Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award in New York City Tuesday night for their work on exposing “structural racism” in the British royal family.
The couple attended the awards ceremony in Manhattan just ahead of their new docuseries, “Harry & Meghan” premiering on Netflix on December 8, and Harry’s upcoming memoir “Spare,” which is scheduled to be released in January.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also honored with the Ripple of Hope Award. Past recipients include Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Robert F. Kennedy’s daughter, Kerry Kennedy, announced last month that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be receiving the award for their “heroic” stance against perceived injustice in the royal family, according to The Daily Mail.
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“They went to the oldest institution in U.K. history and told them what they were doing wrong, that they couldn’t have structural racism within the institution; that they could not maintain a misunderstanding about mental health,” Kennedy said.
“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 continued.
At the gala, Kennedy told reporters she was “incredibly proud” of Harry and Meghan.
“They’ve stood up, they’ve talked about racial justice and mental illness in a way that was incredibly brave,” she said. “For Meghan to get out there on national television and normalize a discussion about mental health is incredibly important and brave. The issues around racial justice are also incredibly important.”
Harry and Meghan accepted the award and announced a collaboration with the RFK Human Rights Foundation.
“We are honored to receive the RFK Ripple of Hope Award this year, and to partner with the Kennedy family in the creation of The Archewell Foundation Award for Gender Equity in Student Film,” the pair said in a statement, per CNN. “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,” the statement continued.