Harry and Meghan: Commonwealth past needs to be acknowledged
- Published
Prince Harry: 'It's not going to be easy... but it needs to be done'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said that the Commonwealth's uncomfortable history must be recognised and remembered if we are to move forward in the future.
The Commonwealth is a group of 54 countries, most of which were ruled by Britain in the past.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the comments while speaking to young leaders of the Queen's Commonwealth Trust (QCT).
The pair who are president and vice president of the trust, discussed issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, fairness, justice and equal rights.
While speaking to the group Prince Harry said: "When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past.
"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 Commonwealth, also known as The Commonwealth of Nations, includes 54 countries, nearly all of them used to be part of the British Empire.
The British Empire was the biggest empire in history and at one point Britain was in control of almost one quarter of the world.
Although the British Empire brought lots of changes to the lives of many people including medicines and education it also did many bad things.
The empire took many resources from the countries it controlled and made money from slavery.
As nations became independent from the empire, the Commonwealth was started.
The countries in the Commonwealth now work together with shared values of democracy and peace.
Meghan added that remembering the bad things that happened in the past is important, even if it means having uncomfortable conversations.
"We're going to have to be a little uncomfortable right now, because it's only in pushing through that discomfort that we get to the other side of this.
"Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing - which is a fundamental human right," Meghan said.
The call took place last week but details about it have just been released
The call was part of a weekly discussion that the QCT set up to help support and connect young leaders from around the world, encouraging them to build networks and learn from each other.
After deciding to step away from royal duties, Prince Harry also stepped down from his position as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.
Despite that, both Harry and Meghan have said that they want to continue to support young people living in Commonwealth countries across the world.
- Published9 January 2020
- Published9 April 2020
