet of life behind closed doors, with its highs and lows, and the discretions laid bare, a journey in Royal life as never offered before."I review the themes raised in the book and summarize why the author feels William and Harry have grown apart. The question remains will they reconcile?If you have read the book, email me your thoughts to [email protected] out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Throughout history, kings and queens have rewarded those who have shown service, loyalty or gallantry with gifts or titles.In 1917 the Queen's grandfather, George V, developed a new order of chivalry, called the Order of the British Empire, as a way of rewarding both men and women who had made an outstanding contribution to the WWI war effort. Nowadays the Order of the British Empire is given for a variety of reasons such as:·        making a difference in your community or field of work·        long-term voluntary service·        innovation and entrepreneurship·        improving life for people less able to help themselves and ·        displaying moral courageHonours are also given to people involved in various fields including:·        arts and media·        health·        sport·        education·        science and technology and ·        business and the economyKaren Gibson was included in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List. So, who is Karen Gibson? Most of us know her as the vivacious lady who conducted her choir, The Kingdom Choir, through a gospel take of the 1960’s Ben E King song 'Stand by Me' at Meghan and Harry Royal Wedding. But there is a lot more to Karen and to her career than this one appearance. Meghan and Harry’s wedding was not the first royal gig for the Kingdom Choir. In 2000, The Kingdom Choir won a religious music competition organized by UK BBC Radio 2. In 2002 they were nominated for best U.K. choir at the Oasis Gospel Awards; that year, they were invited to perform at Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.  They would go on to perform for Bill Clinton and Desmond Tutu, and the choir has performed alongside the likes of Elton John, The Spice Girls, and Luther Vandross.The wedding performance opened up new opportunities for Karen and choir. They signed a record deal, went of tours, posted loads of you tube videos, and were involved with TV ads including the 2018 Christmas Coca Cola ad., when the choir re-recorded the anthem Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming).  Karen is well deserving of her MBE for services to music. Speaking to the UK Mirror newspaper Karen describes it as a surprise and a shock but a tremendous honour adding it means such a lot. Karen says it is wonderful to be celebrated for the work that she has done for years and years, when she thought nobody was looking. She remains quite humble saying there are a thousand other people out there who are more worthy than she. Well Done Karen!Remember to check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Just released this past week was a GQ Magazine video sit down between two very down to earth dads. Prince Harry and Patrick Hutchinson.By way of introduction, Patrick came to the attention of the worlds’ media this past June when he was captured by photographer Dylan Martinez, stepping in to a melee at a racial protest gathering in London in the UK and fireman lifting a man out of the fray and stopping the man being trampled and seriously harmed. So why the fuss you might ask. Well Patrick is a proud black man and the man he rescued out of harms way was an equally proud white man BUT with each of them having polar opposite views on racial equality.The photo captured what has been called a “defining moment” in the middle of this years Black Lives Matter protests in London, becoming a symbol of hope that things can be better if everyone unites.  Harry and Patrick had an open and frank discussion on such topics as: Who was the man behind these now iconic photos? How did Patrick's act of heroism come about?A general talk about the push for racial equality and unconscious bias.How social media and big corps. need to push the right narrative.Patrick spoke about how he and his friends are using the platform that this public attention has brought to do some good in their local community. They have started an initiative called UTCAI -  United to Change and Inspire. https://www.utcai.co.uk/For more news stories about Harry, Meghan and Archie check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry came under a lot of flack for keeping the birth of Archie private and for foregoing the ‘tradition’ of parading their new-born baby, within hours of his birth, before the world’s media on the steps of the hospital. Since Archie’s birth, Meghan and Harry have made it clear that they wish to raise Archie away from the pomp and ceremony of Royal life, forgoing giving Archie a Royal title, shielding him away from prying camera lenses save and except for a handful of occasions, and suing paparazzi who try to encroach on what Meghan and Harry see as Archie’s right to privacy. Does it really do so much harm to allow the press the odd photo op here and there? What is it really like to be raised as a Royal child?A look back in the recent history of the Royal Family shows us that the Royal Family are not averse to using their children as public relations tools, as a means of shoring up the public’s opinion of the institution. Recently we saw a more strategic (public relations) use of the Royal kids to promote a Royal cause.We know at least from Prince Harry’s own experiences that he did not like being exposed to the press as a child. It caused him to dislike the media, something that has carried over into his adult life. And nobody will ever forget how Princess Diana died. Shouldn’t the Royal Family be sheltering the Royal kids as much as possible from the being in the public eye, at least until they are a bit older to really understand what the Royal Family is, and when they are old enough understand what their roles are?Whilst people may not agree with Meghan and Harry’s decision to shelter Archie from public attention, at least we should appreciate where this choice comes from.  Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie,  and check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry hosted an edition of the TIME100 Talks series. The theme of their discussion was “Engineering a Better World,” to talk about working towards online communities that are more compassionate, safe, and trustworthy. The episode featured a range of guests.There were discussions with:Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Center for Humane Technology president and co-founder Tristan Harris, Author and co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry Safiya U. Noble, Disinformation researcher Renée DiResta and Maria Ressa who is CEO and executive of the Philippines based new site, Rappler.There were also segments in-between, highlighting the work of:Jaj Austin, founder of Somewhere Good a social platform designed for people of color to connect; the teen hosts of the podcast Teenager Therapy; and Rachel Cargle, activist and founder of The Loveland Foundation a non-profit which offers therapy for black women and girls. A lot was covered in the 2 hour talk - too much to cover in depth in this podcast, so I have included a link to the recording https://time.com/collection/time100-talks/I highlight the 9 or so take away points from the discussions and chat about how we are urged to take back control of our technology devices. You can also find the link to Meghan and Harry's TIME100 Talk through my blog. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2309149920642058865/1386010357380846398Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Unlike the males in the Royal Family, both Meghan and Kate are subject to a lot of public scrutiny about the outfits and the jewellery that they wear. No doubt both Meghan and Kate would prefer that the attention be on what they do and what they say, as opposed to what they wear. Meghan has learned to use the attention she gets to highlight Sustainable Fashion. So why do people feel it is important to champion sustainable fashion? What is Sustainable Fashion?The Sustainable Fashion movement believes that fashion companies should accomplish or strive to accomplish goals such as: supporting local production; prolonging the lifecycle of materials; and reducing the harm to the environment created as a result of production and consumption. Meghan’s focus has been a mixture of purchasing items that are made from recycled materials, as well as wearing clothes made by designers or brands that either promote gender equity or who have strong social missions.I take a look at a few of the sustainable brands that Meghan has shopped from, including the Tracy Reese brand, https://hopeforflowers.com/There are a couple of things that make me think about  how I make my own clothing purchases. A visit to my husbands family in Africa always reminds me of how good we have it here in North America and in Europe. Meghan also has made me thing twice about my clothing purchases. Keep looking out for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry and Archie.And check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan was interviewed for the second time this year as part of the FORTUNE Most Powerful Women series of conferences. This conference was a Next Gen Summit and was aimed at high achieving female young executives, ready for the next step along their career paths. On this occasion Meghan met with FORTUNE associate editor Emma Hinchliffe. They discussed all things leadership. Topics covered included:Leading without fear / having the courage of your convictionsRestrictions on being heardResponsible use of social mediaThe effects of motherhood on leadership decisionsAlso,The podcasters from Teenager Therapy posted on their Twitter account to thank Meghan and Harry for taking the time to meet with them and for participating in their National Mental Health Day PodcastThe teenagers also took the opportunity to correct tabloid media reports of the event. The teenagers posted that the podcast wasn't recorded at Meghan and Harry’s personal home saying, "Every article that claims this is wrong."This was somewhat embarrassing for certain tabloids including the UK’s Daily Mail (online addition). The Daily Mail had published an article with a photograph of the room where the podcast was recorded, somewhat flippantly critiquing what they thought were Harry and Meghan’s home furnishings. See the photo with this podcast. Please email me your comments and ideas at: [email protected] check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated annually on the 11th of October. Launched in 2012 by the United Nations, the main aim of the day is to promote girls empowerment and fulfilment of their human rights, while also highlighting the challenges that girls face all over the world. The theme for the 2020 Day of the Girl was “My Voice, Our Equal Future”. Meghan's long term commitment in advocating for the rights of women and girls is reflected not only in her words but through her actions. This year Harry and Meghan met up with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. Malala is the co-founder of the Malala Fund. The strategic aim of the Malala Fund is to see by 2025, a substantial increase in well-educated girls in the countries where the fund works, improved and better-financed education systems, and communities that offer girls equal opportunities to learn and actively support their ambitions.Malala’s dedication to girls education comes from her own experiences as a girl growing up in Pakistan. Of starting school then being banned by the Taliban from attending school when she was 11 years-old. Then becoming an advocate for girls education and being shot in 2012. In 2014 Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. Malala chose to stay in the UK with her family. She resumed her own education and in 2018 began studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.  She graduated this year. The International Day of the Girl conversation with Malala, Meghan and Harry covered topics such as:The importance of education in Meghan and Harry's own lives;Why Meghan feels that it is important to advocate for girl's education;Did Harry see a link between educating girls and climate change?;The impact of Covid-19 on their own lives and on girl's education.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

To mark World National Mental Health Day Meghan and Harry joined a special edition podcast by Teenager Therapy to chat about all things mental health.World Mental Health Day occurs annually on October the 10th, to bring attention to global mental health education, mental health awareness and advocacy against social stigma. The event was first celebrated in 1992 following an initiative by the World Federation for Mental Health, an organization represented in over 150 countries around the world. The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day is - Mental Health for All - Greater Investment – Greater AccessThe group that make up the podcasters known as Teenager Therapy are from Anaheim in California. The group started the podcast in 2018 and within a few months of releasing their first episode they had achieved over 100,000 downloads. By the end of September 2020 they had recorded their 100th episode. As well as having a presence on Instagram and Twitter, the teens have expanded onto You Tube and have their own web-site.The group of teenagers came to the attention of The New York Times. Journalist Taylor Lorenz penned an article about them and their podcast this past July. According to journalist Omid Scobie, Meghan and Harry learned about Teenager Therapy through the NY Times article. "Meghan and Harry then listened to a few episodes and were so impressed with the show and the grace and honesty of the young hosts that they knew immediately that they wanted to support their important work.”I tuned in to listen to the World Mental Health Day episode and summarise their conversation. Link to the full podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conversation-prince-harry-meghan-duke-duchess-sussex/id1437039510?i=1000494273871The discussion is full of insights and shared experiences. It is good that these teens are opening up about things that concern them without feeling any stigma.Maybe this next generation will wonder what us 'older people' were so hung up about when it came to discussing our mental health. Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

October 4th marked the revised date for the 40th UK London Marathon. Normally run in April of each year, the event was pushed back to October due to Covid-19 issues. The amateur runners participated virtually being able to complete their marathons in their home communities. There were 45,000 participants in 109 countries around the world.The bulk of the runners in the London marathon normally consist of amateur runners some whom run in fancy dress costumes, and all of whom raise money for charitable causes. Many members of the royal family show an interest in the London Marathon. It is not unusual to see one or two Royals either at the start line or finish line of the event. Prince Harry is Patron of the London Marathon Charitable Trust and he is often at the Marathon in London. Harry was scheduled to be there this year but instead sent a message of good luck and thanks via video the day before the event. Harry also met face to face with a small group of participants who were running the event in LA.  During Harry and Meghan’s recent interview with the Evening Standard newspaper, Meghan said how well Archie is doing, adding that Archie is getting into everything, and keeping them on their toes (as toddlers do).So in honour of young Archie, and for my listeners who are parenting or caring for kids or grandkids and especially those with oh so busy boys, I am sharing one of my favourite kids (short) books by UK author Babette Cole. Please feel free to email me your ideas and comments to [email protected] written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

October is Black History Month in the UK. Meghan admitted that in the two years that she lived in the UK she had not even been aware that Black History Month was celebrated there.Meghan and Harry were interviewed over zoom by two young journalists from the UK Evening Standard newspaper. Harry and Meghan also penned an article that was published in the newspaper celebrating a group of young black men and black women collectively called the Next. Gen Trailblazers.During their video interview the couple discussed:the aim and the timing of this projectracism black lives matterhow they chose the Next Gen. Trailblazers.In their article published exclusively in the Evening Standard, Meghan and Harry wrote how Black History Month allows us all an opportunity to reflect upon the often unrecognized contributions people of colour have made that add to the richness and strength of the UK. It is a month that celebrates the diversity of community and of Black British Excellence.Meghan and Harry stressed the importance for young people of colour to have representation in all parts of society, the importance of seeing role models that share the same colour skin as them.So who made the list of Next Gen. Trailblazers. Click here to find out more:https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/bhm-next-gen-trailblazers-full-list-a4560326.htmlShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan was interviewed this week as part of Fortune's Most Powerful Women 2020 Summit. This year's theme was "Rising to the New Reality". Many of the topics on this year’s agenda related to the impact of Covid-19 in the work-place and in business dealings, and how the pandemic is out of necessity leading to a reshaping of almost every aspect of the business world.Meghan was interviewed by Fortune Editor, Ellen McGirt. Meghan spoke of the impact of Covid-19 on her own life. The pair discussed Meghan and Harry’s focus in addressing the negative side of social media. Meghan confirmed that this work will form part of their new Archewell Foundation once it is launched. Meghan expressed concerns for how people either passively or aggressively are propagating on-line hate by clicking on things that are contributing to an industry that is really toxic for so many of us. Meghan has no time for internet trolls, people who want to provoke and upset others online for their own amusement, but said that the aim isn’t to bad mouth all aspects of technology.An article published by Fortune points out this is not a new area of concern for Harry and Meghan. Back in 2016 Prince Harry spoke out about the toxic behaviour by some on social media after Meghan was subjected to racists attacks on-line.Meghan and Harry have stepped up their work on this issue since stepping back as senior Royals and since moving to live in America. Meghan describes how reforming online spaces intersects with the work she and Harry are already doing with veteran’s issues, mental health, and gender equality.Ms. McGirt asked Meghan specifically about her own experiences. Meghan says she feels it is important to her to be authentic. She often speaks from the heart and this may come across as not polished, and not perfect - but more authentic.Meghan repeated comments she made during last week's TIME 100 TV appearance – the way we communicate online transcends into how we interact with people around us off-line. She added, how we interact online affects our relationships, not least of which is the relationship that we have with ourselves.Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com for more on the work on Meghan and HarryShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This past week Meghan made a surprise, short video appearance on the night of the final of the TV show America’s Got Talent. Meghan appeared to express her support for a finalist in the show  - Archie Williams. What might have seemed a nice little shout out to a very impressive contestant, also had Meghan cleverly highlighting a more serious issue. That is because Archie’s back story is pretty unique when it comes to talent contests. This is the Link to the AGT video with Meghanhttps://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=meghan+markle+AGT&&view=detail&mid=59346C0A1CC5F6A0255959346C0A1CC5F6A02559&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dmeghan%2520markle%2520AGT%26qs%3Dn%26form%3DQBVR%26sp%3D-1%26ghc%3D1%26pq%3Dmeghan%2520markle%2520agt%26sc%3D8-17%26sk%3D%26cvid%3DBE8436787F304EC2A4F44EF8F939B9CFIn 1982, Archie was arrested and imprisoned in Louisiana's Angola prison, after being found guilty of attempted murder, attempted rape, and aggravated burglary of a white woman in Baton Rouge. These were crimes that Archie did not commit. Archie, then aged 22, was sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 1995 The Innocence Project took up Archie’s case. The Innocence Project repeatedly requested DNA testing and fingerprint comparisons that could prove Archie's innocence. The legal process took a very long time. Finally, in 2019, it was proven that a man who'd committed other sexual assaults in the neighborhood was responsible for the crimes Archie had been convicted of.  At age 58, Archie was freed after having spent 37 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.So how did Archie end up on America’s Got Talent? Archie said that when in jail, when he faced the dark times he would pray and sing. He added, that he watched America’s Got Talent in prison and he would visualize himself being there. After hearing Archie's story, Simon Cowell became an ambassador for The Innocence Project.So good for Meghan for drawing more attention to the Innocence Project, to Archie Williams, and to the many other people like him around the world who have been wrongly convicted. You can email your comments to me at [email protected] written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The work week was busy for Meghan and Harry and by the end of the week - wow so much controversy.Prince Harry kicked off the week appearing in a short video to launch the Trailwalker UK 100 km Relay Challenge in aid of the charities Oxfam UK and The Gurkha’s Welfare Trust.Meghan’s Court case against Associated Newspapers continued to wing it way through the British High Court. As previously mentioned, Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers due to their publication of a private letter she sent to her father. There was a pre-trial appearance this past Monday. Associated Newspapers want to use as part of their expanded defence, an allegation that Meghan and Harry either provided information for, or they ‘permitted' their friends to provide information to, the authors of the book Finding Freedom.The TIME T.V. appearance – as I mentioned in my previous podcast, Meghan and Harry participated in the inaugural TIME 100 TV special during which the names of the 2020 honourees were announced. I watched the show. Meghan and Harry both spoke about the need to reject negativity in our communications, both on-line and off-line. Meghan and Harry both talked about the importance of voting. Harry spoke of ending hate speech and misinformation. Their comments caused controversy both sides of the Atlantic, with Meghan being personally attacked / slammed by President Trump. Keep checking out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and Harry will soon be on some of our TV screens. They are to make a joint appearance as part of a televised special revealing TIME magazine's 2020 list of the 100 most influential people. This will be their first joint T.V. appearance since stepping away from royal life.The final list of influential individuals is exclusively chosen by TIME editors, with nominations coming from TIME 100 alumni and the magazine's international writing staff. Only the winner of the Reader's Poll, conducted days before the official list is revealed, is chosen by the general public.TIME would typically host a glamourous gala in New York to celebrate honourees past and present. This year, due to the on-going covid-19 pandemic, TIME has made the decision to host a TV special September 22, 2020, at 10:00PM on America’s ABC Network, when the names of this year's inductees will be announced.The TIME 100 most influential people chosen are currently divided over five categories Pioneers, Artists, Leaders, Icons and Titans. Meghan and Harry were both honored in the 2018 TIME 100 list under the category of LeadersWe don’t know whether Harry and Meghan are included again in this year's list. We will just have to tune in to find out!Meghan joined many people around the world in expressing her condolences over the death of US Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Meghan speaks of Ruth being an inspiration to her since she was a child. I read you Meghan's message. You can email me at [email protected] please check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

As celebrities in the US freeze their social media accounts, joining a protest against the spread of online hate, propaganda and misinformation, I discuss how the Royal Family have not been exempt from attempts by media sources to sow division between them. Look no further then the reporting and postings on social media about the relationship between Meghan and Kate.Comparisons were made between Meghan and Kate right from the beginning. At first, the comparison were in most cases factually correct. Say comparing the different fashion styles of the two ladies, their backgrounds, their approach to their work. However, things then turned and despite attempts to correct false reports and despite urging fans of Meghan and Kate to be moderate their posts on social media, hate and division have continued. Unfortunately, the constant comparisons in the press between Meghan and Kate led to factions being formed. There are the pro-Kate fans and the pro-Meghan fans. Each faction takes to social media to defend their Duchess and to post disparaging comments about the other.The only winners in battle are of course the very same people that caused the issue in the first place. The press like nothing more then to report about what Meghan’s fans are saying about Kate, or about what Kate’s fans are saying about Meghan. The media are getting all of this fodder to report in their newspapers and online, printing loads of hateful and divisive stories and hiding behind the fans.  On a lighter note to end the podcast, Harry and Meghan did a remarkable thing this week, matching dollar for dollar donations made in honour of their birthdays to CAMFED.You can email me at [email protected] view my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This podcast is a just a bit of fun. Rumour has it that young Archie, aged 16 months, likes to participate in Harry and Meghan's video conferences. It is reported that Archie will often make cameo appearances during his parent’s work video calls.So I found Zoom Meeting Etiquette for Kids and I have adapted these for young Archie. My tips include: how to make his mom and dad's background scenery much more exciting,how to hog the limelight during his mom and dad's video chats,how to make sure he is not muted,how to look presentable,how not to push the 'red button' like his cousin Louis.You can email me at [email protected] check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

No matter how good the work that Meghan and Harry do, and no matter how many charities and non-profits they support, there will always be an element in the media that will seek to put them down. One such person is UK TV presenter Piers Morgan. Despite saying that he would govern and temper his harsh criticism of Meghan and Harry, this past week he was at it again, renewing his attack on the couple on his breakfast TV show, accusing Harry and Meghan of getting their Netflix deal on the back of their Royal titles, adding that if the couple wanted to live in America and not work for the Royal Family,  then they should lose their titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. So who is Piers Morgan? I will tell you a little about his background and his career so you get the measure of the man who loves to criticize Meghan and Harry. A man who has made his career of the back of criticizing others. Meghan and Harry are just another notch in his belt, another couple he can rant at, and all the while he believes that he is speaking up for us all. As American football and Basketball player Wes Fesler once said, "hypocrisy is the audacity to preach integrity from a den of corruption.".Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comAnd reach me by email at: [email protected] written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

The major headline of this past week was the news that Harry and Meghan have signed a production deal with Netflix. Keeping the Netflix theme going, Harry participated in a documentary film on the history of the Paralympic Games called Rising Phoenix. The release of this film was timed to coincide to when the Toyoko Paralympic games should have been taking place. As we know, the games for both abled bodied athletes and para-athletes have been pushed back to July and August 2021.This past week Harry and five of the para-athletes stars of the Rising Phoenix film sat down for a video chat. The theme of their discussion was the Power of Sport. The group touched on many aspects of the enhanced benefits of sport to people living with a physical disability. I watched the video discussion and at the end it was hard to keep a tear out of my eye, not because I was sad but because I admired and was moved by the tenacity of these athletes. For those interested you can view the video discussion on YouTube.Lastly, and still somewhat related to the Netflix's theme of this podcast The New York Times printed a correction to an error in an article they had published about Harry and Meghan’s Netflix deal. Listen for all the details. Check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This week was going to be a difficult one, for Prince Harry and his brother William. August 31st marked the 23rd anniversary of the tragic death of their mother. Princess Diana’s funeral service took place on September 6th, 1997 at Westminster Abbey before she was laid to rest at her family estate Althorp, in Northamptonshire. Since then Prince Harry and now Meghan have frequently honoured his mother’s memory with flowers.  It was only really after her death that her fondness for the humble forget-me -not flower emerged.In 2006 Harry and his friend launched their charity Sentebale. Sentebale means 'Forget-me-not'.In 2017, 20 years after Diana's death, forget-me-nots were included in the memorial flower garden for Princess Diana, the so called White Garden, in London.At the May 2018 marriage between Meghan and Harry, Meghan’s wedding bouquet of spring blooms included forget-me-nots.On Mother’s Day, 2019, Harry and Meghan released a photo on their Instagram account showing baby Archie’s feet against a backdrop of the flowers. So we see forget-me-not flowers linking Prince Harry and his family, to his mom.This past Monday, August 31st, Harry continued to honour his mother during an outing to the Assistance League of Los Angeles, when he and Meghan rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty, helping preschoolers replant the Preschool Learning Centre’s garden. Harry and Meghan planted a mixture of vegetables and flowers and are said to have taken along a packet of forget-me-not seeds to include in the mix. Assistance League Los Angeles is one of approximately 120 chapters of this American non-profit, with each chapter dedicated to providing accessibility and fulfillment of community needs at the local level. Assistance League was established in 1919 by Anne Banning forming the Assistance League of Southern California.  Her vision was to provide services to all in need, regardless of their race, religion or culture. Her vision laid the foundation for the future of the organization. The Preschool Learning Centre in Los Angeles, is but one of many programs on offer through this chapter.Again, thanks to Meghan and Harry, I have learned about another organization doing amazing work in the communities across America. Without this organization and the many others across the US and across the world doing similar work, there would be a lot more children having a little less hope in their lives.Princess Diana then, and now through her sons and their wives, in their dedication to their work and in their kind spirits, need never worry about being forgotten. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I am not going to talk about the contents of  "Finding Freedom" as many of you may be reading your own copies and I don’t want to spoil anything for you.This past week, Harry joined with players, coaches and volunteers living in the UK and he hosted a quiz as part of the 125th Birthday celebrations for the game of Rugby League. Rugby League was founded in the English town of Huddersfield, breaking away from the sport of Rugby Union, and allowing players to be paid to play.I admit I don't know anything about Rugby, so in the same way when Meghan works with a new charity I research all about it and end up learning lots of new things, I am giving Harry the same curtesy, and I have tried to educate myself a little about Rugby. So who invented Rugby? I am sure men and women around the world argue about this over a pint or two at the pub after a game, but according to my internet search Rugby Union is said to have originated at Rugby School in Warwickshire, England, in 1823 when during a game of football (soccer) a certain William Webb Ellis decided to pick up a ball and go with it. Although there is very little evidence to support this theory, the Rugby World Cup Trophy (Rugby Union) is named after William Webb Ellis.So back to Prince Harry. Harry spoke how rugby league brings communities together. Harry introduced a special guest, Rugby League Legend Ellery Hanley. Ellery spoke of his life-long love for the sport.Harry expressed his admiration for the way the sport has continued to thrive for over 125 years.Check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ for photos to go with my podcasts.Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and her boys (of the canine persuasion) sat down for a conversation with Gloria Steinem.Gloria Steinem is a US born writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer. A leading feminist spokesperson since the 1960’s, she helped launch a variety of groups and publications dedicated to promoting civil rights. In 2013 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in the women’s liberation movement. During their Question and Answer session Meghan and Gloria touched briefly on several issues:The potential of having a Vice President who is black. How algorithms in on-line search engines autofill with racially prejudiced words.Gloria's stance on participating in the upcoming US elections.Voter suppression is the US.Gloria often speaks of an ideal democratic society as one based on process and compromise. According to Gloria, men and women should be seen as ‘being linked not ranked’, the idea that there should be balance and ideally consensus in decision making.Next, continuing my occasional segment where I take at look at some of Meghan's and Harry’s media coverage, this week I am awarding the Clickbait Award of the Week to Australian Magazine New Idea. The clickbait text of the online story posted by this magazine read Meghan Markle’s Arrest shock!This idea of Meghan having (not) committed a crime, did get me thinking about Meghan’s negative press coverage in the UK. On reading some of the headlines she gets, you would think that she had actually committed some sort of heinous crime. I chat about this. The question to ask yourself is what has Meghan actually done to deserve such negative attention?Check out photos to go with my podcasts on my blog  www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This past week Meghan continued her women orientated work, participating in what was called a Couch Potato Event, hosted by the American organizations When We All Vote and The United States of Women The event that Meghan was invited to was called “When All WOMEN Vote." Partly to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution and partly to encourage women to both register and vote in this years US elections.Meghan made some short introductory comments, stressing how this year it is exceptionally important to vote. Meghan made a personal call to action to women voters, to take part in the election, insisting that 'if we aren't part of the solution, we are part of the problem'.Meghan’s comments made news all around the world and caused some controversy in certain elements of the UK press.So why were Meghan’s comments such a big issue for Brits? I will try to explain.What made Meghan and Harry don their shorts? – They were looking very laid back and relaxed this past week in their khaki shorts and sneakers as they reconnected with one of their favourite US non-profits Baby2Baby. https://baby2baby.org/Per their social media, Bay2Baby's mission is to provide children living in poverty, ages 0-12 years, with diapers, clothing and all the basic necessities that each child deserves. In the last 9 years, Baby2Baby say that they have distributed over 100 million items to children in homeless shelters, domestic violence programs, foster care, hospitals and underserved schools as well as children who have lost everything in the wake of disaster.This past week, was week one of the charity's First Day Back Challenge. Baby2Baby have set themselves the goal of providing more than $1 million in clothing for children whose families have been struggling throughout the pandemic. It was absolutely fantastic to see the photos of Meghan and Harry away from their computer screens, and out on the streets interacting with families and their children. As always, don't forget to check out for other stories on my blog https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Since moving to the US Harry and Meghan have continued to work for their UK patronages. One of these is the Queens Commonwealth Trust.The Queen has always believed in the power of the commonwealth and the power of youth. The Commonwealth is made up of fifty-four countries, home to 2.4 billion people, of which 60% are under the age of 30.I briefly explain the purpose behind The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT).The QCT have been holding monthly virtual Conversations with a small group of youth leaders from various countries in the commonwealth to meet and discuss topical subjects. Meghan and Harry both attend as does Nicola Brentnall, the London based CEO of the QCT. Last month, at the July meeting, the discussions were about racism and inequality. This past week, the theme of the meeting was using the on-line world for good. The four youth attendees were extremely positive. They talked about the work they each were doing in their various communities. This work included:Work to try and restrict on-line bullying in Australian schools by encouraging youth to call out people who are being hateful on-line. Using social media as a platform for good, to create an on-line community to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to aspire to pursue continuing education whilst staying true to their personalities and being themselves. Using digital media to encourage young Australian men to talk about mental health, family violence, vulnerability, and the role of men in modern society. Another attendee spoke about his work in setting up and running a radio show in a small rural community in Zambia, Africa, using radio as a means to reach people in areas where there is limited internet access. All the attendees got to speak about their own projects in more details.Meghan spoke about how the youth in the QCT always inspire her. Harry praised the work of the Queen and her vision for the Commonwealth.It is good as always to see Meghan and Harry meaningfully engaging with the members of the organizations who they work with.as always, check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This past week Meghan interviewed Emily Ramshaw, CEO and co-founder of the newly launched US virtual news platform for women, The 19th* Here is a link to the interviewhttps://19thnews.org/2020/08/meghan-markle-the-duchess-of-sussex-the-19th-emily-ramshaw/Emily Ramshaw was previously editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune an award-winning nonpartisan digital news start-up. She serves on the board of the Pulitzer Prize. Meghan was the interviewer although Emily couldn’t help herself, and jumped in with her own questions for Meghan.Meghan asked Emily how hard it was to launch a news platform, now, right in the middle of a pandemic. Meghan asked how stories carried by The 19th* are going to differ from those carried by other news organizations. Emily and Meghan discussed the importance of voting. Emily snuck in a couple of questions of her own for MeghanEmily asked how Meghan felt about the political situation in the US – what had Meghan noticed as a biracial woman on her recent move back to the US.Emily also asked Meghan about her own experiences at the hands of the media.Meghan voiced being glad to be back home and looking forward to using her voice.I introduce my new segment: The Salacious Headline of the Week Award. If you come across salacious headlines about Meghan and Harry, that you think ought to be included in this new segment, then get them to me (you can message me through my blog https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ - and I am also on Instagram and Twitter). I will consider including them in future segments. Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This week has been full of news for the family. On top of the continuing media coverage of the Harry and Meghan Biography "Finding Freedom" (my copy is still in the mail)  the week kicked off with a video chat between Harry and US Civil Rights Leader Rashad Robinson that aired on Good Morning America. It was announced that Meghan will close out a virtual summit for the virtual news platform, The 19*, and then, unbeknown to everyone, Harry Meghan and Archie had left LA in July and settled into a family home near to Santa Barbara. The surprise announcement of the week was for sure, Meghan, Harry and Archie's move to Santa Barbara, a fact that they had managed to keep private from the press for 6 weeks.This quest for privacy, so annoys the UK tabloid press who want to know every move Harry and Meghan make, whilst at the same time pretending the couple are a waste of time and money. When the news of the move came out the UK Daily Mail On-Line published an article. Did the Daily Mail wish Harry and Meghan all the best in their new home? Did they congratulate the couple of buying their first home?They certainly did not.  The headlines were: “Why are Harry and Meghan blowing $8 million on a Santa Barbara Mansion when they still owe the British Taxpayer 2.4 million pounds for Frogmore Cottage”I break this story down and we take a look at the source the Sovereign Grant, the money the Queen uses to maintain her properties, including Frogmore Cottage. What exactly is the Sovereign Grant? I will summarise this for you. I wish Harry, Meghan and Archie well in their new home. In all the photos I have looked at the City of Santa Barbara seems extremely lovely. A busy news cycle for Meghan and Harry this week. One UK Royal News Reporter had been predicting how Meghan and Harry’s move to the US would lead to the public forgotten them.  I don't think so!You can also check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In this podcast we talk about our use of social media prompted by Prince Harry’s op-ed for Fast Company, the monthly American business magazine. In his article Prince Harry talks about how he feels the digital landscape is ‘unwell’.Prince Harry proposes in his article that social media communication needs to be remodelled. Somewhat controversially, Prince Harry likens the effects of social media on our children's health to that of the damage caused by lead paint in the 1970’s. Likewise, Harry feels that social media affects people negatively, especially young people, and he feels that steps should be taken now to change things. He fears one day society well look back and see how much damage has been done.Harry is calling on industry leaders and people in general to transform digital communities to make them safe places. Harry concludes his article by urging us to demand meaningful digital reform, notably by asking the companies that spend their advertising dollars on digital platforms to push for change, saying these companies have the $$ power to demand it. I blogged about this issue in August 2019, calling my article “The Ugly Reality of Social Media”. See all my blog posts at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/Harry and Meghan of course have firsthand experience of this issue. Anyone who used to follow Harry and Meghan’s Instagram account @sussexroyal would have seen the outright nastiness of some of the posts, often crossing the line from legitimate opinion into hate speech. When we communicate electronically we all too often seem to forget our manners and diplomacy and in fact are quite often rude and abusive. We forget it is OK for other people to have a different opinion to us. We forget that some opinions are best kept in our heads and not said out loud. In our electronic communications we often seem to revert to animal like behaviours, where anything goes. Why should we be allowed get away with saying things on social media that we would never dream of saying to someone face-to-face or in a room full of our colleagues and friends?Maybe we need a computer generated reminder for our social media communications. Some of us do learn to self-moderate what we say on-line. But what about others who don’t or can’t do that? Is Harry on to something?Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In this podcast I am going to try and unpack Meghan’s court case in the UK High Court against Associated Newspapers Ltd and give an update on recent events in the case.October 1st, 2019 was the last day of Meghan and Harry’s successful tour of southern Africa. Harry released a statement announcing a pending legal case in general terms. Harry accused certain elements in the UK media of bullying, by knowingly printing false and malicious articles aware that Harry and Meghan, due to Royal Protocol, were unable to take steps to correct the stories.Later that day it was announced that Meghan had filed a claim against Associated Newspapers over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright, and breach of the UK Data Protection Act 2018. Over time details of what the case was about came out. In a nutshell, Meghan was suing the newspaper for articles published in the Mail on Sunday in February 2019 that included parts of a handwritten letter from Meghan to her father that she wrote in August 2018, in which she detailed her private feelings and hurt over Mr. Markle’s behaviour at the time of her wedding.The newspaper's main defences to the action appear to be freedom of expression, a denial that the letter had any copyright attached to it, and an allegation the letter was not actually private and confidential.The newspaper are also saying that they only published parts of the letter after Meghan’s friends gave an interview to People Magazine printed in February 2019, making reference to the letter. Meghan claims she did not authorise her friends to give this interview and only learned of it afterwards.  The newspaper argues that Mr. Markle felt he was portrayed badly in the People Magazine article and he wanted the letter published to correct the false impression that had been given about him. The newspaper say they printed it at the behest of Mr. Markle to help him clear his name. In May of this year, in a pre-trial application, Associated Newspapers successfully argued that certain aspects of Meghan’s court documents be struck out. These were allegations that the Newspaper had acted dishonestly and with malice. The judge agreed and Meghan had costs ordered against her. This past week, another pre-trial application was decided by the case management judge, Justice Warby. Meghan was forced to bring a motion on short notice, after the newspaper threatened to release the names of her 5 friends who gave the February 2019 interview to People Magazine. These friends had done so on condition of staying anonymous. The decision the judge had to make this time was whether the 'open court principle' that allows information about court cases to freely available for all to read, to enable public scrutiny of the workings of the law, outweighed the desire for Meghan to keep the names of her five friends confidential. Both sides of the case came in for criticism by the judge for playing out parts of their case through media sources.The judge noted, somewhat ironically, that it usually the newspapers who are trying to protect their sources and in this case the roles were reversed. In the end the judge decided that the newspaper had not provided any convincing arguments why revealing the name of Meghan's five friends 'for the time being' would have any real value in advancing the administration of justice. One person who has suddenly gone very quiet since the court case started is Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle Snr. Why is this?Anyone interested to read the judgments released so far in the court case can downlShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Many tributes were made for Meghan on her 39th birthday this week. The Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla, and William and Kate all posted photos of Meghan on their Instagram accounts and wished Meghan a very Happy Birthday. There were many and varied birthday messages tweeted for Meghan from private individuals and from organizations such as Black Lives Matter, Entertainment Tonight, United Nations Women, and the Girl Scouts. One of the 'sweetest' tributes came from UK Luminary Bakery. Meghan visited these small, modern, combined bakery / cafes on at least two occasions when living in London. These are not ordinary bakers shops. They run on a part business part charity model. In keeping with Meghan’s attention to organizations that see women empowering other women, the two Luminary bakeries are set up as social enterprises, providing skills training and on-going mentoring to women from disadvantaged backgrounds.The bakery invest in the women offering first employment training, then often paid employment and mentoring, empowering the women to follow their dreams, with the aim of breaking cycles of poverty, violence and disadvantage once and for all. 80% of the women assisted between 2014 and 2019 graduated the program, and out of these, an amazing 10 women went on to start their own businesses.In honour of Meghan’s birthday, Monica, a Luminary graduate who Meghan met with when she visited last year, baked, iced and decorated a beautiful lemon cake. People in the UK were able to make a 10 pound donation to charity and have the chance of winning the cake. Unfortunately their on-line deliveries are only in the UK.For any bakers out there,  an illustrated cookbook by Luminary called “Rising Hope” is available on pre-order and comes out in August 2020.   The book will be sold through all the usual on-line bookstores. Every recipe carries a woman’s name and will have a short introduction by that woman explaining why she chose the recipe and what it means to her.Maybe it time for me to learn to bake? Check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ for more stories!Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

We are now leading up to Meghan’s birthday on August 4th followed by Harry’s birthday on September 15th. In honor of these two birthdays a group of fans who band together under the name of the “Sussex Squad” have launched a fundraiser named  #InspiredbyMeghan. The birthday campaign #InspiredbyMeghan will see the funds donated to the non-profit CAMFED, an organization that appeals to Harry’s love of Africa and Meghan’s focus on promoting women and girls. So, what is CAMFED? Listen in to find out more.The second piece of news about charitable donations this past week was hearing that 8,000 UK pounds, was donated on Meghan’s behalf to UK charity Migrateful.Launched just 3 years ago in 2017 a group of refugees came together, realizing that they were all very well qualified, yet were unemployed because of language barriers or because their qualifications were not recognized in the UK. Many of the refugees could cook. The charity was launched with the aim of getting the women and now men into employment by supporting them in sharing their cooking skills by hosting cooking classes. This charity is a perfect fit for Meghan. As we know she also likes to cook and she loves helping people to thrive. check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ for more stories!Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In this podcast I discuss the nasty and unkind UK tabloid reports about Meghan and Harry as a result of the pending publication of the biography Finding Freedom written by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. The book comes into general release on August 11th, 2020. The press are using this as an excuse to bash Harry and Meghan over all manner of things. I am not going to talk about the contents of the book itself as I have my own copy on back order and I want to wait until I read it before making any comments about the contents.  The UK media widely talk about this being Harry and Meghan’s book – describing it correctly as a biography but basically insinuating it is an autobiography written by or with the approval of the couple. The co-authors deny having had direct access to Meghan and Harry to obtain material for the book. The Sussex's did not read or approve a draft copy. A statement released for Harry and Meghan said: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors' own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting."I review some of the comments that have been made about Harry and Meghan. I hope the couple are managing to ignore them as best as possible. I hope they are continuing with their good work. Check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ for more stories.Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This podcast answers the question What is Travalyst?I take you through my initial skepticism about this sustainable tourism initiative launched by Prince Harry in September 2019. As usual I did my own research to educate myself and actually found out the project has practical goals. Not about travelling less but about travelling more thoughtfully and allowing countries and communities to get tourism pounds and dollars in a sustainable way.I talk about the impact of Covid-19 on the initiative and give some thoughts about how the initiative's impacts may be more mid to long term.Next, ahead of Meghan Markle's birthday on August 4th I mention the tabloid speculation (which is unusual for me) about will or won't Westminster Abbey toll their bells this year to celebrate Meghan's birthday. I have my own musical tribute for her just in case.Check out my blog at  https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ for more stories!Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This episode takes us through the highlights of Meghan Markle's keynote speech to the attendees of the 2020 Girl Up Summit.  I review some of the ways that Meghan has 'walked the talk' in her commitment to advancing gender equity, empowering women and girls, and working within communities at grassroots level to encourage women to recognize their inherent value. I like to call Meghan’s approach practical feminism. Meghan does not just talk about empowering women, she uses her huge following, her connections, and her can-do attitude, to make women’s lives better in practical and useful ways. And she does all of this without alienating men and boys, but in fact welcoming them to get on board. Meghan’s speech this past week at the Girl Up Summit was one of the few she has made since she and Harry stepped back from being senior working Royals.As always Meghan spoke clearly and eloquently, drawing on her life experiences whilst at the same time keeping the focus on the attendees. She spoke fearlessly despite being well aware that every word she said would be scrutinized by the media. And it was!In her speech, Meghan encouraged girls and women to strive to work towards a world that is more inclusive, just, compassionate, and empathetic. Something everyone can strive towards regardless of our sex.See more stories about Meghan, Harry and (adorable) Archie on my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.comShow written and produced by Jeanette Songolo. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/