John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Images(LONDON) — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined Queen Elizabeth tonight to celebrate young commonwealth leaders for their achievements at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry, who was recently named by his grandmother as the new Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, attended a reception tonight with the monarch who presented 61 awards to members of the commonwealth who have distinguished themselves for their service.
Queen Elizabeth personally handed out the medals to each of the 61 recipients of the Queens Young Leaders awards.
Prince Harry praised the award winners at the ceremony telling them he was excited to see how they were going to change the world. Meghan, who was dressed in a blush pink Prada suit dress, quietly whispered to Harry during the ceremony and both looked on genuinely touched by the winners’ excitement at being honored for their achievements.
“What you have achieved individually is formidable, but collectively, the possibilities are limitless,” Prince Harry said.
“Earlier this year, I was honored to have been named the Queen’s Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, and I am committed to supporting the legacy of the Queen’s Young Leaders and the 1.4 billion commonwealth youth,” he added.
The sixth in line who, with Meghan, will focus a large part of their charitable work on appealing to the next generation of young people in the 53-nation commonwealth had just returned overnight from a private working trip to Lesotho on behalf of his charity Sentebale.
Prince Harry appeared particularly touched when his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth presented the award to a young woman from Lesotho. Harry set up his charity Sentebale, in memory of his mother the late Princess of Wales, in order to help the vulnerable children of the country, many of whom are suffering from AIDS and HIV.
The sixth in line told the young leaders he looks forward to seeing what they can achieve together next.
“I guess you can say you’re stuck with me. I, together with my wife Meghan, look forward to convening young people from around the commonwealth to hear your ideas, work with you to build platforms for you to collaborate and form partnerships, and continue to meet with many of you as we travel around in our work on behalf of the royal family,” he said. “We look forward to meeting many of you this evening — but we also hope to see you in action in your home countries someday, too.”
The couple, who already have a busy schedule of engagements for the next six months will be traveling to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga in late October — and visiting Ireland in two weeks.
Kensington Palace is also expected to shortly announce Meghan’s first charitable patronage since becoming the fourth member of the Royal Foundation, founded by Prince William, Princess Kate, and Prince Harry. While the palace hasn’t given any indication of where Meghan will focus her charitable work, given her previous interest in women’s empowerment, she may select a charity that benefits from her experience in this arena.
The new Duchess of Sussex has already been meeting with charities privately and has jumped in attending her first solo engagement with Queen Elizabeth in Cheshire Just one month on, since her fairytale wedding to Prince Harry.
The Queen’s Young Leader Award, launched in 2014, recognizes and celebrates exceptional people between the ages of 18 and 29, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives.
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