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Meghan and Harry Call for “Real Acts of Compassion” and suggest ‘good deeds’ for fans to do

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Updated on July 5, 2023

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have issued an earnest appeal for a “groundswell of real acts of compassion” in honor of International Women’s Day.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are now residing in their $14 million Californian home, revamped their Archewell website over the weekend, employing a snappy line to proclaim their intention to ‘drive systemic cultural change’ through ‘one act of compassion at a time.’

“We know the world is asking more and more of women every day—as wage earners, leaders, educators, carers, and more,” says a statement on the website. “In recognition of International Women’s Day, let’s unleash a groundswell of real acts of compassion for the women in your life and in your community.” The list of actions includes personal acts of kindness, such as phoning a friend, and acts to support women-owned businesses and donate to charities that focus on women’s issues.

The site was established in January with a ‘Letter for 2021’ and pictures of Harry and Diana, as well as Meghan and her mother Doria Ragland, but it has since been modified.

And the pair will be doing what they preach, having committed to engage in and carry out many of the recommended activities. “[They] are hopeful to see families and communities everywhere join together to unleash compassion, one action at a time,” a Sussex spokesman tells BAZAAR.com.

Although they lost the patronages bestowed upon them by Queen Elizabeth, such as their positions at the Queen’s Commonwealth Fund, the Archewell website includes information on how to help a handful of the organizations with which they have previously collaborated. The recommendation to “Help a woman be her best at a crucial moment in her life” includes a link to Smart Works, the women’s employment organization Meghan has worked with since January 2019.

The pair has also removed a photo of them volunteering together in Los Angeles from the site, replacing it with a shot of then-actress Meghan giving a speech at the UN Women conference in 2015.

According to a spokesperson for the Archewells, the couple is hoping that families and communities across the world will join them in their efforts during Women’s History Month.

According to a source, the campaign, was the product of “in-depth planning” with women’s and women’s advocacy leaders and groups. Among them are organizations with which Archewell is already involved, such as World Central Kitchen and The Loveland Foundation. There are also references to the pan-African women’s education charity CAMFED, as well as organizations with whom the pair has previously worked, such as The Mission Continues and the Indian menstruation hygiene awareness organisation Myna Manila, which Meghan visited in 2017.

Among the suggestions, the website highlights modest gestures as an effective way to honor the event.

“From work to family care, many of us are juggling a lot at the moment,” it says.

“Asking something as simple as ‘Are you OK?’ can go a long way.”

Their most recent modifications to the site coincide with the release of a teaser for the couple’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey tonight.

While Harry’s grandpa, Prince Philip, remains hospitalized, teaser snippets of the pre-recorded show have begun to circulate, with Oprah promising that “no subject will be off-limits”

In the video, the media mogul presses Meghan on whether she was ‘silenced’ by the Crown, while Prince Harry says he moved to Los Angeles with his family because he was afraid of ‘history repeating itself’ after his mother, Princess Diana, died.

In one scene, Harry compares his “unbelievably tough” separation from the royal family to his mother, Princess Diana’s experience.

In the heavily-produced teaser published online by CBS in the US overnight, Oprah promises viewers “shocking” discoveries and “no subject off limits.”