Prince Harry and Meghan Markle donate $130,000 to girls’ education charity and say there’s ‘no better way to celebrate what really matters’ – after fans launched a fundraiser in honour of both their birthdays
- Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a $130,000 donation to education charity
- Couple matched donations made by fans in honour of their recent birthdays
- Harry and Meghan said there is ‘no better way to celebrate what really matters’
- Prince Harry celebrated his 36th birthday yesterday privately in Santa Barbara
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a $130,000 donation to a girls’ education charity to mark their recent birthdays, it has been revealed.
Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, pledged the money to CAMFED, which supports girls’ education across Africa, yesterday and said there is ‘no better way to celebrate what really matters’.
The couple made the donation after fans, who call themselves the Sussex Squad, launched a fundraising drive in honour of Harry and Meghan’s birthdays on September 15 and August 4, respectively.
The drive made $129,000 and Harry and Meghan responded by matching the donations with their own $130,000 contribution.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a $130,000 donation to a girls’ education charity to mark their recent birthdays, it has been revealed. Pictured, the couple in Cape Town last year
In a message tweeted by the charity (pictured) the couple said: ‘No better way to celebrate what really matters. Thank you to everyone who donated, Harry and Meghan’
In a statement tweeted by the charity, the Sussexes said: ‘No better way to celebrate what really matters. Thank you to everyone who donated, Harry and Meghan’.
The couple, who recently signed a $150million deal with Netflix, supported two charities to mark their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’s birthday in May.
Meghan and Archie appeared in a video to promote a Save The Children literacy programme and the Duchess later revealed she had sponsored a kennel at London-based animal charity Mayhew, of which she is patron, in her son’s name.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated Harry’s birthday privately yesterday at their £14million Santa Barbara home.
The royal family marked the occasion by sharing well-wishes on Instagram and Twitter, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles and the Queen all posting in honour of Harry’s birthday.
However royal fans were outraged that Meghan did not appear in any of the four photographs posted to mark the occasion.
The couple, who have signed a $150million deal with Netflix, supported two charities to mark their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’s birthday in May. Pictured, in South Africa in 2019
In response to William and Kate’s photo, which shows the Cambridges and Prince Harry in a 2017 running race, one fan noted: ‘There must have been hundreds of photos you could have picked, but you chose to post one of Harry, William and Kate. I’m sure not including Meghan wasn’t unintentional.’
It comes after the strain in relations between Prince William, 38, and Harry, who were once inseparable, were laid bare in the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ biography Finding Freedom.
Co-author Omid Scobie later claimed the brothers went two months without speaking following the Sussexes’ bombshell Megxit announcement.
Prince William and Kate Middleton appeared eager to lay to rest any reports of a family rift and shared an Instagram post dedicated to Harry early yesterday morning.
The couple chose a light-hearted snap of Harry beating them both in a running race at London’s Olympic Stadium, accompanied by the caption: ‘Wishing a very happy birthday to Prince Harry today!’
The Queen, 94, shared her own well-wishes to her grandson via social media, posting a simple message alongside a photo of him beaming at her at a Buckingham Palace reception in 2017. Proud father Prince Charles, 71, opted for a snap of him laughing with his son at the Invictus Games in 2014 and a second portrait of Harry.