Prince Harry and Meghan in united front against cyberbullying
- Published
Meghan and Prince Harry called people getting funding for online safety projects
Prince Harry and Meghan are helping to fund online safety projects for young people, personally phoning some of the recipients.
This was their first public appearance together since an award ceremony and chaotic car chase in New York in May.
They were shown side by side, billed in a video as "Harry and Meghan" without any reference to their royal titles.
The couple's Archewell Foundation is one of 14 groups and charities giving a combined $2m (£1.56m) in funding.
After a swirl of rumours and speculation about the couple's future, Prince Harry and Meghan's video shows them together contacting some of the 26 projects getting funding from the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund.
The aim is to back "more equitable and more inclusive technology" and to find ways to make online life less toxic for young people.
Meghan, who has spoken about the pressure of facing hostile comments online, praised the "enormous impact" that could be made by tackling the harmful aspects of social media and online misinformation.
The amount donated by Archewell has not been specified, but Trisha Prabhu said that her cyberbullying project, ReThink Citizens, had received $50,000 (£39,000) from the fund.
"This is exactly why we do what we do," Prince Harry said to her about supporting her efforts to stop online bullying.
Ms Prabhu described getting a call from Prince Harry and Meghan as an "incredible moment", admiring them for the way they "challenge the status quo".
But much of the attention will be on the California-based couple themselves.
This announcement marks a return to public appearances and with it the media spotlight, with a visible statement of togetherness. It's a carefully-staged garden scene, likely to be seen as sending a message about the couple's future.
The last time they were at a public event together was at an awards ceremony in May, which ended up in media claims and counter-claims about a paparazzi car chase through the streets of Manhattan.
It was followed by Prince Harry's appearance in the witness box for his court case in London over hacking claims against Mirror Group Newspapers.
While much of the rest of the Royal Family will be making their annual August migration to Scotland, Prince Harry now has a series of public events lined up.
Next week he's taking part in a sports summit in Japan, then a polo match in Singapore to raise funds for his Sentebale charity for vulnerable children in Botswana and Lesotho.
The polo match has previously raised £11m ($14m) for his charity, with Prince Harry saying that this year's fundraising will support children with Aids, helping them to "eliminate the stigma".
In September the Invictus Games, founded by Prince Harry for wounded or injured military personnel, will be held in Germany.
His team in the US say it is still undecided whether Prince Harry will attend another London newspaper court case in person in the new year.
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