The new normal. Prince Harry opened up about the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in a charity video released on Monday, September 21.
“With COVID-19, the world has been pitted against a new challenge — one that is devastating and destructive in its own right,” the Duke of Sussex, 36, said from his new home in the Montecito area of Santa Barbara, California, while debuting a fresh haircut.
Harry compared the global crisis to the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal, which resulted in an estimated $10 billion in damage, claimed the lives of nearly 9,000 people and left 3.5 million others homeless.
“It was clear that despite everything the Nepalese faced, their spirit and their resilience never weakened. There was a clear sense of care and compassion for each other,” he said. “I’m heartened to see that, once again, the Nepalese spirit is unwavering [amid the pandemic].”
Trailwalker Relay 2020, our 100km virtual team event organised with @gwtorg and @oxfamgb, starts today! Someone with a special connection to the Gurkhas and Nepal, would like to join us in marking the occasion by wishing our participants good luck with the incredible challenge. pic.twitter.com/Xsqh4LwQ8u
— Trailwalker UK (@TrailwalkerUK) September 21, 2020
Harry, whose father, Prince Charles, battled the novel coronavirus in March, recorded the message to send good luck wishes to the participants of the 2020 Trailwalker Relay, a team endurance event that raises money to help end poverty around the world in support of Oxfam and The Gurkha Welfare Trust. He said the organizations “are working together to supply PPE [personal protective equipment], establish hand-washing facilities and support public education.”
Since stepping back as senior members of the British royal family and moving to North America earlier this year, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have continued to participate in charitable causes. The couple, who married in May 2018 and share 16-month-old son Archie, delivered food to needy people in West Hollywood and Los Angeles in April and joined Baby2Baby in handing out diapers, wipes, clothes and other necessities for impoverished children in August.
The prince and the Suits alum, 39, have also stayed busy in the entertainment industry. Us Weekly confirmed earlier this month that they signed a multiyear deal with Netflix to produce feature films, docuseries, documentaries, scripted shows and children’s programming.
“Through our work with diverse communities and their environments, to shining a light on people and causes around the world, our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope,” the pair said in a statement. “As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us, as is powerful storytelling through a truthful and relatable lens. We are pleased to work with [Netflix co-CEO] Ted [Sarandos] and the team at Netflix whose unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.”
A source later told Us exclusively that Harry and Meghan see the deal “as a way of rebuilding their reputation” after their royal exit.
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