Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have come together for a rare joint video call to discuss justice and equal rights.
On July 1, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took part in the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust video call as one of the organisation’s weekly sessions in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The couple, who wore coordinating white shirts for the call, have both been incredibly vocal about their views in light of the death of George Floyd in May, racial injustice and police brutality.
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After discussing the ways he hopes to tackle institutional racism last week, the 35-year-old prince has highlighted the importance of acknowledging the Commonwealth’s wrongdoings in order to build a better future.
Meghan, who is the vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, noted that society now needs to push through an ‘uncomfortable’ phase in order to reach equality.
‘When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past,’ the duke began.
'So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs, but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.
'It's not going to be easy and in some cases it's not going to be comfortable, but it needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits.'
The mother-of-one added that we all need to push through discomfort in order to ‘find the place where a high tide raises all ships.
'Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing - which is a fundamental human right,’ she added.
Addressing the issue of unconscious bias, Harry noted: ‘We can't deny or ignore the fact that all of us have been educated to see the world differently.
'However, once you start to realise that there is that bias there, then you need to acknowledge it, you need to do the work to become more aware ... so that you can help stand up for something that is so wrong and should not be acceptable in our society today.'
The British royal concluded by stating that change is necessary and is coming.
‘The optimism and the hope that we get is from listening and speaking to people like you, because there is no turning back now, everything is coming to a head.
'Solutions exist and change is happening far quicker than it ever has done before.'
The royal couple were joined in their discussion by Chrisann Jarrett, co-founder of We Belong, Alicia Wallace, director of Equality Bahamas, Mike Omoniyi, founder of The Common Sense Network and Abdullahi Alim, leader of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers.
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