Photos & Roundup: September 23 – Royal Visit South Africa – Day 1
Filed in Charities Gallery Updates Queen's Commonwealth Trust Royal Baby Royal Tour Royal Tour: South Africa

Photos & Roundup: September 23 – Royal Visit South Africa – Day 1

NYANGA TOWNSHIP: The first stop on the tour was to the township of Nyanga, whose name means ‘moon’ in the local dialect of Xhosa, it is one of the oldest black townships in Cape Town and was established in 1946 as a result of the migrant labor system. At present time unemployment is above 50 per cent and HIV/Aids is a community issue. The community also has the highest murder rate in the country and tops the lists for car jackings and house robberies. Last year there were a reported 308 murders.

In this town The Duke and Duchess visited the Justice Desk initiative, which teaches children about their rights, self-awareness and safety, and provides self-defense classes and female empowerment training to young girls in the community. The Justice Desk is supported by The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, of which Harry serves as President and Meghan as Vice-President. While there the Duke and Duchess met Jessica Dewhurst, Justice Desk Founder and Queen’s Young Leader, Theodora Luthuli, Justice Desk Community Leader, and Sylvia Hobe, Theodora’s mother and the center’s founder. Harry and Meghan observed the Mbokodo project which provides self-defense classes and female empowerment workshops to young girls who are overcoming major traumas. This project’s powerful motto is “wathint’ abafazi wathint’ imbokodo” which means “you strike a woman; you strike a rock” before getting the chance to talk with the girls.

Following the tour of the center, Harry and Meghan both made fantastic speeches which you can view here. Meghan said in part: “While I am here with my husband as a member of the Royal Family, I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of color, and as your sister. I am here with you and I am here for you.” The couple were then presented with a South African Xhosa name for their son Archie, “Ntsika” which means pillar of strength which was given to him by the township’s godmothers, referred to as Gogo’s. In a fun spontaneous moment at the end of the engagement Meghan joined in with the women who were dancing upon their departure. I’m sure this moment will be a favorite of many today.

DISTRICT SIX MUSEUM: In their second engagement of the day The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the District Six Museum. District Six Museum is located in an old Methodist church in the former inner-city residential area. The District Six Foundation was founded in 1989 and the museum in 1994, as a memorial to the forced movement of 60,000 inhabitants of various races in District Six during Apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. The Duke and Duchess toured the museum viewing the old traffic signs, exhibits of historical moments and lives of families from the area, historical declarations, exhibits about the demolition, and hand written notes of former inhabitants, which indicate where their houses were located.

After a short walkabout, Harry and Meghan went to the nearby Homecoming Centre where they joined former residents of District Six in a community cooking workshop. The Duke and Duchess were treated to food cooked by local women that showed a variety of recipes. This engagement goes hand in hand with Meghan’s work with the Hubb Kitchen back in London, which showcases the importance of how cooking can bring a community together. It was reported that Meghan did indeed gift the local women a copy of her ‘Together’ cookbook.

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Appearances & Engagement Photos > Engagements in 2019 > South Africa Tour > September 23 | South Africa Tour – Day 1 – Set 1
Appearances & Engagement Photos > Engagements in 2019 > South Africa Tour > September 23 | South Africa Tour – Day 1 – Set 2

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Duchess of Sussex Appointed Vice-President of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust
Filed in Charities News Queen's Commonwealth Trust

Duchess of Sussex Appointed Vice-President of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust is delighted to announce that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex will today become Vice-President of the Trust. The Trust, of which Her Majesty The Queen is Patron and The Duke of Sussex is President, exists to champion, fund and connect young leaders around the world who are driving positive social change, serving their communities and providing hope, work and self-employment opportunities for others.

In this new role, The Duchess will highlight the Trust’s partnerships with young people across the Commonwealth, and in particular its work supporting women and girls. In celebration of International Women’s Day and to mark this appointment, Her Royal Highness will this afternoon join a special panel discussion of female thought-leaders and activists convened by The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, to discuss a range of issues affecting women today.

Lord Geidt, Chairman, said:

“The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust is thrilled to welcome The Duchess of Sussex as its Vice-President. The support and encouragement which Her Royal Highness will bring to the young leaders with whom we work promises to have a profound effect. We are enormously grateful to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex for this signal of commitment they are making to our work, helping The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust to pursue its ambitions right across the Commonwealth and beyond.”

Nicola Brentnall, Chief Executive, said:

“We are particularly delighted that the first opportunity of formally working together with Her Royal Highness comes on International Women’s Day. This squares perfectly with our focus on amplifying the work and contribution of those furthest away from power. Women across the Commonwealth and the globe often face the biggest impediments to success. So we are delighted to have our Vice-President’s support in helping others to overcome those obstacles.’

Those joining The Duchess for the unique panel today include Annie Lennox OBE, founder of The Circle, an organisation supporting and empowering women’s lives around the world; Adwoa Aboah, founder of Gurls Talk, an open community where young girls can talk about the issues that matter to them; Julia Gillard, Former Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London; Chrisann Jarrett, Founder of Let Us Learn; and Angeline Murimirwa, Executive Director of the Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) in Africa and co-founder of CAMA, a pan-African network of young female leaders. The panel will be chaired by Anne McElvoy, Senior Editor of The Economist.

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust will be live posting on its social channels on Friday 8th March 2019 and a full video of the discussion will be shared by 5:00pm GMT on the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust website.

Source: Official Site of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust

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December 05 – Visiting The Association of Commonwealth Universities
Filed in Gallery Updates Queen's Commonwealth Trust

December 05 – Visiting The Association of Commonwealth Universities

Today, (December 05, 2018) The Duchess of Sussex had an unannounced engagement where she visited The Association of Commonwealth Universities. The ACU posted:

University leaders, academics, and international scholarship students came together at an ACU event on Wednesday 5 December to explore how higher education can help build a better world.

Hosted by King’s College London, the event was an opportunity to discuss the role of universities in addressing human trafficking and modern slavery, gender equality and inclusion, peace and reconciliation, and climate change and resilience.

HRH The Duchess of Sussex attended the event and took part in discussions, following her first official speech to students at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji in October 2018.

This fits perfectly with the reports that Meghan’s public work and patronages will be aimed toward helping women in developing countries by using higher education.

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Appearances & Engagements Photos > Engagements in 2018 > December 05 | Visiting The Association of Commonwealth Universities

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Filed in Gallery Updates Queen's Commonwealth Trust

Photos: June 26 – Young Leaders Awards Ceremony At Buckingham Palace

This evening, (June 26, 2018) The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined The Queen at Buckingham Palace for the Queens Young Leaders Awards Ceremony. The awards ceremony celebrates young people aged 18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives. During the event Prince Harry who was made the The Queen’s Commonwealth Youth Ambassador in April gave a speech, saying in part:

… 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. 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…

You can read his full remarks here.

After the awards ceremony Harry and Meghan met with a group of the Queen’s Young Leaders and supporters during a reception including those from Australia, New Zealand and Tonga which they will be visiting on their fall tour.

I have added 15 high quality photos to the gallery with more to come soon. Enjoy!

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Appearances & Engagements Photos > Engagements In 2018 > Young Leaders Awards Ceremony At Buckingham Palace

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