Harry and Meghan accept award 'for fighting structural racism in Royal Family' - but stay tight-lipped on Netflix saga
7 December 2022, 05:48 | Updated: 7 December 2022, 07:37
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been given an award for opposing "structural racism" in the Royal Family – just before their bombshell Netflix documentary is due to air.
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The Sussexes were honoured at the Ripple of Home award in a New York ceremony, where they refused to answer questions.
They have been criticised over preview trailers to their series – set to start on Thursday – that showed them being obsessed over by the media when they are actually from legitimate press events or entirely unrelated circumstances, such as a Harry Potter premiere.
Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F Kennedy who runs the RFK Foundation, which is behind the award, previously said she had picked Harry and Meghan for the award because of their "heroic" stance against what she called "structural racism" in the Royal Family.
"Few would have the courage to question their colleagues, family and community about the power structure they maintained, and this is what Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have done," she said previously.
Speaking at the gala in New York – to which the couple flew in a private jet from their California home – Harry said: "Ultimately we live in this world now where sharing experiences and sharing stories has an enormous impact."
A statement from the Sussexes said: "Our hope with this award is to inspire a new generation of leadership in the arts, where diverse up and coming talent have a platform to have their voices heard and their stories told.
"The values of RFK Foundation and The Archewell Foundation are aligned in our shared belief of courage over fear, and love over hate.
"Together we know that a ripple of hope can turn into a wave of change."
Past winners of human rights awards from the RFK Foundation include Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Honoured alongside Harry and Meghan was Ukraine's hero president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Sussexes were hailed by American celebrities including Alec Baldwin, who was asked what he admired about the pair.
"They way they deal with difficult circumstances in the press without to much difficulty.
"They've obviously chosen a different path. Good for them. They're newly arrived in the States.
"I think it's great they've agreed to support this cause which we have for years."
The couple did not appear to address their Netflix controversy.
Stills from the trailers of them being hounded included one of a bank of photographers, which made it appear like they were being mobbed by a press pack.
It later emerged that it was from a Harry Potter film premiere in 2011, years before Harry and Meghan even met.
Other stills have also been picked apart and critics said it undermined their arguments.
