Meghan Markle releases 40×40 birthday message on Archewell

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Meghan Markle’s new initiative 40×40 attracted controversy after it emerged she had not asked her sister-in-law Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge to participate. A royal expert, however, has claimed that “scheduling conflicts” could have played a role in the Duchess of Cambridge’s absence from the list, and that we could expect Kate to support the project further “down the line”. 

Royal expert Mikhaila Friel told Royally Us: “I don’t think it was an intentional move. I do think that when it comes to working royals like Kate, we do have to remember that the projects that she’s involved in, it’s not just Kate who has to approve these, it’s the Palace, Kensington Palace who she is represented by.

“We don’t really know why she wasn’t involved, there may be scheduling conflicts, there might be a reason she couldn’t have officially put her name down.

“That being said, I don’t think that means that we won’t see her involved in some capacity because I don’t know if you’ve seen, but Prince Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie, she actually posted on her Instagram that she was supporting the initiative, and her name wasn’t mentioned in the original press release.

“It could be that Kate turns around and shows support in her own way down the line.”

Meghan Markle launched her latest project 40×40 to coincide with her 40th birthday celebrations on August 4. 

In a 2-minute video posted to her and Prince Harry’s website Archewell, she appeared with Hollywood actress Melissa McCarthy to introduce the initiative. 

Following a short comedy sketch, where the Bridesmaids comedian quizzed the Duchess on her birthday plans, Meghan introduced 40×40 which aims to help remobilise women for the workforce. 

In a statement on the couple’s Archewell website, Meghan wrote that tens of millions of women have left the workforce due to the pandemic, including 2 million in the US alone. 

She noted that women have been “shouldering the brunt of the crisis” by taking on the additional burdens of childcare and home-schooling. 

In order to aid the situation, Meghan has asked “40 friends, activists, athletes, artists, and world leaders” to participate in 40 minutes of mentorship or community service to help women re-enter the workplace. 

Women that have agreed to participate include Adele, Stella McCartney, and former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Princess Eugenie also revealed on her Instagram that she would be assisting “dear Meghan” with the initiative. 

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Kate’s absence from the list fuelled further rumours of a tetchy relationship between the two Duchesses, who have not seen one another since March 2020. 

Since the Sussexes left the UK for California, Prince Harry has returned twice to be with the Royal Family at the time of Prince Philip’s funeral and the unveiling of Diana’s statue. 

Both times Meghan remained in the US with their two young children, Archie Harrison and Lilibet Diana. 

The couple launched their non-profit organisation Archewell last year, after it was made clear that they could not maintain their Royal Foundation after Megxit. 

Along with 40×40, the couple have raised $3million for the Global Vaccine Alliance Fund and have opened community relief centres in Puerto Rico and Mumbai. 

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