Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share childhood photos with their mothers and ‘letter for 2021’

‘I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell,' the duke and duchess wrote on their non-profit’s homepage

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Thursday 31 December 2020 18:41 GMT
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Archie makes guest appearance on Meghan and Harry's holiday podcast special

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have shared photos of themselves as children with their mothers, alongside a letter for 2021, on the newly relaunched website for their non-profit Archewell.

On the website, which first launched in October with just a landing page, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared two black-and-white photos - one of Meghan hugging her mother, Doria Ragland, and one of Prince Harry sitting on the shoulders of his late mother, Princess Diana.

Ahead of the new year, the couple also penned “A Letter for 2021,” which reads: “I am my mother’s son. I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell.

“We believe in the best of humanity. Because we have seen the best of humanity. We have experienced compassion and kindness from our mothers and strangers alike.

“In the face of fear, struggle and pain, it can be easy to lose sight of this. Together, we can choose courage, healing, and connection. Together, we can choose to put compassion in action.”

The letter concludes: “We invite you to join us as we work to build a better world, one act of compassion at a time,” along with the couple’s signatures.

The duke and duchess also updated the rest of the website to reflect pages for their newly-formed Archewell Audio, a collaboration with Spotify. The couple released their first podcast episode earlier this week. 

The duke and duchess have also established Archewell Productions, a creative partnership with Netflix.

On the page dedicated to the couple’s Archewell Foundation, they shared some of their projects and partnerships, which includes the Center for Humane Technology - “dedicated to radically reimagining our digital infrastructure,” and The Loveland Foundation, which “focuses on providing affordable and accessible mental health resources to Black women and girls”.

The duke and duchess have also partnered with the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University to support the mission of the center’s founder, Dr James R Doty, in studying the science of compassion.

“Founded earlier this year by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell uplifts communities through non-profit partnerships and creative activations. It’s a place where compassion matters, communities gather, and storytelling is the engine,” Archewell’s press secretary said in a statement. “The website has been updated to reflect the work Archewell has undertaken throughout 2020 and to create a place for people and communities around the world to share their stories.”

On the website’s "About Us" page, it informs visitors that the goal of Archewell is to “unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change”.

The couple first announced their new foundation in April, shortly after stepping down from their roles as senior members of the royal family. They have since relocated to California with their son Archie.

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