Kind thoughts for Meghan Markle

Prince Harry was the guest in the March 4th, 2023, virtual event titled "Spare: Prince Harry in conversation with Dr. Gabor Mate."I was not sure what to expect of the event. I suspected perhaps a more intellectual review of Prince Harry's book.  What we got was an hour and a half's worth of discussion including a few pre-selected questions from attendees, on the topic of all things trauma and mental health.  The conversation included a section where Dr. Mate provided Harry, based on what Mate had read in Harry's memoir Spare, a clinical diagnosis of Harry's mental health. So a light and fluffy conversation this was not – but informative and interesting none the less. 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/

It has been a while since you have heard from me and that is because after Harry's PR appearances for his memoir "Spare" he and Meghan have been pretty much out of sight, no doubt still working but keeping a low profile.  I was sort of wondering whether I had got to the point of having said everything that I want to say about all things Harry and Meghan then out of the blue we get the shocking news,  broken by the UK tabloid the Sun,  declaring that King Charles was evicting Harry and Meghan from their UK Frogmore Cottage residence. Well of course I was incensed and so here I am!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/

People who regularly follow all things Meghan and Harry on social media will be very familiar with the UK journalist Omid Scobie.  Since 2018 Scobie's posts and reporting on the UK Royals made him a go-to person to get the current news. In fact, Scobie often broke exclusive stories on the Sussexes,  so much so that it became widely rumoured that he was a close friend of Harry and Meghan. Scobie has recently denied being a close friend. However it is clear his career has benefitted from the illusion of this connection. In recent months,  anyone following Scobie's Twitter account will have noticed that he no longer exclusively breaks stories about Meghan and Harry.  I had already started to wonder if there had been a falling out / cooling off between Scobie and Harry & Meghan,  then this past week I came across headlines that seemed to reinforce my feelings.  Listen to hear my thoughts on this possible break-down in their working relationship. 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/

Contact me regarding receiving my spare copy of Prince Harry's memoir "Spare"  either through my blog  https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ or maybe through my Twitter account Jeanette Songolo (@JeanetteSongolo) / TwitterShow 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/

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all and thank you for your continued support of this podcast. For those of you who are waiting or are in the process of reading Prince Harry's memoir 'Spare' – you might not want to listen to this episode until after you have read the book. I have sped read through the book once and plan to re-read it, in the meantime here are some of my take away thoughts after my first reading.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/

The final three episodes of Meghan and Harry's Netflix docuseries were just as gripping as the first three – As before,  I watched the episodes through twice,  let it all sit with me for a while, and then observed the UK reactions (including the vile attack by the UK TV host Jeremy Clarkson printed Rupert Murdoch's The Sun UK newspaper. )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/

As with everything to do with Harry and Meghan everyone has an opinion about the first three episodes of their Netflix docu-series that is called simply "Harry and Meghan."  I have mostly avoided reading everyone else's opinions and having watched the first 3 episodes through - twice - here are my takeaways and my thoughts on what is coming next.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/

It was an East coast West Coast kind of week for Harry and Meghan as they and their team picked up Awards in America. 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 America the Thanksgiving Thursday holiday is followed by the shopping frenzy that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday,  and since 2012 a global movement to support non-profits called Giving Tuesday.  Ahead of Giving Tuesday 2022 Meghan has teamed up with the eco-friendly lifestyle brand Cuyana, https://www.cuyana.com/ that will see 500 of their Classic Structured Tote Bags, that retail at just under $250.00 each,  donated to the UK charity Smart Works  the non-profit where Meghan remains Patron.This new initiative from Meghan came on the back of another and related press release posted on the Archewell website, informing us that the Archewell Foundation team helped prepare a Thanksgiving lunch for over 300 Downtown Women's Center (DWC) residents in Los Angeles. The DWC provides services and resources aimed at ending homelessness for all women including female veterans and their families in the Greater Los Angeles region. 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 October of this year Kerry Kennedy,  daughter of the late US Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a niece of the former US President John F. Kennedy,  released a statement saying that Meghan and Harry were chosen and had agreed to accept one of the 2022 Ripple of Hope Awards given out each year by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Foundation. Ms. Kennedy further announced that Meghan and Harry would be given their award at a gala ceremony in York City on December 6th, 2022.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 Harry commemorate Veterans Day and Remembrance Day 2022 by thanking servicemembers around the World,  and reveal that they are working with The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation (TGGF).Also,  Meghan and Harry both individually make the Hello Magazine 2022 Kind List. 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/

You know how last time I said that we wait and wait for news stories about Meghan and Harry and then a whole slew come along at once.  This week  Meghan and Harry downloaded a motherload of some 13 news stories to their Archewell website covering their work during the months of September and October 2022. Most of these stories have been already well covered in the media. There were, however, two stories that had not been widely publicized prior to this week. In this podcast I chat about these two 'new' pieces of news. 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/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Welcome to the 150th episode of this podcast.  Waiting for news from the House of Sussex sometimes feels the same as when you are waiting for a bus - nothing, nothing then a whole slew come along at once. And so it was this week with all things Meghan and Harry. In this episode I talk about the just some of the news that we heard this week concerning Meghan and Harry. 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/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Over the last few days we have seen the couple re-start the work that they had put on hold as a mark of respect during the official mourning period for the late Queen. In part inspired by Meghan's podcast, Archetypes, she and Harry announced a new partnership, with their Archewell Foundation teaming up with the VING Project.https://vingproject.org/ The VING Project is an American national movement aiming to inspire the next generation of givers. High School students aged between 14 and 18 can nominate an adult, not in their family, who is in need of an encouraging boost by surprising them with a $1,000 tax-free donation, and with the funds provided by VING and their partners. Please 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/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Harry and Meghan have been handling unfolding events in the UK with respect, grace and dignity. From what I have observed they haven't put a foot wrong during the period of mourning leading up to the Queen's funeral.  They have stayed pretty quiet,  trying to keep the focus rightly on the Queen.  So, you might think that the UK tabloids and their carnival of Royal experts and the social media trolls would give Meghan and Harry a break.  Sadly,  the nastiness and abuse has continued unabated . In this podcast I'll give you some examples of what Harry,  but more so Meghan has had to endure so far this week.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/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

As I was getting my daily fix of Royal T.V. news following the Queen's passing,  I caught sight of William and Kate,  now officially known as the Prince and Princess of Wales emerge from their car at Windsor Castle. Then to my delight and to my surprise, I saw Meghan and Harry step out of that same car.  I dragged my chair close to the TV screen and for the next hour I was transfixed as I watched the live TV broadcast of the four of them together,  side-by-side, as they met and chatted with members of the public at Windsor.  Who could have predicted this would happen?Seeing the four back together again, I couldn't help but wonder what might have been and maybe, what could be? 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/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Harry and Meghan were two thirds  through their successful charity events in the UK and Germany, when on September 8th, the sad news came of the unexpected death of the Queen at the age of 96. Harry and Meghan altered their plans and will, we are told, stay in the UK until after the state funeral for the Queen, that will take place in the coming days. 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/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Meghan and Harry took an eco-friendly train from London to Manchester in the UK,  for the opening ceremony for the  2022 One Young World summit.  Having spent a bit of time ahead of the summit's opening  meeting privately with some of the delegates, Meghan and Harry were given a rapturous welcome as they entered Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Meghan was welcomed to the stage as a counsellor for the One Young World organization, a position she has held since 2014 (before meeting Prince Harry).  Meghan gave a speech to official open the summit.Click here to learn more about the One Young World Organization https://www.oneyoungworld.com/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/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

In Episode 2 of Meghan Markle's Archetypes podcast titled "The Duality of Diva" she and Mariah Carey talk, amongst other things, about the word diva - the historical definition and use of the word in the past,  then how the word came to be used as a derogatory term against a certain kind of woman.  In the podcast, Mariah says at one point to Meghan "you give us diva moments sometimes." So is Meghan a diva or not?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/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

As we head towards the fall it seemed a good time to do a re-cap of just some of the things that Meghan and Harry have been doing this past summer - their brief trips to the UK and NYC; Harry's summer of polo; Harry's trip to Africa; Meghan's podcast launch and her recent interview with The Cut magazine.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/ and on twitter  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

In honour of adorable Archie's 3rd Birthday and the forthcoming 1st Birthday of baby Lili,  Meghan and Harry supporters' group, the Sussex Squad  - as well as other Sussex followers  - are raising money in support of Jose Andres's World Central Kitchen (WCK). WCK use the power of food to nourish communities in crises. WCK are currently doing wonders in feeding those living in or fleeing from the war in Ukraine. World Central Kitchen has been a partner with the couple's Archewell Foundation since 2020. Archewell is funding 4 community relief centers that can be activated in times of crisis as emergency response kitchens or vaccination sites while standing as community gathering spaces, food distribution hubs, or clinics throughout the rest of the year. The first relief center has been completed in Dominica with construction underway on centers in Puerto Rico and Mumbai, India.In addition to the relief centers, Harry and Meghan have backed WCK's emergency response efforts in Haiti and Ukraine, as well as supporting women restaurant owners during the COVID-19 pandemic.Sussex Squad have tweeted a link to the site set up with WCK to collect donations made in Harry and Meghan's name. The site says “Like Harry and Meghan, their supporters always show up for communities in need." https://donate.wck.org/team/425216This is not the first time that Meghan and Harry followers, either the Sussex Squad or other groups or individuals,  have organized major fundraising events. There is now a tradition of marking key events in Meghan and Harry's and now their two children's lives,  with charitable fundraising events. Sometimes the fundraising has been kick started by a call to action by Meghan and Harry  themselves. At other times Sussex followers have taken the initiative.In this podcast I chat about some of the previous fundraising events over recent years.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Today I am taking a look at a topic that everyone and their dog has an opinion on – the question as to whether Harry and Meghan should travel to the UK to participate in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations? It is not yet known whether or not Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili will make the trip over from California to attend all or some of the Jubilee Celebrations.  Whilst rumour has it that the Queen would like them to come, when asked recently if he would be coming Prince Harry did not commit.In this podcast I chat about some of the pro and cons that Meghan and Harry might consider when reaching their decisionPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

During the week of the Invictus Games at the Hague in Holland - Prince Harry did a fair few press interviews to promote the Games. In these interviews Harry,  for the most part,  kept the topic limited the Games and only answering the odd question about fatherhood and his children.  Not so when he sat down with NBC's Hoda Kotb. This interview did explore Harry's private life.  This podcast is an overview of their interview, the reaction to it by the UK press, and my thoughts.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

As I mentioned before we don't have live TV coverage of the Invictus Games The Hague here in Canada, but I have been trolling all over social media and news reports so as to keep up to date on how the Games are going.Amongst the many hard-hitting stories of the competition,  such as the fact that the Ukrainian team who despite the on-going war with Russia did manage to travel to Holland to take part, and also the serious part of the games for each of the 500 plus competitors who have either conquered a service-related or another injury, and who who may still be on their road to recovery,  some stories and events have, for me at least, stood out more than others.  This podcast has a few of those stories - including the story of 'the kiss.'Here is a link to Prince Harry's speech at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games The Hague -  https://mobile.twitter.com/WeAreInvictus/status/1515420737405960194Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

On the Thursday evening before Good Friday many of us were knocking off work early so as to extend our Easter weekend as much as possible. As is my norm,  I was keeping one eye on the Twitter feeds about all things Meghan and Harry when a story popped up on the My Royalty Account  https://mobile.twitter.com/BurnerRoyalty a post by The UK Sun newspaper reporting that Meghan and Harry had been to visit with the Queen.Tweeter went ballistic when shortly thereafter a spokesperson for Meghan and Harry confirmed that yes, they had indeed visited with the Queen, having stopped off in England on their way to Holland and to the Invictus Games at The Hague. Also confirming that the couple had spent Thursday morning in Windsor, England with the Queen, their first joint visit with her after more than two years apart.So, what was all the fuss about you might say – nothing extra-ordinary about Harry visiting with his grandmother and taking his wife along?And that might have been the case but for the way that some UK and Australian news outlets and so called Royal Experts, had been pillaring Meghan and Harry firstly for not attending Prince Phillips memorial service, and secondly the media had been widely reporting that Meghan and Harry were not planning to visit with the Queen whilst they were in Europe, reporting that Meghan and Harry would be 'snubbing' the Queen.Even as Meghan and Harry were meeting with the Queen,  the UK Daily Express newspaper was reporting on-line that Meghan and Harry were definitely not coming to visit. Oops. What is also amusing about the report of the visit by Meghan and Harry with the Queen was the source of the news? Did it come from a royal correspondent or one of those numerous palace sources? No it did not.  News of Meghan and Harry's visit would have gone completely unnoticed bar the fact that some sharp-eyed pensioners who happened to be at Windsor Castle that day to collect their Maundy Thursday gifts from Prince Charles and Camilla,  for their contributions to the community,  had spotted Meghan and Harry walking on the grounds of Windsor Castle while the pensioners were being transported away from the Maundy Thursday service by bus. What is known,  is that the UK media were covering the Maundy Thursday event and so it is even more amusing that Meghan and Harry's visit went unnoticed. What the story also tells us is that far from being the attention seeking couple that the UK media like to portray, Meghan and Harry are able to keep things low key and secret from the press. Afterall, they managed to book an appointment with the Queen, fly to England, travel to Windsor Castle, meet with the Queen, fly out of England and arrive in Holland before anyone had got wind of the trip. But for the eagle eyes of the pensioners none of us would have been the wiser. Catching a glimpse of Meghan and Harry as well as meeting with Prince Charles and Camilla certainly made these seniors day out even more special. A perfect start to their Easter weekend.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

At a time when we are constantly bombarded with hateful and polarized media and social media commentary and when it is becoming increasingly difficulty to sort out the real news from the fake, Meghan and Harry have issued a couple of new charitable grants, re-committing themselves "to convening, bridging, and accelerating leaders, ideas, and solutions for an online community rooted in equity, safety, participation, and belonging."In the statement released on their Archewell website Meghan and Harry admit that technology has changed how we all experience everyday life: connecting us and at times making our lives more productive. Meghan and Harry also point out the down side of increased use of social media and other technologies, including our "lack of trust in the information we read and view, the safety and health of our kids being placed at risk, civil rights and human rights being threatened, and marginalized communities being targeted by a barrage of hate and vitriol."Meghan and Harry write that they feel that many of the underlying societal issues created by technology remain unaddressed. Hence their existing work with various organizations and academics working in the field such as the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2), Color Of Change and URL Media and now the new grants that Meghan and Harry announced this week to Cortico's Local Voices Network  https://cortico.ai/  and the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society https://cyber.harvard.edu/programs/institute-rebooting-social-mediaCortico Community Local Voices Network is an initiative that is working in cooperation with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication. What they do is record small-group conversations in various communities when the participants discuss their lives and experiences.  Think of what they do as a lot of separate interviews and discussions, say with local government or community groups and non-profits, similar to what you might have heard in the past on a local radio or TV show. Cortico collect and store these conversations on a searchable library using artificial intelligence (AI) tools that allow search by topic or key words or even by speaker. The second new grant announced by Meghan and Harry is to the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Meghan and Harry are helping to fund a new three-year initiative, in work that is addressing urgent concerns surrounding social media, including hate speech and harassment,  misinformation and privacy. Meghan and Harry are also supporting what is called the Rebooting Social Media Assembly Fellowship during the 2022-2023 academic year. The fellowship will bring together renowned experts and new innovators from diverse backgrounds to address the challenges and opportunities of social media. Meghan and Harry have said before and they reiterate in this week's statement, that they believe new innovations in technology and media "should strengthen our communities, empower families, restore trust in information, and ensure that all of us can experience a better and safer world online."Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

The countdown is on to the start of the Invictus Games that are taking place this year at The Hague in the Netherlands.  The opening ceremony and a few sporting events take place on Easter Saturday, continuing thereafter up to the closing ceremony on Friday April 22nd, 2022. The Invictus Games, founded by Prince Harry and based on the US Warrior Games,  are designed for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The idea is to use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and to generate a wider public understanding, acceptance and respect for those servicemen and women who are injured while serving their country. Meghan Markle accompanied Harry to the Sydney Games in 2018. We have heard that she will be travelling with Harry to the Hague Games this year. The Games will take place in the existing Zuiderpark or South Park in the Hague, an area established in the city in 1936,  where recreational, sporting events and outdoor concerts are often held. Approximately 700 volunteers will be helping out during the week-long Games. So, what can you expect to see at the event? There will be the more traditional athletics, powerlifting, cycling, and swimming as well as wheelchair rugby, sitting volleyball, and one of my favourites the indoor rowing. This year,  they have added a Land Rover Driving Challenge that sees competitors drive through a series of  obstacles in the right order from start to finish – a bit like a horse-jumping event but using Land Rovers. Ticket prices to watch the competitions are modestly priced,  with free access to other parts of the park and a Fanzone where the public can listen to music or take part in other side activities,  all geared to accommodate people with disabilities.Dutch Royalty are also taking part. Princess Margriet is honorary chairman of the Committee of Recommendation of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020,  and she will be present at the one and a half-hour opening ceremony, which includes the flag parade similar to what takes place at the opening ceremony at the Olympics. King Willem-Alexander will attend the closing ceremony.This will Meghan's first official trip outside of the United States since she and Harry stepped back as senior working royals.  According to media reports she and Harry will be joined by a Netflix documentary crew.  This makes perfect sense as we know from Meghan and Harry's Archewell website that their Archewell Production company is producing a documentary series called "Heart of Invictus," which will showcase stories about the Games, the competitors,  and will follow some of the competitors on their journey leading up to and including taking part at The Hague 2020.It will be great to see Meghan and Harry back in action. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Concurrently with a new report from the US National Women's Law Centre (NWLC) about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and mothers, Meghan and Harry through their Archewell Foundation have started a new campaign,  a call to action,  asking us alongside themselves to take actions to support women in our communities.The NWLC report https://nwlc.org/resource/resilient-but-not-recovered-after-two-years-of-the-covid-19-crisis-women-are-still-struggling/  authored by  Jasmine Tucker and Julie Vogtman is titled Resilient but Not Recovered after two years of the COVID-19 crises women are still struggling,  focuses on the negative impact of the pandemic on working women in America.The report finds that women, who have long taken on the bulk of caregiving responsibilities for children and others in their households—and the additional caregiving  demands produced by school and childcare disruptions and quarantine periods - appear to be holding women back from re-entering the workforce, whereas men have more than recouped their pandemic related labor force losses.The net effect of this is that many women continue to struggle financially, with more women than men living in poverty. The report tells is that even before the pandemic began, women experienced poverty at higher rates than men, were overrepresented in low-paid jobs, and suffered from racist and sexist wage gaps. These trends continued during the pandemic and have contributed to women's economic insecurity in this crisis. Women continue to be overrepresented in jobs with low wages.NWLC are advocating for what they term a Women Centred Recovery plan.The NWLC acknowledge that they have received financial grants from Archewell. The authors of the report state that the findings and conclusions presented in the report do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation. Meghan and Harry did post a link to the report from their Archewell website with a statement saying that “if like us, you are compelled by these finding to help improve the issues that the report brings to light, we encourage you to visit our action page where you will find ideas for meaningful ways to show up for women in your own communities and around the world.”On Meghan and Harry's action page there is a list of 18 ideas for actions that we can take in support of women in our communities. The actions are split into the sub-headings of:  family care; wellness; food; economic empowerment and mentorship. Some examples of things that we might be inspired to do include:Help a woman to return to the workforceSupport policy efforts for gender equality, paid family leave, or to create safe spaces for womenProvide a meal for a Ukrainian woman in crisesContribute to mental health services and resources for black womenOffer a mother an afternoon of childcare.When you look at this list you can see that Meghan has already completed all of the 18 suggested actions. She is not asking us to do anything that she has not already done herself.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

The question that I am posing for you all this week is  "Should Prince Harry have travelled to the UK to attend the memorial service for his late grandfather, Prince Phillip? "Although Harry had let everyone know in advance that he was not going to come, this did not stopped everyone from:(a)           Speculating as to why Harry chose not to attend, or (b)          Taking an opinion  over whether this was the right decision or not.Prince Harry was at Prince Phillip's carefully planned funeral in April of 2021.  Back then,  things were frosty between Harry and his brother Prince William,  and we were led to believe that this was due to statements made by Meghan and Harry during their interview with Oprah that aired about a month before Prince Phillip died. Back then, William was said to be so upset with Harry,  that special arrangements were put in place at the funeral such that William did not walk beside or sit beside Harry.At the time of the funeral,  the UK was in a heavy Covid-19 lockdown which included restricting the number of people able to attend funerals to 30. The Queen dutifully stuck to those rules, with her limiting the number of family and other dignitaries inside the chapel at Windsor Castle.In December of 2021 Buckingham Palace announced that a memorial service for Prince Phillip, a religious service of Thanksgiving,  was being planned for the Spring of 2022 at Westminster Abbey.  No specific date was set for the memorial. It was only in the first week of February this year that Buckingham Palace announced that the service would take place on March 29th, 2022. On March 11th, 2022, a spokesperson for the Sussexes advised that Prince Harry would not be returning to the UK for the Service of Thanksgiving,  adding that Harry hoped to visit the Queen as soon as possible. While no reasons were given as to why Prince Harry decided not to come, this did not stop news media and social media from speculating.  The people that know the true reasons for this decision are Harry, Meghan and the Queen. The UK media are weird though. Having swung from Harry is disrespecting the Queen, and Harry is acting like a spoilt child, onto Harry is not wanted in the UK, and Harry would be a distraction if he came to the memorial service, as well as headlines to the effect that the Royal Family will be relieved if Meghan and Harry don't come -  they are now saying Harry will live to regret the decision not to come and, the British Public are disappointed that Harry did not come!All going to say that Harry,  like all of us,  can never please everyone. So he focuses on pleasing those that mean the most to him.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

In a week when Samantha and Thomas Markle made the news for not so good reasons, Meghan and Harry took the high road, announcing that they had made donations to several organizations that are working on the ground to support the people of Ukraine. Ukrainians continue to suffer the effects of Russia's unwarranted invasion of their country. In a post to their Archewell website,  Meghan and Harry announced donations to a couple organizations that they had not worked with before,  as well as reaffirming their commitment to their existing charitable partnerships with World Central Kitchen (WCK) and with the mine and ordnance clearing charity, Halo Trust, both of whom are heavily involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. One of the new (to Harry and Meghan) organizations receiving funds from them was the group called “Are We Europe” who describe themselves an independent media group that publish stories with local perspectives. Funds will be directed to a few Ukraine Media organizations including the Kyiv Independent. https://kyivindependent.com/Another organization that Meghan and Harry have donated to is HIAS.  https://www.hias.org/  Founded in Manhattan as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in 1881 the organization was set up to assist Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe. Over the years HIAS has continued their work in assisting people to resettle in the US. They describe their client as including some of the world's most vulnerable refugees.Meghan and Harry end their website post with a link to Project Healthy Minds and a package of Mental Health Resources for anyone who maybe be feeling anxious or otherwise negatively impacted by the war in Ukraine and in need of mental health supports. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Patrick Hill of the UK Daily Mirror newspaper reported in what he termed an Exclusive Interview with Meghan Markle's dad Thomas Markle, writing that Thomas was vowing to tell 'his truth' as he launched his YouTube channel, promising that the chats will be "no holds barred." Co-host of the channel and 'close pal'  to Thomas LA based photographer Karl Larsen told the Daily Mirror that he and Thomas were inspired by people such as the royal commentator Lady Colin Campbell and also podcaster Joe Rogan, and others. The pair have called their YouTube channel "Remarkable Friendship with Thomas Markle and Karl Larsen."In the Daily Mirror interview Thomas promised he would give us his views on his eldest daughter Samantha and her court case. Samantha is suing Meghan for defamation - something I spoke about in my previous podcast. In a prologue to the first episode of their show,  Karl said the aim was for this to be an entertainment show, with the thoughts and opinions expressed being those of Karl and Thomas and with us free to come to our own thoughts and opinions. In other words, we may not like what they have to say.I have now watched the first episode and provide an overview of the topics that Karl and Thomas discussed, as well as my own thoughts and opinions.Here is a link to the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr3YZLiGyYE&t=623sPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

For those of us who have long since given up hope that Samantha Markle would find inner peace and leave Meghan and Harry alone, it was not much of a shock to hear that Samantha has decided that she is not yet done messing around in her half sister's life, and what better way to garner some more press attention (and maybe get some more paid  TV work) than to sue Meghan for defamation. This podcasts is all about the ins and outs of Samantha's lawsuit.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

In America the month of March is National Women's History Month which also encompasses International Women's Day (IWD) that in 2022 will be celebrated on March 8th. National Women's History Month has been observed annually in the United States and other countries, including the United Kingdom and Australia, every March since 1987. The month is observed in October in Canada. The National Women's History Alliance is known nationally (in the US) as the only clearinghouse providing information and training in multicultural women's history for educators, community organizations, and parents-for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of the historic contributions of women. The Alliance designates a yearly theme for Women's History Month. The 2022 theme is "Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope."Per their website, the theme, “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during the COVID pandemic and also a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history.Meghan and Harry, as a couple, have  always celebrated International Women's Day and they have now expanded this to include National Women's History Month. As we know,  Meghan has throughout her life championed women and girls issues, first off when living in America, then as a working member of the Royal Family,  and also through the work she did when she was a humanitarian ambassador which took her to countries like Rwanda and India. This past week Meghan and Harry released a statement through their Archewell website, saying  "As we cross into Women's History Month, and ahead of International Women's Day next week, we are announcing a number of non-profit investments in leading organizations working to advance gender equity, build policies that empower women and families, ensure meaningful media representation for women, and provide women with a network of tools and support for gaining employment."Meghan and Harry continued:  "Part of Archewell Foundation's core commitment is to build strong, compassionate, and equitable communities across the world. Although these grants have been announced as we recognize Women's History Month, the work these organizations do is relevant and vital every day of the year."The four non-profits benefitting from the new financial grants are ones that Meghan and Harry have worked with before, namely: 1.   The Center on Poverty and Inequality at the Georgetown University Law Center2.   National Women's Law Center3.   The 19th4.   The UK charity Smart Works Meghan has been Patron of Smart Works UK since 2019. All four organizations Tweeted their thanks to Meghan and Harry saying that they were thrilled to announce their partnership with the Archewell Foundation and were honoured to be one of the organizations chosen.Meghan and Harry wrote that these investments are representative of the approach that they and their Foundation have taken and continue to take towards advancing racial and gender justice.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

As anticipated,  Meghan & Harry received the NAACP President's Award during the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards. Meghan and Harry looked absolutely fabulous. They turned up in person for the event and they gave a short speech,  taking it in turns to say some lines. But like all speeches you must not take what they said at face value. Here is a light-hearted take on what Meghan and Harry said,  and what they might have meant by their words?Apologies upfront that it is me doing this skit – it would sound a lot better if either Eddie Murphy or Kevin Hart were doing it.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Within hours of Russia invading Ukraine and on the same day that Meghan and Harry issued a statement to say that they and their Archewell team Stand with the People of Ukraine,  we heard some good news for Meghan and Harry. The couple are to be awarded the NAACP President's Award during the 53rd annual Image Awards that will be televised on the BET channel on Saturday February 26th 2022.The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans.  https://naacp.org/Per the NAACP website, the organization is leading the fight  for Equity, for Equality and for Justice,  to ensure that Black lives are a priority in all spaces. The NAACP advocate on issues such as police brutality, COVID-19 and voter suppression. Their aim is to work to disrupt inequality, dismantle racism, and accelerate change in key areas including criminal justice, health care, education, climate change, and the economy.In announcing that Meghan and Harry were receiving the President's Award, Derrick Johnson the NAACP president and CEO said:  “We're thrilled to present this award to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who together have heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the U.S. and around the world,”  adding:  “Not only do they continue to lead by example, the Duke and Duchess have also decided to inspire the next generation of activists through the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award.”For their part Harry and Meghan gave a statement saying: “It's a true honor to be recognized by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose efforts to propel racial justice and civil rights are as vital today as they were nearly 115 years ago."It was also revealed that Meghan and Harry have partnered with NAACP to create a new Digital Civil Rights Award that will be awarded through their Archewell Foundation, with the prize being administered by the NAACP.  This new annual award will recognize leaders creating transformational change at the intersection of social justice and technology to advance civil and human rights. Each year, the honoree will be awarded a $100,000 unrestricted stipend to be used to advance new work, expand leadership and expertise or continue to make an impact in the field. The Digital Civil Rights Award's inaugural recipient will be author and scholar Dr. Safiya Noble, who has pioneered the study of how digital technologies intersect with culture, race and gender.Meghan and Harry have been working with the NAACP since they moved to California. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Prince Harry reconnected with his Welsh friend Gareth Thomas to support 2022 National HIV Testing Week in England.  National HIV Testing Week is the campaign to promote regular testing, particularly among the most affected population groups in England, thereby helping to reduce the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV. For listeners living outside of the UK or for those who don't  follow the sport of Rugby Union, Gareth Thomas is a former rugby player and was also the captain of the Welsh Rugby Union team, at one point being the most capped player in the sport.  He came out in 2009 and in 2019 it was publicized that he was diagnosed with HIV/ AIDS. This week is not the first time that Prince Harry has spoken about the importance of HIV testing. In the past few years Harry had made raising awareness about and de-stigmatizing HIV one of his causes. He and Rhianna both took a much-publicized HIV test in 2016 which resulted in a 500% increase in people getting tested. In November 2019, not long after news of Gareth's diagnosis was made public, Harry and a whole bunch of press and TV cameras met with Gareth and with rugby players from the English rugby club the Harlequins,  to launch 2019's HIV testing week.This past December on World AIDS Day 2021, Harry wrote to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the Executive Director of UNAIDS, thanking the scientific community for their tireless work in the treatment of AIDS.To kick of HIV testing week this year, Harry participated in a podcast hosted by Gareth. In 2020 Gareth set up a website called Tackle HIV  https://tacklehiv.org/which provides lots of information in written and video formats aiming to correct misunderstandings, change attitudes and break stigma around HIV with the aim to make a difference for people living with and people affected by the virus. Gareth's Tackle HIV organization is supported by groups such as the Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK National AIDS Trust and by the Elton John AIDS Foundation.The 30-minute podcast was in the format of a very relaxed conversation between Harry and Gareth. They have met each other many times before and you can tell that they are relaxed in each other's company, with Harry at one point teasing Gareth over his Welsh accent.This podcast talks about some of the issues that Harry and Gareth chatted about, including the ground-breaking work by the late Princess Diana in breaking down walls surrounding a diagnosis of AIDS.For listeners from the US and Canada, a quick browse on the internet shows that the availability of free HIV testing varies from  state to state and from province to province, but there is generally some free access to testing services.  Information about these services can be found on the relevant state and provincial health department websites. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

In his first public event of 2022,  Prince Harry took part in the very first InnerWork Day event by on-line coaching company BetterUp,  https://www.betterup.com/   the organization where for the last year Prince Harry has worked as the Chief Impact Officer. To give you an idea of the reach of BetterUp,  people from every continent around the world attended. I listened in for most of the 5-hour conference.In this podcast I talk about my key take-aways from the event,  as well as chat about the last session of the InnerWork Day Conference called "Boldly Committing to InnerWork" with Alexi Robichaux, Prince Harry and Serena Williams talking about the importance of self-care.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Following their trend of publishing 'breaking'  news stories about Meghan and Harry late on Saturday night, the UK Mail on Sunday and their Mail Online counter part printed the following headline:   “Give me back my bodyguards: Prince Harry threatens legal action against the government and demands return of police protection when he is in the UK because it is not safe for the Sussexes to return to visit.”Having got wind that this story was going to break, Prince Harry issued his own statement late on Saturday night,  so as Prince Harry said "to set the facts straight."  Harry felt the timing of this breaking news was suspicious - possibly leaked to try and  detract from other scandals which are making the news in Britain?Here is a link to the Mail Online story https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10407689/Prince-Harry-launches-legal-action-against-Government-claiming-unsafe-family-return.html- NOTE THE MAIL HAS NOW UPDATED THEIR HEADLINE  This podcast covers the ins and outs of the story.  A copy of Prince Harry's full statement can be viewed on my blog and on my Twitter account.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili and reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and / or on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Firstly, a happy 2022 to you all. You will have noticed the new intro music to my podcast, aptly called “New Beginnings” as we pull down the holiday decorations, enter a new year, and hope for good things in the year ahead. We haven't seen much of any of the Royals over recent weeks as they all take their extended holiday breaks. That said, we have had a steady trickle of news coming out about Meghan and Harry.1.   We heard more details on Meghan's financial settlement from her court win against Associated Newspapers, owners of the UK Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers. 2.   During the holiday break we also heard about a new media policy that Meghan and Harry have instigated. No more 'unnamed'  sources will speak for Meghan and Harry. 3.   Rumours floating around in the media that Meghan and Harry may be considering moving from their current Montecito home, possibly to another home in the area. Other stories claim that Meghan and Harry may be looking for a home in the UK, to use as a base there?Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

On Christmas Day at  about 6.00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in North America which is 11.00 p.m. in the UK,  the Boxing Day editions of the UK Sunday Newspapers came out and there was a good surprise. At the foot of the front page of the UK Mail on Sunday was the following statement:  “The Duchess of Sussex wins her legal case for copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers for articles published in the Mail on Sunday and posted on the Mail Online website."On page 3 of the newspaper was a small article in which the newspaper reconfirmed Meghan's win in the court case due to the newspaper breaching her copyright, and adding that financial remedies have been agreed. The newspaper also printed a statement on the MailOnline.The newspaper was ordered by Justice Warby to print the statement of Meghan's win on a single occasion on the front page of the hardcopy of the newspaper and further ordered to print a statement on MailOnline for a period of one week, and providing a link to the full judgment of the court.On Christmas evening in North America and into the night Twitter went bananas. Meghan followers at first commented on the fact that the newspaper chose to print the statement in their Boxing Day edition of the newspaper, when one might expect fewer people than usual would purchase the paper. Also, it was tricky finding the on-line statement, with the newspaper filing it under the Duchess of Sussex as opposed to their usual Meghan Markle and burying it deep in their website, which was contrary to the order made by Justice Warby who had said it must be prominently displayed.One thing we know is that Meghan followers will not be thwarted nor deterred. Everyone was soon tweeting and re-tweeting copies of the newspaper and the on-line statement, choosing to amplify the good news under  #meghanmarklewon - https://mobile.twitter.com/search?q=%23MeghanMarkleWon&src=typeahead_clickOn Boxing Day morning  #meghanmarklewon was trending on social media but still the story had not been picked up by the mainstream media, and you kind of got the sense they were purposely avoiding it. True, the death of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu was getting the headlines and rightly so, but you would have thought Meghan's story would have warranted a small mention at the very least.By Boxing Day morning UK Meghan fans had picked up the tweeting and re-tweeting and gradually we started to gradually see more and more stories in the mainstream media appear,  starting off in Australia and Canada and spreading from there. One story that had been in the headlines over the holiday period was a study that had determined that Meghan Markle had now taken home the title of “the most intelligent British Royal."  A research study by a group called Oxford Royal used RF member's high school academic results and looked at the rankings of the universities they studied at, to create what was termed a definitive ranking of the academic brainboxes of the family. Meghan came out on top.I also like to think that Meghan's fans and followers are pretty smart people and we know when someone or some group is trying to pull a fast one over us. We are a dedicated bunch and if the newspapers and regular news outlets won't print the story, we will make sure the news gets out into the public, not just in the UK and America but around the World. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

I am sure by now you will have all seen or heard about the Christmas Card that Harry and Meghan gave this year,  that has delighted us all in many ways not least of which was the inclusion of the adorable Archie and our first glimpse of the lovely Lili. The card did wonders in cheering us all up and in giving us all something to talk about -  other than COVID.A truly lovely photo, with Harry and the kids all bare footed,  and credit to photographer Alexi Lubomirski who also took Meghan and Harry's official engagement photos and their wedding photos. Harry and Meghan wrote in their card "This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a ‘Mama' and a ‘Papa', and Lili made us a family."In an accompanying digital card from Meghan and Harry's Archewell foundation Meghan and Harry wrote "As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families – from those being relocated from Afghanistan to American families in need of paid parental leave." The 7 organizations who received the donations were Team RubiconWelcome. USHuman Frist CoalitionHumanity CrewPaid Leave for AllPL+USMarshall Plan for MomsI provide the listeners with some information on two of these non-profits:Human First Coalition is a not-for-profit group that is focused on evacuating American citizens and vulnerable people from Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover. The group uses partners on the ground in Afghanistan to provide shelters for evacuees are still waiting for a way out of the country as well as setting up what they describe as ‘protected transportation' within Afghanistan. Humanity Crew describe their Mission as to create a world in which mental health support is a fundamental component in all emergency efforts for victims of humanitarian crises.Over the past 6 years they have accumulated a wealth of experience in fieldwork, trained thousands of  people and operated hundreds of volunteers and mental health professionals in both short-term and long-term mental health psychosocial work.  In 2020 they set about transitioning  to work in first response crisis intervention. The organization set up what they call Mental Health Lifeguards who consists of mental health professionals and qualified trained volunteers providing first response mental health intervention on-site and at the point of crises. They travel, like first responders, around the world to where they are needed. All of the organizations that received a donation from Meghan and Harry were very grateful both for the money and for the support. Many tweets were sent thanking Meghan and Harry. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

This is the second podcast about the UK BBC 2 television documentary Princes and the Press. Podcast #117 of mine covered Part one of this two-part series. As I said in my earlier podcast,  nothing  that came out in part 1 of the TV program was really new.  We had confirmed from UK newspaper reporters themselves, what we already suspected,  that members of the UK Royal Family work in silos, are highly competitive over the amount of positive press coverage that they receive, and that they occasionally leak stories to the press  - both to push their own agenda's and / or to make other members of their family look bad.  We also learned that William glad handles the press recognizing that the Royals and the press somewhat rely on each other,  whilst Harry loathes them, with this linked back to his mother's death and the treatment of his former girlfriends and now his wife Meghan.  The first program touched briefly on the actions of members of the Royal Family and their staff,  briefing the press about other Royal Family members, but without saying which royal household was doing it. The newspaper reporters, the ones providing the narrative in both episodes of the documentary, being extremely protective of their highly placed sources.Despite this vey casual mention on back briefing the press, after the airing of episode one there was an immediate fall-out for the BBC in that Prince William and Kate (Catherine) decided to have Kate's Christmas Carol concert aired by rival UK TV channel ITV as opposed to the BBC . We all wondered why? It seemed such an over-reaction to the content of the first episode. Well, after finally viewing the second part of the documentary, William and Kate and their Kensington Palace staff do not come out smelling of roses. Here's what we learned from part 2 of Princes and the Press:1.   The allegations levelled against Meghan of bullying royal staff were discussed as well as the timing of these revelations,  just before Meghan and Harry's March 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview. 2.   The documentary takes us back in time, to when Meghan had good press in the UK, and then the sudden change. Why this change took place, as far as news reporters were concerned. 3.   We learned that the UK press love Kate. 4.   Meghan's so called 'missteps' are discussed - how  this modern princess that the press and the public so very much wanted, didn't act like other princesses.5.   The creation of the soap opera by the press in comparing Meghan and Kate, and comparing the household of William and Kate v Meghan and Harry. 6.   Meghan and Harry's handling of the birth of Archie and how this annoyed the press. 7.  UK reporters in the documentary admitting  that they have been deliberately targeting Meghan and Harry with negative news stories, and printing positive ones for Kate and William.I end by asking why any of this is important and ponder are the Royals playing a dangerous game in leaking stories  - are they risking their own survival?Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

This week Prince Harry had an interview the result of which being Harry has (a) been accused of speaking about an issue he knows nothing about and / or (b) has once again been misquoted on what he actually did say.Harry's comments came about as a result of a short written questions and answers interview with the American business magazine Fast Company. The interview was mainly about Harry's work as Chief Impact Officer for the coaching company BetterUp, with Harry promoting BetterUp's recently announced commitment to be part of the corporate philanthropy program Pledge 1%,  a program that encourages businesses to divert 1% of their profits to support non-profits organizations. One of the questions posed to Harry in this interview about his work for BetterUp was the following:“Covid has accelerated a lot of trends in the workplace – like increased burnout and job resignations – how have you adapted your strategy to address these?"The specific comment by Harry as part of his response, that has been widely reported or misreported on in the press and on-line, was when Harry said that many people around the world have been stuck in jobs that didn't bring them joy,  and now they're putting their mental health and happiness first. That is something to be celebrated.This big trend of mass resignations, at a time when there are lots of available jobs, has been happening in a fair few countries around the world, even here in Canada. The trend has been named the Great Resignation, or the Big Quit.  The term Great Resignation is being credited to Anthony Klotz, a professor of management at Mays Business School at the Texas A&M University.Per and article in Bloomberg Magazine, as 2021 approached, bringing with it the promise of effective vaccines and a return to semi-normal life, Klotz predicted that two things would happen. First, many of the people who wanted to quit in 2020 but held off due to fear or uncertainty would finally feel secure enough to do so. And second, pandemic-era exhaustion and burnout would drive a whole new cohort of people to quit their jobs. Bloomberg reports that in the US more than twenty-four million quit their jobs between April to September 2021, across all industries. Bloomberg say that many people are deciding to stay out of the workplace for good. Bloomberg say there are similar trends in Germany and Japan. When Prince Harry spoke of mental health and being one likely cause, his comments are supported by the data. Professor Klotz, says the great resignation trend may have a silver lining, in forcing companies not only to raise wages and increase benefits, but also to offer more flexibility to attract and retain an in-person workforce.As you can see Harry was commenting on an existing trend in the workplace and one of the researched reasons behind it – quitting for improved mental heath - and maybe drawing on his own reasons when he stepped back as a working royal. He was not telling everyone to go out and quit their jobs. What Prince Harry did not say and maybe he would have done so had this topic been the main reason for the interview,  is that quitting is not always an option people can afford to take regardless of the impact on their health and well being.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili. Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

In a Court case that continues to grab worldwide attention, the three judge panel of the UK Court of Appeal handed down their judgment today, unanimously dismissing the appeal brought by Associated Newspapers,  the owners of the UK Mail and The Sunday Mail, and upholding the lower court judge's decision that the newspaper did breach Meghan's rights to privacy and breach of copyright.I will recap with you what the Court case is all about, then take you through a summary of the judgment of the UK Court of Appeal, and finally speak about the reaction from Meghan herself and from Associated Newspapers.Link to the SUMMARY of the Court of Appeal Judgment https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Sussex-v-Associated-News-summary-021221.pdfLink to the FULL Judgment from the Court of Appeal https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Sussex-v-Associated-News-judgment-021221.pdfPlease keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

On what is World AIDS Day 2021,  in his role as the Founding Patron of the African non-profit Sentebale,  https://sentebale.org/ Prince Harry wrote to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and to the Executive Director of UNAIDS program, firstly to thank the scientific community for their tireless work in the treatment of AIDS and secondly,  urging for fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.In his letter, Prince Harry wrote that 40 years on his mother would have been deeply grateful for all the good work that has been accomplished in dealing with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. However, Harry also spoke in despair that lessons from AIDS have not been learned,  saying that the same issues regarding inequitable access to AIDS treatments are now being seen when it comes to COVID-19 - with Harry saying the risk of repeating the same mistakes when it comes to sharing COVID treatments is 'destructive and self-defeating.'Prince Harry wrote that in not meeting the UN targets for vaccinating everyone in the World, the predictions made by the scientific community foreseeing the emergence of new variants, are going to happen, with Harry seeing the new Omicron variety of COVID as an example of this.Carrying on work started by his mother Princess Diana, Prince Harry has being promoted AIDS testing and working with AIDS and HIV non-profits for a long time. He notes how the world's leading AIDS activists are also leading the call for COVID-19 vaccine equity, with Harry saying that 'vaccinating the world is a test of our moral character' something which the world is failing at right now.For World Aids Day 2021, Prince Harry also partly narrated a short video put together by the UNAIDS program in which Harry and the executive director of the program speak of the world fighting a killer virus and not for the first time. They draw parallels between COVID and HIV with some sobering statistics.What will be viewed as controversial comments Harry notes how scientific breakthroughs for both viruses have helped some but not all to carry on living, and how what Harry called corporate greed and political failures have prolonged both pandemics. The video, which includes some footage of Princess Diana meeting with HIV/AIDS patients, goes on to contrast the vast profits being made by pharmaceutical companies with the poor, saying that the poor are once again being left behind. Harry reiterated points he has made before in asking for pharmaceutical companies to break their monopolies,  and to share the know how,  to allow poorer countries to produce their own vaccines.To the politicians, the video speaks to this being a critical moment in time when some will find themselves either on the right side or the wrong side of history. It is acknowledged that some leaders are listening,  but not much is being done.World AIDS Day has existed since 1988 as an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease.World AIDS Day is also one of the eleven official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Royal Family followers cannot have failed to miss the controversy about a UK documentary titled 'The Princes and the Press.'  The first of this two-part miniseries aired this week on the publicly funded U.K. BBC 2 T.V. channel. I don't think the show was causing much of a stir in public until a day or two before the first program was due to air. At that time it was reported by the U.K. Daily Mail newspaper  that senior royals such as Prince William, the Queen and Prince Charles,  had united to complain about the program. They had allegedly threatened to boycott future projects with the BBC because they were refused an opportunity to view the series before it was due to air and, the Royals felt that they had not been given a chance to respond to the program's content. So why were the Royals worried?Well,  per the Daily Mail, the documentary was going to talk about allegations of vicious briefing wars between members of the Royal Family, with certain Royal Family members and their staff,  releasing negative stories to the press about other members of the Royal Family. Ahead of the show airing,  Meghan and Harry followers were on Twitter also condemning the show but for a different reason. They were absolutely convinced that the documentary would be another "let's make Harry and Meghan look bad exercise," with many fans saying they would simply refuse to watch the program.Of course, the net result of this was that many more people tuned into watch the first program then might otherwise have done so had this story not broken. We all wanted to see what all the fuss was about.The format of the documentary was a series of interviews with various newsprint and TV journalists from a cross-section of newsprint publications and TV channels.Here are some of the key points that have come out so far:The UK press will not be controlled and they make this clear. They admit they are not controllable. There was confirmation of what Prince Harry has called the ‘unwritten contract' or what Mr. Rajan called “the deal'  between the Royal Family and the UK media.The BBC provided the context behind Prince Harry's attitude towards the media. Part one of the documentary only touched briefly on the issue of the negative briefing by one Royal household against another Royal household. Not one journalist denied that this happened. All of them were keen to protect their sources. It was confirmed how the Royals seem to act in their own little silos. That there is competitiveness between them about how much and how favourable their press coverage. So not a lot of new stuff but intriguing, nevertheless. For my listeners outside of the UK, Part One of the Princes and the Press miniseries, called "The New Generation" is now on YouTube.Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

As some parts of the world are opening up,  and for the first time in two-years we might be thinking about going on a trip or travelling once again, we have news from Prince Harry's Travalyst organization that will help us to make eco-friendly choices on our travels.Per their website, led by Prince Harry and in partnership with Booking.com, Google, Skyscanner, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor, and Visa, Travalyst is a non-profit organisation "working to identify – and help bring about – the systemic changes needed in order for sustainable travel to be taken into the mainstream. " Travalyst are not saying don't travel. What they are saying is travel better and Travalyst  https://travalyst.org/ are planning to give us tools to do this.We recently heard that one Travalyst partner, Google, had put in place an up-dated Google Flights search app. that allows everyone to see a carbon-emissions estimate for nearly every flight in the search results, also displaying the prices and duration of the flight, with flights with significantly lower emissions labeled with a green badge.This week Booking.com have announced its own launch of a Travel Sustainable badge, further helping travellers to make more sustainable travel choices. How it works is that Travalyst has produced an initial list of 32 specific sustainable measures over five keys areas: which are waste, energy, greenhouse gases, water use and supporting local communities and protecting nature. Booking.com will use this list, that will develop over time, to assess and give weight to the sustainable practices used by the accommodation on their sites, and using this Travalyst framework to come up with an overall score for the properties. So probably a bit like when you a book a property or accommodation that is rated as say 3 or 4 star,  there will some score given to Booking.com accommodation reflecting how sustainable they are. Booking.com say that the weight given to the sustainable practices for each property, will take into consideration the property's location and size and the market in which the property operates. They give us examples that water-reducing measures in an area prone to drought or sourcing renewable energy options in a country where that is not widely available,  would be weighted as more impactful.The full list of the 32 measures or what Travalyst call 'attributes' can be found on the Travalyst website. In a press release Booking.com say that the goal of their Sustainable Travel badge is to make credible recognition of sustainable efforts made by properties around the world, and to provide travellers with a transparent, consistent and easy to understand identifier. Booking.com say that they hope this badge system will inspire more accommodation providers as well as other partners in the travel industry to take their next step to operate more sustainably.I have put a link to the full Booking.com article on my twitter account. Happy travelling for those of you planning on doing so. Let's just hope COVID cases stay low everywhere…Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  Reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Meghan's and Harry's supporters are hard core. If you don't believe me, take a look at some of their on-line social media accounts, Twitter in particular, where followers congregate to talk all things Meghan and Harry. Pussy cats they are not. More like lions and lionesses, protecting Meghan and Harry like they would their cubs.So, it comes as no surprise that supporters of Meghan and Harry get right behind the causes that are important to Meghan and Harry,  with followers putting their hands into their pockets to donate to various good causes. Here is an example of this in action. On Veterans' Day in the US Meghan and Harry visited at US Military Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, in New Jersey where Meghan and Harry invited some active servicemen and servicemen to lunch, and where Meghan and Harry also met with Afghan women and children.Fort Dix in New Jersey is currently home to some of the 10,000 Afghan refugees who are being supported by the American Department of Defense, and by volunteers from the veteran's organization Team Rubicon  https://teamrubiconusa.org/ until such time as the families can be found permanent homes.During their visit, Meghan and Harry stopped by a classroom full of young children learning English, whereupon Meghan and Harry interacted with the kids including joining in an impromptu rendition of the children's song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" which is apparently one of Archie's favourites.Two-days after their visit,  a tweet appeared on the Royal Suitor / R.S. Locke  https://mobile.twitter.com/royal_suitor account advising that there was a need for winter coats, footwear, clothing, craft supplies, and other items for the Afghan guests. Within minutes of the tweet, Meghan and Harry supporters were re-tweeting screen shots of photos showing receipts for the purchases that they had made in Meghan and Harry's honour. Once the purchases arrive at the various  military bases, Team Rubicon volunteers, the so-called 'greyshirts' will help to unpack and sort the purchases and help get them to the families that need them.Team Rubicon serves communities by mobilizing veterans to continue their service, using the skills and the experience that they acquired in the military, to help people prepare, respond, and recover from disasters and humanitarian crises.As well as helping to sort and distribute donations made for the Afghan families, Team Rubicon volunteers are building temporary housing units and are assembling furniture, serving as translators which helps families to move through the resettlement process with dignity and more quickly, and providing logistical and administrative support.I reached out to Ms. Locke who has been unofficially coordinating / monitoring the donations made by Meghan and Harry's supporters to Fort-Dix to see if she had any idea as to the total value of purchases made in Meghan and Harry's name. As at the time of recording she was not able to tell me how much had been donated but in my estimate, looking at the Tweets, purchases ran to thousands and thousands of $$. Meghan and Harry supporters should be proud of themselves for stepping up, and going on this mega shopping spree to help others. And thanks to Meghan and Harry for throwing some light on this need. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Covered in this podcast are the following 3 topics:  Prince Harry's participation in the WIRED – RE: WIRED conference,  when he was part of a panel discussion about the dangers of misinformation and hate speech in the media, whether printed or on-line. What are superspreaders?Harry's and Meghan's appearance at the Salute to Freedom Gala in New York City, when Harry had the honour of being asked to present the inaugural Intrepid Valor Awards, and the  heartfelt speech Harry gave in support of all veterans, servicemen and servicewomen, and recognising in particular those dealing with mental and physical injuries as a result of their service. And,  the continuation of the UK Court of Appeal case in which Associated Newspapers are appealing Meghan's win against them, with new evidence revealed which does not help Meghan's credibility, but which may not be relevant. Meghan's lawyers started to make their arguments in the appeal. Please keep listening for future podcasts on all things Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili.  You can reach out to me through my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/ and on twitter https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo

Meghan looked good and she said,  when asked,  that she was feeling very good as she participated in person at the New York Time's DealBook Summit alongside Mellody Hobson. They were being questioned by the journalist and founder and editor of DealBook,  Andrew Ross Sorkin.  The topic up for discussion was How can women reach economic and professional parity? Mellody Hobson is President and co-CEO of Ariel Investments which manages millions of dollars of investments. In 2017, she became the first African American woman to head The Economic Club of Chicago and this year she hit another milestone for women and for black women in particular, in becoming the chairwoman of Starbucks. During the 30 minutes discussion, Andrew Ross Sorkin sped over various topics with the ladies both on the issue of gender equity and then,  taking advantage of having Meghan present,  he asked her about various personal issues being talked about by the media right now, including:Meghan's involvement in the Paid Leave campaign in the U.S. and whether she was anxious about seen as being involved in a political issue;Meghan's views on social media and media in general; andThe progress of Meghan's U.K. court case versus Associated Newspapers. This segway's nicely into my next piece of news from this week.The UK Court of Appeal case in which Associated Newspapers, owners of the UK newspapers the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, and Metro amongst others, appealed the judgment in which they were found to have breached Meghan's right to privacy and breach of copyright,  when they published extracts from her post wedding letter to her father Thomas back in 2019. Newspaper lawyers on behalf of Thomas, who is not a party to the case (and as we all know is not shy from giving multiple interviews to the press during which he invariably throws insults at Meghan and Harry) claim that Thomas only handed his copy of Meghan's letter to the U.K. Mail newspaper in response to how he felt he was wrongly portrayed in a 2019 People Magazine article. The newspaper takes the position that Mr. Markel is the poor victim in the story , was misrepresented in the People Magazine article,  and assert that Thomas was justified in defending his "reputation."The UK appeal is being lived streamed, with the newspaper starting to put in their arguments. What they have to show is that the trial judge, Justice Warby, was wrong to have decided the case using the court's summary judgment mechanism as opposed to sending the case for a full trial,  when witnesses including possibly Meghan and Thomas would be called to testify.  The newspaper has to show that there is a 'triable issue' requiring the Court to hold a full-trial to be able to determine the outcome of the case.As of today, there are at least two more days of arguments left,  which will include time for Meghan's lawyer to present their reply submissions. I have put the link to the videos of the live stream via YouTube on my blog at https://www.kindthoughtsformeghanmarkle.com/  and on my twitter account @jeanettesongolo https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo. You can also find the links at the UK High Court / Court of Appeal website. An interesting side story is that the original trial judge in the case, Justice Warby, has since been elevated to sit at the UK Court of Appeal.  

Meghan and Harry, who in the past have been criticized in the media for using too many aeroplane flights, continue to advocate – using the more environmentally friendly means of letter writing, emails and phone calls –  to push for Paid Leave to be included in the U.S. social spending Bill,  as well as continuing to press wealthy G20 countries to share COVID-19 vaccines with low-to-mid income countries.As other members of the UK Royal Family attended at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, Meghan and Harry's Archewell organization took action and announced that they pledged to a sustainable future, aiming to become net zero by 2030. In their announcement that is published on their Archewell website, Meghan and Harry speak of their long-standing commitment to the planet, both together and prior to their marriage, with global projects and partnerships dating back over a decade. Meghan and Harry say that they will work with an independent consultant to track all Archewell-related activities to understand what their current carbon footprint is, then using 2022 as a baseline year, they will develop a plan for Archewell that aligns with the latest guidance from leading organizations, like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science-Based Targets Initiative, saying they will be offsetting remaining emissions until they achieve net zero in 2030 and beyond. As well as this work, we hear that Meghan will soon join a panel discussion as part of the two-day New York Times DealBook Summit. Meghan's event is titled "Minding the Gap" when she joins Mellody Hobson, the Co-C.E.O. and President of Ariel Investments, to ponder the question - How can women reach economic and professional parity? It has also been announced that Prince Harry is participating in a conference being put on by the  https://re.wired.com/c/re-wired  (WIRED) organization, which will discuss all things technology and how it affects the way that we live, work, and connect. The November conference is being described as a series of conversations between technologists and people who think hard about the consequences of technologies on society, economics, sustainability, and our future.Prince Harry will be part of a panel discussion called The Internet Lie Machine – looking into what is called the real cost of a lie on the internet—to ourselves, our communities, our societies.More details of both of these events and links to them as well as other stories that don't make it into this podcast can be found on my twitter account @Jeanette Songolo  https://twitter.com/JeanetteSongolo