Prince Harry and Meghan Markle slammed by royal fans for only sharing American organisations

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been slammed by royal fans for failing to mention any British mental health resources in their Archewell statement on Afghanistan.

The Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 40, who are currently living in their $14 million mansion in California having stepped back from royal duty last year, released a post yesterday to say the Taliban’s advance in Afghanistan has left them ‘speechless’ and ‘heartbroken’ and also addressed the Covid-19 crisis and the humanitarian disaster in Haiti. 

The lengthy statement, shared via the couple’s slick Archewell Foundation website, listed a series of ‘Mental Health Resources’ for followers to ‘navigate whatever comes up for them during this critical time’. 

However royal fans have questioned why Prince Harry and Meghan only listed American charities, and ignored royal projects they launched including Head’s Together and Shout.

One commented: ”Imagine talking about “international community” then only listing American organisations.’ 

The couple shared the list of charities yesterday as ‘resources for your own mental health, which we hope you’ll use as you navigate whatever comes up for you during this critical time’.  

They finished their statement by saying: ‘Take care of yourselves, and let’s keep taking care of each other. Thank you, The Archewell Team’.    

Organisations listed in the post include National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest mental health organisation in the US and The Loveland Foundation, which is based in the US and supports a number of communities focusing on black women and girls.

The final charity mentioned by the Duke and Duchess was Project Healthy Minds, which is also based in the US.  

Royal blogger Gert’s Royal tweeted: ‘Interesting that they did not include any UK or international mental health services. The 3 organizations are all US based and have a lot of resources that are only available to US residences.’

They continued: ‘I would have thought they would include @heads_together launched by William, Kate & Harry in 2016.

‘Or @GiveUsAShout which the Cambridges & Sussexes launched together in May 2019.

‘But I guess the Sussexes want to separate themselves from Royal Foundation Projects.’ 

Gerts went on to comment: ‘That’s the point, people need help. And the Sussexes followers come from all over the world. But the mental health resources they listed are all US based and only provide services in the USA.

‘It’s not accessible or helpful for people in other countries.’ 

Other fans were equally stunned, with one commenting: ‘Because an American wrote it I am sure. We tend to think the world revolves around us.’

The Royal Foundation, which has the Duke and Duchess of Sussex alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as its patrons, has set up several mental health initiatives.

It helped launch Heads Together, a campaign to tackle stigma and change the conversation around mental health, and Contact, which aims to help members of the armed forces access mental health and support.

The Duke and Duchess also attended the launch of mental health charity Shout last year, backed by the Royal Foundation among others, which offers a 24/7 text service to those struggling with mental health issues.

Prince Harry and Meghan revealed their plan to split from the Royal Foundation and establish their own foundation in June 2019, six months before they decided to step back from the royal family.

Yesterday, the couple were slammed by a royal expert who called their statement ‘another attempt to form an alternate woke royal family’  and by social media users who branded the statement ‘vague publicity seeking word salad’ and said it was ‘irrelevant’ as it doesn’t mention how they personally will be helping in the crisis. 

Prince Harry’s biographer Angela Levin told FEMAIL: ‘I think Harry and Meghan’s grandiose, comfy and caring comments about the situation in Afghanistan, the disaster in Haiti and new Covid variants is another example of them trying to set up some sort of alternate woke royal family.

‘Like most of their “compassionate” gestures there is no indication about what they themselves will do and whether any donations will be going through Archewell Foundation.

‘Their comment that they want to “alleviate suffering among those we know and those we may never meet – that will prove our humanity,” sounds so similar to their recent comment we must be compassionate “to those we know and those we don’t know” that makes it sound equally phoney.’   

It comes a day after the Duke of Sussex, 36, who spent 10 years in the British Army and performed two frontline tours of Afghanistan, released a statement via the Invictus Games Foundation to urge veterans to ‘reach out to each other and offer support’. 

Amid scenes of frightened Afghans trying to flee a return to brutal misogynistic rule after the Taliban captured the capital city Kabul, Harry and Meghan’s statement, which uses US spelling, says: ‘The world is exceptionally fragile right now. As we all feel the many layers of pain due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are left speechless. 

‘As we all watch the growing humanitarian disaster in Haiti, and the threat of it worsening after last weekend’s earthquake, we are left heartbroken.

‘And as we all witness the continuing global health crisis, exacerbated by new variants and constant misinformation, we are left scared.

‘When any person or community suffers, a piece of each of us does so with them, whether we realize it or not. And though we are not meant to live in a state of suffering, we, as a people, are being conditioned to accept it. It’s easy to find ourselves feeling powerless, but we can put our values into action — together.

‘To start, we encourage you to join us in supporting a number of organizations doing critical work. We also urge those in positions of global influence to rapidly advance the humanitarian dialogues that are expected to take place this fall at multilateral gatherings such as the U.N. General Assembly and the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

‘As an international community, it is the decisions we make now — to alleviate suffering among those we know and those we may never meet — that will prove our humanity.’  

A second section, signed from ‘The Archewell team’ and titled the ‘Archewell commitment’ adds: ‘Like many of you, we are closely watching the crises happening across the world right now, and we are heartbroken. 

‘Archewell is committed to putting our values into action, and we hope to do what we can to meet the moment by offering support to the military community and the troops who served in Afghanistan, as well as to the Afghan people facing violence and terror’.

‘We are also supporting the emergency response in Haiti with our partner World Central Kitchen, which is working with local organizations that are helping with recovery efforts to save lives and preserve the health of those on the ground.

‘Finally, against this backdrop, we are acutely aware that the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant has jeopardized the health and safety of families around the world. 

‘We are working to support vaccine equity through our commitment to combating the spread of misinformation, as well as our ongoing partnerships with Vax Live and Global Citizen.

‘We recognize that many of you may feel helpless right now as you watch the state of the world spin rapidly. It can feel disorienting and defeating, but we have faith in the power of shared purpose, action, and commitment to our collective well-being’. 

Many social media users questioned the statement, with one writing:  ‘Harry and Meghan have released a statement on Afghanistan calling on the public to support charities working in the region.

‘Although they do not mention how they will be helping… Perhaps they will give Afghans 40 minute mentoring sessions,’ referring to the Duchess of Sussex 40 x 40 initiative.

‘More publicity seeking word salad from Meghan and Harry,’ said another. 

A third wrote: ‘What does Meghan know about Afghanistan? Unless Prince Harry told her bedtime stories from his experience,’.

A fourth added: ‘Is there nothing that those two won’t cling to, to try and find relevance?’

Earlier this week, Prince Harry issued a statement via the Invictus Games Organisation  saying he and other Afghanistan War veterans should ‘reach out to each other and offer support’ as he described the scenes from Kabul as ones that ‘resonate’ in a message to his charity for wounded veterans. 

The charity statement did not offer any views on Joe Biden’s decision to abandon the Afghans he fought alongside, or the chaotic execution of the withdrawal that saw the Taliban re-take the country in days following 20 years of war.

Last year, Harry and Meghan, 40, were accused of wading into the US election when they urged voters to ‘reject hate speech’ in a message that was widely interpreted as an attack on Donald Trump and tacit support for Joe Biden’s campaign.

Harry has known President Biden and his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, for several years, and both have been publicly supportive of the duke’s Invictus Games. 

At least 12 military flights took off from Kabul Airport today, including three UK planes as the Ministry of Defence aim to up to 7,000 people out of the country.

Some 370 UK embassy staff and British nationals were flown out by the MoD on Sunday and yesterday, while 289 Afghan nationals were taken out last week – and a further 350 British and Afghans will be taken out of the country in the next 24 hours. The UK could give refuge to tens of thousands of Afghans in total after the Taliban takeover as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab vowed the UK Government’s response will be ‘big-hearted’.

It comes after pandemonium yesterday as thousands of desperate people rushed the runway and clung to the wheels of departing US jets – with one horrifying video appearing to show how one man was crushed to death in the landing gear of a C-17 transport plane.

The footage, which emerged today, shows what appears to be a man’s legs protruding from the side of the jet and failing against the side of the aircraft. 

A US official later confirmed that human remain were found in the landing gear of a jet, which made an emergency landing after declaring a mid-air state of emergency.

There are at least 56,000 people who need evacuating from Afghanistan – including some 22,000 flying on US special immigrant visas, 4,000 British nationals, 10,000 refugees that Germany has said it will accept, and 20,000 bound for Canada. In reality, that number is likely to be far higher once diplomatic staff from dozens of countries which had relations with Afghanistan’s former government are taken into account.

The US said it may issue up 80,000 special immigrant visas to those who helped with combat operations and are likely to face revenge attacks from the Taliban, while 7,500 troops currently guarding the airport – including 6,000 Americans and smaller numbers of British, Turkish and Australians – will also need to leave.

At least 6,000 people have already managed to flee the country on evacuation flights that began on Sunday, with a dozen departing today – most of them flying to neighbouring Middle Eastern countries before continuing their journeys west. Spain, France and India confirmed their diplomatic staff were evacuated today. 

Russia and Indonesia said their embassies will be partially evacuated, with the EU mission has said staff including its ambassador Andreas Von Brandt is still in the country and will need to leave.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to convene a meeting of G7 world leaders at the ‘earliest opportunity’ as he looks to co-ordinate the international response, as Mr Raab said the UK would have to work with ‘challenging’ partners on how to deal with the Taliban.

During the Taliban’s rule in 1996 to 2001, women could not work and punishments such as public stoning, whipping and hanging were administered.

The Taliban have said there will be no retribution against opponents and promised to respect the rights of women, minorities and foreigners, but many Afghans are sceptical and fear old enemies and activists will be rounded up.