Yay, this is exciting news! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be in New York next week for World Mental Health Day. Some Sussex fans were worried that there would be a Sussex drought post-Invictus Games, but there was some indication that they were ready to be more visible this fall, and it’s really happening. They’re doing their Archewell Foundation’s first in-person event in NYC and they’re scheduled to appear alongside the United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are making their return to New York City to mark World Mental Health Day, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be in N.Y.C. on Tuesday, Oct. 10 for their Archewell Foundation’s first-ever in-person event, which will provide a platform for parents navigating mental health challenges in the digital age.
The Archewell Foundation will host ‘The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age’ to give voice to families who are passionate about building a safer online world for children and teens, PEOPLE exclusively reveals. The conversation will explore how we as a community, both globally and locally, are creating positive change and supporting one another in developing solutions to empower families and uplift our collective mental well-being.
The summit will feature parents who have experienced tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use. Meghan and Harry have been working with the parents involved in next week’s event behind the scenes, PEOPLE has learned.
“The families have been engaged with The Archewell Foundation for the past year, bolstering community and driving towards solutions,” a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex tells PEOPLE. “Together, they are united in their mission to share personal experiences, data, and research to ensure the same does not happen to other families.”
Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, will participate in the summit alongside Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to discuss the importance of this work and explore potential solutions, in a conversation moderated by Carson Daly, Board Member of Project Healthy Minds.
The event will take place on Tuesday, October 10 as part of Project Healthy Minds’ second annual World Mental Health Day Festival, the first and largest of its kind in the country. Project Healthy Minds is a Millennial and Gen Z-driven non-profit focused on tackling the growing mental health crisis, and a longtime partner of Meghan and Harry’s Archewell Foundation.
This will be Meghan and Harry’s first trip to New York since the paparazzi chase incident in May, an incident for which there are still a lot of questions. The British media has tried to lie about the chase and smear the Sussexes and call them melodramatic, but some sh-t really went down and we know Harry issued some legal threats about some of the photos, photos which were only briefly published before they were taken down. We also know (from their own security personnel, who briefed CNN and other outlets) that the Sussexes were staying at a private residence, and that was one of the big goals for the “paparazzi,” to locate the Sussexes’ NYC residence. I’m just bringing this up because I hope there are different plans afoot for this visit, and I hope Harry and Meghan will be able to move around the city safely.
(One of the funniest parts about this announcement is that Peg & Buttons are going to suddenly have some big public events scheduled on Tuesday. That wig will be flying high! They’ll both make asses out of themselves to try to steal the Sussex thunder.)
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665423, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665458, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at a benefit concert for Santa Barbara first responders on Kevin Costner’s estate in Montecito, USA, on 22 September 2023.,Image: 807665918, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: JERRY PEREZ / Avalon
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- New York, NY – Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and her mother Doria Ragland depart The Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 16 MAY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Fernando Ramales / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and her mother Doria Ragland depart The Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards at Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 16 MAY 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Fernando Ramales / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Dusseldorf, GERMANY – Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex during day 4 of Invictus Games 2023 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 13 SEPTEMBER 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Dusseldorf, GERMANY – Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex visit Sitting Volleyball on day 6 of Invictus Games 2023 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf. Pictured: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 15 SEPTEMBER 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Prince Harry speaking during the Invictus Games opening ceremony at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. Featuring: Prince Harry Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 09 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke of Sussex (centre) kisses Davey Martinez of Team US on the head as he presents medals during the wheelchair rugby finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games. Featuring: Prince Harry, Davey Martinez Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to watch the swimming finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany. Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 13 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Closing ceremony of the Invictus Games. Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 16 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Closing ceremony of the Invictus Games. Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 16 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I hope they’re staying somewhere where they can get around by helicopter – after last time, staying off the street would be a priority for me.
I’m sure they’ll have a solid plan in place because you know the paparazzi will be in full force. But a helicopter would be a terrible decision. It’s bad enough that W&K fly helicopters everywhere. It would he extremely hypocritical for H&M to do the same, and I seriously doubt they’d even consider it. It’s not their style.
Nah, it may be extremely hypocritical if I started flying helicopters everywhere because I have critizised W&K for doing so but neither Harry nor Meghan have done that. In any case, if their security team considers using a helicopter is the best way to move in NYC that’s what they should do and ignore people who think they know more than they do.
@ACE “…ignore people who think they know more than they do.” 🙄
Helicopters have an horrendous environmental impact and just because they don’t talk about William’s use of one doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be hypocritical for them to then use one to fly around one US city. They’ve talked about conservation extensively, which is related to environmental work. Wasting resources on a helicopter when there are other options would be lazy and environmentally destructive.
And again. It’s not their style. They often fly commercial. They’re completely unlikely to use a helicopter.
First of all, let me just say, we’re all hypocrites in some way or another, so what I’m about to say isn’t a slam on the Sussex’s.
But they make travel decisions that help them stay safe, including private planes, when they need to. So they’re already hypocritical in that way.
IMO a helicopter to help them navigate the totally congested streets of NYC is acceptable, for their own safety and the safety of everyone else (those paparazzi could hurt a pedestrian easily). It makes sense in this case. If they don’t make a habit of it generally speaking, it’s an acceptable level of hypocrisy to me.
Has anyone done an environmental cost comparison between:
(a) use of a helicopter in fairly unimpeded airspace over NYC vs
(b) using a car on congested NYC streets while being harassed by paparazzi that results in 3X to 4X longer trip?
The last trip to NYC was just plain weird with all the extra paparazzi being extra bad. Loved the fact that DailyFail spent $$$$ on pix they were shamed into pulling offline.
Am hoping that Sussexes have good solutions and suggestions re: SM.
at least the sussexes pay for own stuff!! unlike the freeloaders!!
I’m looking forward to seeing the Sussexes. This initiative is so important and even though we’re better at talking about mental health, we have to dig deeper and make mental help available to ALL.
Wiglet and Peg can get bent and keep watching from the sidelines.
Good to see the Sussexes back here in NY and l hope their safety is ensured this time around. William must be seething because he knows they’ll get the type of reception that he couldn’t achieve on his sad little global statesman trip.
I will laugh so hard if I see Mayor Adams with them at any point.
Well, they’ve already got the surgeon general. That’s a bigger “get” than the mayor, imo.
Me too! The SG is awesome but I want the Mayor too just to imagine William’s reaction. 😆 No one’s canceling on Harry.
Same! This mayor actually sucks and we all hate him (although that’s pretty much true of every mayor of NYC), so meeting him isn’t anything to get excited about, but William doesn’t know that 🤣
Ugh, as much as we New Yorkers really hate Adams, and it’s so true that we hate just about all our mayors, I’d really love him to put in an appearance with the Sussexes especially since he canceled his meeting with William. And I doubt very much he’d cancel on Harry and Meghan. Anything to grind Willie’s gears (and teeth)!
Social media use and children/ teens: This is such a huge problem right now. There are long waiting lists for care for (juvenile) mental health issues and the amount of people who need them is increasing. And the mental health system is suffering with a high rate of burn-out as well. Very good use of Archewell! I’m so glad Harry and Meghan are highlighting this!
I agree. And they spoke with parents and families for over a year. This is not a “snap your fingers and it magically happens” event. I look forward to their discussions and findings, even as I brace myself for all the sadness and loss. With two young kids, I’m just dreading the day when they discover social media and feel bogged down/overwhelmed by it. I personally don’t have it and it’s by far, the most “true to me” decision I’ve ever made. And I made it very early on (one year younger than Mark Z and was in college in Boston when Facebook came out). Never felt FOMO, never wondered how different it could’ve been—just a lot of in-person meet ups and texting. Would rather gossip about celebrities than real people in my life anyway.
“The Archewell Foundation will host ‘The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age’ to give voice to families who are passionate about building a safer online world for children and teens”
This is event sounds great, very timely and desperately needed. I’m not a parent myself but I think they need all the help they can get in protecting their children from harmful content online. It’s so much and it’s EVERYWHERE. Especially on YouTube.
It’s not just that. It’s also stuff like Instagram/ Snapchat/ WhatsApp/ TikTok. My child came out of the closet and we’ve switched schools, but stopping the abuse and the mental consequences of said online abuse are overwhelming.
My goodness I’m so sorry to hear that 😞 I hope you and your child are able to reach a place of peace and healing.
I’m so sorry to hear that @ML.
One of the big issues with social media and technology in general is that the abuse goes on outside of school. I was bullied in 4th/5th grades and when I went home, it stopped. But now? It doesn’t stop. Victims are being harassed/attacked via text message, email, snapchat, whatsapp, etc. It’s unrelenting and so so disturbing.
🥹💜Thank you both. I’m so sorry to hear what you went through as a child, Becks1.
Meghan and Harry have championed mental health for a long time and they, especially Meghan, have endured horrific online abuse. I’m so glad that they’ve chosen to have the Archewell Foundation come to NY to increase awareness!!
I’m so sorry, ML. Those bullies need to face real consequences. But I came to say you made the right decision, 100%. Removing your child from a toxic environment and letting them start over somewhere else is the best thing you could’ve done for them. That’s why college is so freeing for many people—it’s supremely important to let your child know you can give them that freedom of reinvention/reset anytime they feel hopeless or trapped.
It’s also a huge testament to your parenting that you know what is going on. My biggest fear is, if it happens, my children will bottle it up as to not worry me until something tragic occurs. This is why I always tell them to not be afraid to tell me anything, and that I will love them no matter what; they are 2.5 and 4.5 now…hope they always remember that.
My kids are 7 and 9 and are not yet online, much less social media, but most of their friends are in one way or another. I worry about harmful content, age-inappropriate content and harm from social media interactions. We got the internet at my house when I was in middle school, and we had the family computer in the middle of the house, and still–it was the Wild West. There were no cell phones (Not till I was 16 and I was the first of my friends), but there was plenty to be found online. So with the internet being a very different place now, much less smart phones and social media, I am concerned.
If I was in NYC I would very much like to attend this event. Good for M&H for putting together such a timely and hopefully helpful event.
At least people in NYC will recognize these two. I hope the plans are better this time and no British tabloids car chases will occur. What will Peg and Can’t do hmmm? Will they have a mental health parade where they hire people to follow them on a float through the streets of London? Or will they find a place to have a public ping pong game in a very public park maybe have a foot race with the peasants? Got my popcorn ready.
The difference between William/Kate and Harry/Meghan’s events is that for the former it seems to be a once off hosting event but for the latter the parents summit is the culmination of a yearlong behind the scene efforts. We will see how the media would compare and contrast the events.
Agreed! This announcement is exciting for Celebitchies too because we’ve all been saying they’ve been working hard on something this past year, but we’d only know when it was ready.
I definitely want to know the results of this task force. Fingers crossed that they’ll publish findings on their website (or in some form that’s easier to refer to than a video of a speech or something).
Shawna – Re your desire for website or other format, Project Healthy Minds website has links to a lot of resources, although certain aspects are USA only: https://www.projecthealthyminds.com/guide
This is SUCH an important mission, and I am so glad that more people are paying attention to it. Harry and Meghan’s attendance will help so much to bring further awareness to this issue.
I have a close friend whose niece took her life because of online bullying five years ago. The family started a foundation (https://www.cffrv.org/profile/kaylas-hope-foundation/) – as is mentioned, she also suffered depression. But someone online told her she was worthless and she should kill herself, and, she did.
This problem won’t go away, but the more we can learn about it and try to make others aware of the long lasting effects of online interactions – both positive and negative – the better. But while a positive interaction may boost someone for days or hours, the negative ones can last years without proper recognition. I’m sick of the “well, kids can be mean to each other.” Yes, they can. But let’s work to decrease the amount of negative experiences, and make it less detrimental to the victims of outright bullying, or intentional or unintentional behaviors that cause hurt feelings.
Thank you so much for sharing. I feel so sad for your friend and Kayla’s family, but the foundation is heavy with meaning and purpose. It’s impossible to fathom the loss and pain they must live with everyday.
On the subject of social media, I look forward to learning applicable and actionable ways in which we can teach and protect ourselves and our kids.
I believe they will get a lot of news coverage which will cause prince keen to become incandescent.
The Cambridge world health day engagement was announced yesterday also. Nobody cared. It will be interesting to see how the tabloids cover this. Will they try to ignore it like Invictus in order to prop up the W and K or will they use the Sussexes to help create interest in the others.
After Kate performed her atrocious parody of the Invictus Games yesterday with her wheelchair photo op, I can’t wait to see what she can dream up on Tuesday.
This is an important initiative and I’m glad H&M are so heavily involved here (and can unfortunately bring personal experience to this issue). I’m also selfishly excited to see them again.
The W&K appearance is going to be funny bc of the time difference. They’ll get coverage in the UK press and then bam! H&M will make their appearance and the RRs will make a complete pivot in coverage to NYC.
This is exciting and yeah William and Kate are going to be outdoing themselves to prevent Harry and Meghan from overshadowing them. I’m going to predict this will be Kate’s last appearance for awhile.
@Amy Bee, I think you mean Willy and RepliKate are going to TRY and outdo themselves so they don’t get overlooked by the brilliantly shining stars that are our Harry and Meghan! But I’m laughing myself silly as they don’t stand a bat’s chance in Hell of overshadowing the splendour that is the Sussexes. 😂
Central Park is just 2 m. from Hudson Yards, perhaps Harry will be able to slip away for a quick jog.
Hilarious if he did and all kinds of people recognized him and asked for selfies and talked to him.
i can’t wait for this! very crucial for parents. unlike others, when harry and meghan talks about online bullying and the dangers of social media, they have a lot of crediblity because of what has been done to them for years now and is still going on. im sure its a big discussion about how to explain what is said about meghan to their children and to prevent alot of harmful stuff that is said about their kids personally from affecting them. its a extremly serious issue to have and tackle and i feel for them being put in such a position.
on a superfical note, i can’t wait to see what meghan (and harry!) wears! her nyc looks/style are always on point. its so much fun to follow her because while she is consistant on what she likes, it is never the same thing over and over again. watching invictus last month was so much fun for that reason. it was a real lesson in capsule wardrobing for a trip and making the most of simple, basic pieces to create a statement. you don’t have to go all out with a perfectly coifed ensemble to still look good and make an impact. her clothes aren’t always tailored to perfection but look lived in and well loved. she is both aspirational and approachable.
Very impressive project ❤️ this is exactly what I expected from the Duke and Duchess 👸
Khate and Peg have already announced they will be doing an event on the same day – took them mere hours lol. It will be thrown together, cringe, the wig will be askew and the copy-Keening will be on full display!
Well done Harry and Megan, as it says, you have been working on this for a long time. If ever there was a time and need for this support its NOW. The world has become a very toxic place, and a lot of it has been caused by our so called “leaders” and misrepresentation of facts by the media. Ignore the noise from the “left behind Royals”, and keep doing what your doing. Pegs and buttons are so shallow and everything they do is to make them look good, but you on the other hand make others feel good.
I love how Archwell has been a partner in this for a very long time, but we know that keen and wank have suddenly decided that THEY must try and cling to the coat tails of Archwell /Harry /Megan. They are just pathetic
Aw, I’m so excited for this! It seems like a culmination and continuation of work that archwell has been doing this past year. There are pics of James Holt and Carson Daley speaking about this topic at Harvard, I think. Can’t wait and may they have a safe and fabulous time in nyc.
A mix of mental health AND issues about kids? William and Kate are imploding right now!
I remember fixating for weeks in school about one comment in the yearbook basically calling me a goody 2 shoes. It really wasn’t that bad but I can’t imagine what kids face today on social media. The bullying today is next level. Kids today must be like Teflon.
I spent all 3 yrs of Jr high being bullied-one kid – Chris Murnane if you’re out there: “f*ck you” – called me Bug (b/c I wore glasses and was small?) EVERY DAY! The other kids picked up on it and it was just absolutely miserable. I hated the school, those kids, myself and that whole 3 years of my life. My parents didn’t care b/c they’d switched me to this private school and thought I was getting a better education so who cares about some bullying and the teachers did absolutely nothing about it. I’m old, this was decades ago, and yet it still sits with me. I cannot imagine what it would’ve been like with social media. All to say, good for H & M and anyone else taking up this cause!
This is a really interesting choice for Archewell’s first in person event but it makes a lot of sense. It feels like every few months we get updates about Archewell working on projects around making the internet safer and the affects of social media on mental health and Project Healthy Minds has been a long time partner of Archewell. It’s so great that the US Surgeon General, the highest ranking official on matters of public health in the country will be there, but I’m also really looking forward to the conversations with the parents; i know it will be very emotional but I’m really glad H&M are giving them such a large platform to speak on this from.
Sidenotr: this event is a part of Project Healthy Minds’ day of events in NYC for World Menthal Health and another event is a gala later that evening….
Today’s churnalists are such amoebas…..they all mindlessly parrot the same shidt. Today’s parrotspeak is: “This will be Meghan and Harry’s first trip to New York since the paparazzi chase incident in May.”
Er……..we dont f*ckng know that. Just as how we didnt f*ckng know that “The families have been engaged with The Archewell Foundation FOR THE PAST YEAR….”
For all we know, the parents that are part of this event might be from all over the US. Perhaps even beyond. M has been working with a women’s org in Minnesota. And she has maintained ties with the Uvalde community
Just as how none of the usual voyeurs of H&M’s life knew until after the fact that they were in Portugal after IG in Germany, so too none of us knows all the places H&M have been and all the things theyve been doing regarding both their Foundation and their commercial ventures.
This is why I’m always so amused when monarchists and other haters and trolls screech so loudly whenever H&M are outside: “I tHoUghT tHeY wAnTeD PrIvAcY!!!!!!!!!!”
Biitch, they have it.
From the People article above “..as part of Project Healthy minds 2nd annual World Mental Health Day Festival, the first and largest of its kind in the country”
As the article continued this is a millennial and Gen-Z focused org. As more of the younger generation is suffering from mental health, this event is a really good cause and would bring more awareness to what many of our youth has been experiencing.
I love how HMs public events and appearances are always about substance. Gen Z is also the group where HM are both recognizable and has a very high favorable rating, as they’re more relatable.
I’m also glad our US surgeon general would be attending as he’s our nation’s doctor. And puts out the perception of how important this event is.
The Wails doing an event for Mental Health Day — that’s rich, they’re the poster-children for how to bully a family member into a depression so serious she contemplated suicide. They both need years of therapy to eradicate the anger, spite, jealousy and bullying tactics they use on themselves and others. They’ll show up, grin and gurn and look serious for an hour then eff off in their separate helicopters to continue being awful people.
I’m another mom who’s also seen close-up what social media does to kids and it can be brutal. I’m grateful my kids survived it, but now worry for my younger nieces and nephews.
This is an excellent cause for H&M and I know they’ll rock it. One thing I love about them is that something doesn’t have to be directly affecting them before they pay attention to it. Like, their kids are too young for smartphones and social media, but they have enough savvy and empathy to know that older kids are dealing with the issue. And so they take it on and devote tangible resources to it.
Also, Vivek Murthy is great. He’s a perfect person for the panel.
If the Surgeon General is involved, there will be Secret Service involved at the event. And Harry and Meghan will plan their security meticulously I’m sure. I shouldn’t think there will be a repeat of the last visit.
This is a wonderful event to promote-the social media contruct has become so cruel and evil in some of their messaging-helping parents guide through this minefield called social media will be a big help to all parents dealing with it today and those parents who will have to deal with it later on-I love how they work behind the scenes to get the message of this event across-God bless Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet.
I’m excited to see Meghan and Harry. They pick their projects and causes well.