Prince Harry and Meghan Markle win global award for work on race and mental health

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have won an award for their work on racial justice, mental health and causes that have a positive social effect.

They royal couple also received praise for their “moral courage” .

The Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation has named the Duke and Duchess of Sussex its Ripple of Hope Award laureates for the work they do through their Archewell Foundation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also been honoured this year.

The award is given to those judged to be exemplary leaders across government, business, advocacy or entertainment, and who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to social change and worked to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights.

The organisation is named after Robert F Kennedy, a US attorney general and senator who was the brother of president John F Kennedy.

It aims to realise Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world since his assassination in 1968.

Prince Harry and Meghan through the years - in pictures

“The couple has always stood out for their willingness to speak up and change the narrative on racial justice and mental health around the world," president Kerry Kennedy said of the Sussexes.

“They embody the type of moral courage that my father once called the ‘one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change’.”

Prince Harry and Meghan were chosen because they have “demonstrated a lifelong commitment to building strong and equitable communities, advancing the global dialogue around mental health, and advocating for a better world – both on and offline,” the organisers said.

Prince William, Prince Harry and wives make joint appearance - in pictures

Since co-founding the Archewell Foundation in 2020, the couple have found “remarkable ways” to advance their “mission to uplift and unite communities”, the citation said.

The organisation highlighted causes that Prince Harry and Meghan have backed, including supporting Afghan refugees seeking resettlement, and paid parental leave in the US.

They have invested in organisations working in Ukraine and linked up with the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People to create the first digital civil rights award.

Prince Harry and Meghan attend One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit - in pictures

They were also praised for their work with the World Health Organisation, People’s Vaccine and Global Citizen groups to champion coronavirus vaccine access globally and raise funds to buy doses for frontline health workers.

Prince Harry and Meghan join a host of high-profile powerful figures who have won the award, including former US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and current President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris.

Prince Harry and Meghan attend UN Nelson Mandela event - in pictures

Also recognised in past years have been Anglican bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, Apple chief executive Tim Cook, actor George Clooney, Irish musician Bono, American footballer Colin Kaepernick, US politicians Stacey Abrams and John Lewis, and Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviserr to Donald Trump and Mr Biden.