Prince Harry has recently stepped back into the public eye, putting aside a challenging start to 2025, to support WellChild, a charity he has been closely associated with since 2007.
The Duke of Sussex, now 40, delivered a heartfelt video message from his Montecito home, expressing that it is a “true privilege to honour the bravery and compassion of this incredible community”.
Harry highlighted the significance of the WellChild Awards, which acknowledge young individuals with complex medical conditions across the UK and those who provide exceptional care for them.
He stated: “The WellChild Awards recognise and celebrate the growing number of young people with complex medical conditions from across the United Kingdom, as well as those who go the extra mile to care for them.”
Emphasising the importance of the awards, he added: “They allow us to shine a spotlight on the remarkable stories of strength, resilience and courage that they demonstrate every single day. And this year is especially significant as we celebrate the 20th WellChild Awards.”
Harry called for nominations to recognise these inspiring individuals, saying: “It is a true privilege to honour the bravery and compassion of this incredible community. And to make this happen, we need your help to nominate the exceptional people who inspire you every single day.”
He urged for support, concluding: “Your support can make all the difference. Please join us in recognising the amazing individuals who will be honoured at the 2025 WellChild Awards! ”
This appeal comes amidst personal setbacks for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with Meghan Markle facing delays with her Netflix series and both facing criticism in a scathing Vanity Fair article, reports the Mirror.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the release of ‘With Love, Meghan’ had been delayed due to the catastrophic wildfires ravaging Los Angeles. Shortly after, Harry and Meghan were labelled as “disaster tourists” following their involvement at a food distribution centre for those affected by the fires.
The couple also faced a scathing article in Vanity Fair, which included allegations about what it’s like to work for them and complaints from their Montecito neighbours. Now, Meghan has encountered another setback – a delay to a new series of podcast episodes.
As reported by HELLO!, the episodes have been postponed similarly to ‘With Love, Meghan’, as the Duchess wishes to concentrate on assisting those impacted by the wildfires in her home state of California. About a year ago, Meghan inked a deal with Lemonada Media to produce new podcasts.
In February last year, she expressed her pride in joining Lemonada to continue her “love of podcasting”. In 2020, Harry and Meghan initially collaborated with Spotify, signing a hefty $25million (£19million) contract with the streaming giant.
However, the partnership abruptly ended in 2023 after the couple produced just 12 episodes of a standalone podcast, Archetypes, hosted by Meghan.
In June 2023, Spotify and Archewell Audio announced in a joint statement that they had “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together”.
However, insiders linked to Spotify have suggested that the royal couple fell short of the productivity benchmark necessary to secure the entire headline payout from their agreement.
This comes after only one 12-episode series was produced.
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