Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry have been named in TIME magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people, with the couple saying they are “humbled” to be nominated.
Featured on one of a number of alternative covers for the American magazine, Prince Harry is seen intentionally giving himself second status to his wife, with the reportedly 6’1″ prince appearing to crouch behind the 5’6″ former TV actress while resting on a wall.
Photo editor of Time100 Dilys Ng said that the cover “captures their powerful dynamics as equal partners”.
Writing up a profile of the woke royals, chef José Andrés, founder of the World Central Kitchen which is working with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation, appeared to compare an incident from several years ago when Prince Harry, then an Apache helicopter in Afghanistan, ran towards the action in a warzone, to “the same sense of urgency” that “drives Meghan” in her humanitarian work.
“They turn compassion into boots on the ground through their Archewell Foundation,” Andrés said, continuing with the military theme, adding: “In a world where everyone has an opinion about people they don’t know, the duke and duchess have compassion for the people they don’t know. They don’t just opine. They run toward the struggle.”
The Sussexes released a statement on the Archewell Foundation website saying they were “humbled to be part of this year’s TIME 100″, also claiming to be “humbled” to have, in turn, written the profile for fellow TIME 100 celebrity Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the communist China and Biden administration backed Nigerian economist who became the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in March.
“Okonjo-Iweala has shown us that to end the pandemic, we must work together to equip every nation with equitable vaccine access,” Meghan and Harry wrote, adding: “Achieving vaccine equity is a global duty of compassion for one another. Our hope is that guided by strong leaders like Ngozi, we can get there soon.”
Relations between Prince Harry and the Royal Family have reportedly been frosty since the couple’s March interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they alleged a member of the family had made remarks about the potential colour of her son’s skin — also implying it factored into the Royal Family’s refusal to break with a century-old tradition to make Archie a lord rather than a prince — and the Royal household had been uncaring to Meghan while she claimed to have mental health issues.
Defending the Royal Family, journalist and media personality Piers Morgan said he did not believe Meghan’s accusations, remarks which were followed by Morgan’s exit from the daily Good Morning Britain television programme. The comments prompted tens of thousands of complaints from members of the public, triggering an investigation by the UK’s broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom.
This month, Morgan and the network ITV were vindicated in the right for the breakfast show’s former host to air his opinions, in what was hailed as a victory for free speech.