Harry & Meghan Make Princess Diana Style Humanitarian Move

The Sussexes made good on their promise to visit the largest Syrian refugee camp within a very short window as part of their collaboration with the World Health Organization.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry recently received the “Humanitarians of the Year” award at the Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Gala.

The royal couple made a stop at the Za’atari Refugee Camp, the world’s largest camp for displaced Syrians. There, they met with officials from Questscope, a body focused on the role of mental health services, physical rehabilitation, and community-based support for people affected by war, displacement, and diseases.

Though Meghan and Harry announced their visit on such short notice, they reportedly achieved a viable purpose by meeting with Questscope. The couple’s visit to the camp was in line with their partnership with WHO, which focused on global and mental health support.

As shared by PEOPLE, the visit will take place in Amman, where Meghan and Harry will join the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

They will then proceed on a two-day engagement highlighting humanitarian health response, mental health, and support for vulnerable communities affected by conflict and displacement.

This is not the first time the couple has joined Ghebreyesus on a mission. In 2021, they jointly penned an open letter to leaders at the G-20 summit, pleading for them to expand vaccine access in poor countries. They also co-hosted another event at the UN General Assembly to canvas for vaccine equity.

As for Harry, the seed of humanitarian work was planted in him by his mother, whom he watched win hearts through her charity work alongside organizations like Centrepoint in the U.K. and The HALO Trust in Angola, with whom he has also recently partnered.

Harry and Meghan’s trip marks their first international trip in nearly two years, following their joint visits to Nigeria and Colombia in 2024.

While his joint visit with Meghan experienced a slight pause, Harry did not keep his feet off the accelerator for his humanitarian trips. Last July, his compass landed in Angola to support Halo Trust’s landmine-clearing work, which Diana had done nearly three decades earlier.

As reported by The Blast, Harry began his journey from Luanda Airport to a remote part of Angola that is marked with mines awaiting clearance.

The Duke of Sussex emerged as a patron of the Halo Trust in 2019, when the Angolan government donated $61.5 million to build safe wildlife corridors and protect endangered species.

Harry’s visit was also planned to help hasten Angola’s promise to eradicate all its landmines by 2025, years after it endured a 27- year debilitating civil war which ended in 2002. Princess Diana had walked through a minefield while wearing the Halo gear in 1997, capturing global attention with the act.

The Halo Trust has removed about 123,000 mines in Angola since 1994, helping convert these dangerous fields into productive farmland and safe homes.

Meghan and Harry were recognized last October in New York for their efforts to advocate for and promote mental wellness and safer online platforms for families and young people.

As reported by The Blast, the media personalities have championed several initiatives to address mental health and digital safety through their Archewell Foundation.

While the award seemed well-deserved for the couple, several online commenters argued that their lifestyle undermined the purpose of their award.

A royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliams, noted that while they have achieved considerable amounts of success in mental health advocacy, their relationship with their family is nothing to write home about.

“Both Meghan and Harry are estranged from their families and have launched deeply destructive attacks on the royal family for their personal and financial gain. Surely, winners of such an award should be positive in approach,” Fitzwilliams shared.

The couple has built a professional relationship with the streaming company since their move to the United States in 2020, during which time the company has launched six original series. Last year, sources close to the royals revealed that the company is actively developing a Diana movie.

They reportedly met with writers, agents, and producers to discuss casting and break stories. Meghan was hands-on and wanted creative control from start to finish.

The source added that, despite the couple’s previous projects’ performance with the network, they are optimistic that a Diana project will change everything.

Netflix reportedly believes the movie could become a box-office breaker, with depth and emotion to compete with its internet-breaking interview with Oprah Winfrey. “This could be the crown jewel. It’s the one project that could make the entire deal worth it,” the executive source noted.