Kind thoughts for Meghan Markle

This week was going to be a difficult one, for Prince Harry and his brother William. August 31st marked the 23rd anniversary of the tragic death of their mother. Princess Diana’s funeral service took place on September 6th, 1997 at Westminster Abbey before she was laid to rest at her family estate Althorp, in Northamptonshire. 

Since then Prince Harry and now Meghan have frequently honoured his mother’s memory with flowers.  It was only really after her death that her fondness for the humble forget-me -not flower emerged.

• In 2006 Harry and his friend launched their charity Sentebale. Sentebale means 'Forget-me-not'.
• In 2017, 20 years after Diana's death, forget-me-nots were included in the memorial flower garden for Princess Diana, the so called White Garden, in London.
• At the May 2018 marriage between Meghan and Harry, Meghan’s wedding bouquet of spring blooms included forget-me-nots.
• On Mother’s Day, 2019, Harry and Meghan released a photo on their Instagram account showing baby Archie’s feet against a backdrop of the flowers. 

So we see forget-me-not flowers linking Prince Harry and his family, to his mom.

This past Monday, August 31st, Harry continued to honour his mother during an outing to the Assistance League of Los Angeles, when he and Meghan rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty, helping preschoolers replant the Preschool Learning Centre’s garden. Harry and Meghan planted a mixture of vegetables and flowers and are said to have taken along a packet of forget-me-not seeds to include in the mix. 

Assistance League Los Angeles is one of approximately 120 chapters of this American non-profit, with each chapter dedicated to providing accessibility and fulfillment of community needs at the local level. 

Assistance League was established in 1919 by Anne Banning forming the Assistance League of Southern California.  Her vision was to provide services to all in need, regardless of their race, religion or culture. Her vision laid the foundation for the future of the organization. The Preschool Learning Centre in Los Angeles, is but one of many programs on offer through this chapter.

Again, thanks to Meghan and Harry, I have learned about another organization doing amazing work in the communities across America. Without this organization and the many others across the US and across the world doing similar work, there would be a lot more children having a little less hope in their lives.

Princess Diana then, and now through her sons and their wives, in their dedication to their work and in their kind spirits, need never worry about being forgotten. 

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

I am not going to talk about the contents of  "Finding Freedom" as many of you may be reading your own copies and I don’t want to spoil anything for you.

This past week, Harry joined with players, coaches and volunteers living in the UK and he hosted a quiz as part of the 125th Birthday celebrations for the game of Rugby League. Rugby League was founded in the English town of Huddersfield, breaking away from the sport of Rugby Union, and allowing players to be paid to play.

I admit I don't know anything about Rugby, so in the same way when Meghan works with a new charity I research all about it and end up learning lots of new things, I am giving Harry the same curtesy, and I have tried to educate myself a little about Rugby. 

So who invented Rugby? I am sure men and women around the world argue about this over a pint or two at the pub after a game, but according to my internet search Rugby Union is said to have originated at Rugby School in Warwickshire, England, in 1823 when during a game of football (soccer) a certain William Webb Ellis decided to pick up a ball and go with it. Although there is very little evidence to support this theory, the Rugby World Cup Trophy (Rugby Union) is named after William Webb Ellis.

So back to Prince Harry. 

• Harry spoke how rugby league brings communities together. 
• Harry introduced a special guest, Rugby League Legend Ellery Hanley. 
• Ellery spoke of his life-long love for the sport.
• Harry expressed his admiration for the way the sport has continued to thrive for over 125 years.

Check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ for photos to go with my podcasts.

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Meghan and her boys (of the canine persuasion) sat down for a conversation with Gloria Steinem.

Gloria Steinem is a US born writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer. A leading feminist spokesperson since the 1960’s, she helped launch a variety of groups and publications dedicated to promoting civil rights. In 2013 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in the women’s liberation movement. 

During their Question and Answer session Meghan and Gloria touched briefly on several issues:

• The potential of having a Vice President who is black. 
• How algorithms in on-line search engines autofill with racially prejudiced words.
• Gloria's stance on participating in the upcoming US elections.
• Voter suppression is the US.

Gloria often speaks of an ideal democratic society as one based on process and compromise. According to Gloria, men and women should be seen as ‘being linked not ranked’, the idea that there should be balance and ideally consensus in decision making.

Next, continuing my occasional segment where I take at look at some of Meghan's and Harry’s media coverage, this week I am awarding the Clickbait Award of the Week to Australian Magazine New Idea. The clickbait text of the online story posted by this magazine read Meghan Markle’s Arrest shock!

This idea of Meghan having (not) committed a crime, did get me thinking about Meghan’s negative press coverage in the UK. On reading some of the headlines she gets, you would think that she had actually committed some sort of heinous crime. I chat about this. The question to ask yourself is what has Meghan actually done to deserve such negative attention?

Check out photos to go with my podcasts on my blog  www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This past week Meghan continued her women orientated work, participating in what was called a Couch Potato Event, hosted by the American organizations When We All Vote and The United States of Women 

The event that Meghan was invited to was called “When All WOMEN Vote." Partly to commemorate the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution and partly to encourage women to both register and vote in this years US elections.

Meghan made some short introductory comments, stressing how this year it is exceptionally important to vote. Meghan made a personal call to action to women voters, to take part in the election, insisting that 'if we aren't part of the solution, we are part of the problem'.

Meghan’s comments made news all around the world and caused some controversy in certain elements of the UK press.

So why were Meghan’s comments such a big issue for Brits? I will try to explain.

What made Meghan and Harry don their shorts? – They were looking very laid back and relaxed this past week in their khaki shorts and sneakers as they reconnected with one of their favourite US non-profits Baby2Baby. https://baby2baby.org/

Per their social media, Bay2Baby's mission is to provide children living in poverty, ages 0-12 years, with diapers, clothing and all the basic necessities that each child deserves. In the last 9 years, Baby2Baby say that they have distributed over 100 million items to children in homeless shelters, domestic violence programs, foster care, hospitals and underserved schools as well as children who have lost everything in the wake of disaster.

This past week, was week one of the charity's First Day Back Challenge. Baby2Baby have set themselves the goal of providing more than $1 million in clothing for children whose families have been struggling throughout the pandemic. 

It was absolutely fantastic to see the photos of Meghan and Harry away from their computer screens, and out on the streets interacting with families and their children.

As always, don't forget to check out for other stories on my blog https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Since moving to the US Harry and Meghan have continued to work for their UK patronages. One of these is the Queens Commonwealth Trust.

The Queen has always believed in the power of the commonwealth and the power of youth. The Commonwealth is made up of fifty-four countries, home to 2.4 billion people, of which 60% are under the age of 30.

I briefly explain the purpose behind The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT).

The QCT have been holding monthly virtual Conversations with a small group of youth leaders from various countries in the commonwealth to meet and discuss topical subjects. Meghan and Harry both attend as does Nicola Brentnall, the London based CEO of the QCT. Last month, at the July meeting, the discussions were about racism and inequality. This past week, the theme of the meeting was using the on-line world for good. 

The four youth attendees were extremely positive. They talked about the work they each were doing in their various communities. This work included:

• Work to try and restrict on-line bullying in Australian schools by encouraging youth to call out people who are being hateful on-line. 
• Using social media as a platform for good, to create an on-line community to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to aspire to pursue continuing education whilst staying true to their personalities and being themselves. 
• Using digital media to encourage young Australian men to talk about mental health, family violence, vulnerability, and the role of men in modern society. 
• Another attendee spoke about his work in setting up and running a radio show in a small rural community in Zambia, Africa, using radio as a means to reach people in areas where there is limited internet access. 

All the attendees got to speak about their own projects in more details.

Meghan spoke about how the youth in the QCT always inspire her. Harry praised the work of the Queen and her vision for the Commonwealth.

It is good as always to see Meghan and Harry meaningfully engaging with the members of the organizations who they work with.

as always, check out my blog at www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This past week Meghan interviewed Emily Ramshaw, CEO and co-founder of the newly launched US virtual news platform for women, The 19th* Here is a link to the interview
https://19thnews.org/2020/08/meghan-markle-the-duchess-of-sussex-the-19th-emily-ramshaw/

Emily Ramshaw was previously editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune an award-winning nonpartisan digital news start-up. She serves on the board of the Pulitzer Prize. 

Meghan was the interviewer although Emily couldn’t help herself, and jumped in with her own questions for Meghan.

• Meghan asked Emily how hard it was to launch a news platform, now, right in the middle of a pandemic. 
• Meghan asked how stories carried by The 19th* are going to differ from those carried by other news organizations. 
• Emily and Meghan discussed the importance of voting. 

Emily snuck in a couple of questions of her own for Meghan

• Emily asked how Meghan felt about the political situation in the US – what had Meghan noticed as a biracial woman on her recent move back to the US.
• Emily also asked Meghan about her own experiences at the hands of the media.
• Meghan voiced being glad to be back home and looking forward to using her voice.

I introduce my new segment: The Salacious Headline of the Week Award. 

If you come across salacious headlines about Meghan and Harry, that you think ought to be included in this new segment, then get them to me (you can message me through my blog https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ - and I am also on Instagram and Twitter). I will consider including them in future segments. 

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

This week has been full of news for the family. 

On top of the continuing media coverage of the Harry and Meghan Biography "Finding Freedom" (my copy is still in the mail)  the week kicked off with a video chat between Harry and US Civil Rights Leader Rashad Robinson that aired on Good Morning America. It was announced that Meghan will close out a virtual summit for the virtual news platform, The 19*, and then, unbeknown to everyone, Harry Meghan and Archie had left LA in July and settled into a family home near to Santa Barbara. 

The surprise announcement of the week was for sure, Meghan, Harry and Archie's move to Santa Barbara, a fact that they had managed to keep private from the press for 6 weeks.

This quest for privacy, so annoys the UK tabloid press who want to know every move Harry and Meghan make, whilst at the same time pretending the couple are a waste of time and money. When the news of the move came out the UK Daily Mail On-Line published an article. 

• Did the Daily Mail wish Harry and Meghan all the best in their new home? 
• Did they congratulate the couple of buying their first home?

They certainly did not.  The headlines were: “Why are Harry and Meghan blowing $8 million on a Santa Barbara Mansion when they still owe the British Taxpayer 2.4 million pounds for Frogmore Cottage”

I break this story down and we take a look at the source the Sovereign Grant, the money the Queen uses to maintain her properties, including Frogmore Cottage. What exactly is the Sovereign Grant? I will summarise this for you. 

I wish Harry, Meghan and Archie well in their new home. In all the photos I have looked at the City of Santa Barbara seems extremely lovely. 

A busy news cycle for Meghan and Harry this week. One UK Royal News Reporter had been predicting how Meghan and Harry’s move to the US would lead to the public forgotten them.  I don't think so!

You can also check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In this podcast we talk about our use of social media prompted by Prince Harry’s op-ed for Fast Company, the monthly American business magazine. In his article Prince Harry talks about how he feels the digital landscape is ‘unwell’.

Prince Harry proposes in his article that social media communication needs to be remodelled. Somewhat controversially, Prince Harry likens the effects of social media on our children's health to that of the damage caused by lead paint in the 1970’s. 

Likewise, Harry feels that social media affects people negatively, especially young people, and he feels that steps should be taken now to change things. He fears one day society well look back and see how much damage has been done.

Harry is calling on industry leaders and people in general to transform digital communities to make them safe places. 

Harry concludes his article by urging us to demand meaningful digital reform, notably by asking the companies that spend their advertising dollars on digital platforms to push for change, saying these companies have the $$ power to demand it. 

I blogged about this issue in August 2019, calling my article “The Ugly Reality of Social Media”. See all my blog posts at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Harry and Meghan of course have firsthand experience of this issue. Anyone who used to follow Harry and Meghan’s Instagram account @sussexroyal would have seen the outright nastiness of some of the posts, often crossing the line from legitimate opinion into hate speech. 

When we communicate electronically we all too often seem to forget our manners and diplomacy and in fact are quite often rude and abusive. We forget it is OK for other people to have a different opinion to us. We forget that some opinions are best kept in our heads and not said out loud. 

In our electronic communications we often seem to revert to animal like behaviours, where anything goes. Why should we be allowed get away with saying things on social media that we would never dream of saying to someone face-to-face or in a room full of our colleagues and friends?

Maybe we need a computer generated reminder for our social media communications. Some of us do learn to self-moderate what we say on-line. But what about others who don’t or can’t do that? Is Harry on to something?

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

In this podcast I am going to try and unpack Meghan’s court case in the UK High Court against Associated Newspapers Ltd and give an update on recent events in the case.

October 1st, 2019 was the last day of Meghan and Harry’s successful tour of southern Africa. Harry released a statement announcing a pending legal case in general terms. Harry accused certain elements in the UK media of bullying, by knowingly printing false and malicious articles aware that Harry and Meghan, due to Royal Protocol, were unable to take steps to correct the stories.

Later that day it was announced that Meghan had filed a claim against Associated Newspapers over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright, and breach of the UK Data Protection Act 2018. 

Over time details of what the case was about came out. In a nutshell, Meghan was suing the newspaper for articles published in the Mail on Sunday in February 2019 that included parts of a handwritten letter from Meghan to her father that she wrote in August 2018, in which she detailed her private feelings and hurt over Mr. Markle’s behaviour at the time of her wedding.

The newspaper's main defences to the action appear to be freedom of expression, a denial that the letter had any copyright attached to it, and an allegation the letter was not actually private and confidential.

The newspaper are also saying that they only published parts of the letter after Meghan’s friends gave an interview to People Magazine printed in February 2019, making reference to the letter. Meghan claims she did not authorise her friends to give this interview and only learned of it afterwards.  The newspaper argues that Mr. Markle felt he was portrayed badly in the People Magazine article and he wanted the letter published to correct the false impression that had been given about him. The newspaper say they printed it at the behest of Mr. Markle to help him clear his name. 

In May of this year, in a pre-trial application, Associated Newspapers successfully argued that certain aspects of Meghan’s court documents be struck out. These were allegations that the Newspaper had acted dishonestly and with malice. The judge agreed and Meghan had costs ordered against her. 

This past week, another pre-trial application was decided by the case management judge, Justice Warby. Meghan was forced to bring a motion on short notice, after the newspaper threatened to release the names of her 5 friends who gave the February 2019 interview to People Magazine. These friends had done so on condition of staying anonymous. 

The decision the judge had to make this time was whether the 'open court principle' that allows information about court cases to freely available for all to read, to enable public scrutiny of the workings of the law, outweighed the desire for Meghan to keep the names of her five friends confidential. 

Both sides of the case came in for criticism by the judge for playing out parts of their case through media sources.

The judge noted, somewhat ironically, that it usually the newspapers who are trying to protect their sources and in this case the roles were reversed. In the end the judge decided that the newspaper had not provided any convincing arguments why revealing the name of Meghan's five friends 'for the time being' would have any real value in advancing the administration of justice. 

One person who has suddenly gone very quiet since the court case started is Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle Snr. Why is this?

Anyone interested to read the judgments released so far in the court case can downl

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/

Many tributes were made for Meghan on her 39th birthday this week. The Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla, and William and Kate all posted photos of Meghan on their Instagram accounts and wished Meghan a very Happy Birthday. 

There were many and varied birthday messages tweeted for Meghan from private individuals and from organizations such as Black Lives Matter, Entertainment Tonight, United Nations Women, and the Girl Scouts. 

One of the 'sweetest' tributes came from UK Luminary Bakery. Meghan visited these small, modern, combined bakery / cafes on at least two occasions when living in London. 

These are not ordinary bakers shops. They run on a part business part charity model. In keeping with Meghan’s attention to organizations that see women empowering other women, the two Luminary bakeries are set up as social enterprises, providing skills training and on-going mentoring to women from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The bakery invest in the women offering first employment training, then often paid employment and mentoring, empowering the women to follow their dreams, with the aim of breaking cycles of poverty, violence and disadvantage once and for all. 

80% of the women assisted between 2014 and 2019 graduated the program, and out of these, an amazing 10 women went on to start their own businesses.

In honour of Meghan’s birthday, Monica, a Luminary graduate who Meghan met with when she visited last year, baked, iced and decorated a beautiful lemon cake. People in the UK were able to make a 10 pound donation to charity and have the chance of winning the cake. Unfortunately their on-line deliveries are only in the UK.

For any bakers out there,  an illustrated cookbook by Luminary called “Rising Hope” is available on pre-order and comes out in August 2020.   The book will be sold through all the usual on-line bookstores. Every recipe carries a woman’s name and will have a short introduction by that woman explaining why she chose the recipe and what it means to her.

Maybe it time for me to learn to bake? Check out my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ for more stories!

Show written and produced by Jeanette Songolo.

Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and in the meantime watch out for other posts on all things Sussex on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/