They may have flown their Canadian coop for a warmer self-isolation experience in California, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are still dealing with physical distancing just like the rest of the world. And like parents everywhere, they’re learning how to adjust to their new normal while spending an unprecedented amount of time with their kid. Prince Harry opened up about those challenges in a recent call with parents and health care workers in the U.K., and his message was pretty relatable—and sweet.“The resilience and the strength that you guys have is absolutely incredible. You must never, ever, ever, ever forget that. Of course, there are going to be hard days—I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it is for you guys,”
the Duke of Sussex told two parents; a nurse and the head of his charity
WellChild. “Having one kid at 11 months old is enough!”Harry was of course referring to Archie, who turns 1 on May 6. He’s living with Harry and Meghan in Los Angeles, where the family has reportedly
hunkered down in a private compound. For a guy like Harry, who has been used to public appearances, engagements, and travelling basically his entire life, settling down in one place for a while during the coronavirus pandemic has been almost like an excuse to relish that extra family time.[video_embed id='1935400']RELATED: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle launching charity foundation Archewell[/video_embed]“There’s a hell of a lot of positives that are happening at the same time and being able to have family time—so much family time—that you almost think, ‘Do I feel guilty for having so much family time?’” he said. “You’ve got to celebrate those moments where you are just on the floor rolling around in hysterics. Inevitably, half an hour later, maybe a day later, there’s going to be something that you have to deal with and there’s no way you can run away from it.”
The former royal wasn’t dealing with anything other than love on the video call though. The point of the chat was to help raise awareness for WellChild and the work the organization is doing to help provide care for seriously ill children, and to hopefully flag with the U.K. government that more help is needed. (And here you thought doing your job on Zoom meetings was hard.)
Charity is very much in Harry's blood, of course. And this call was pretty in line with what Will and Kate are doing over in the U.K., making
surprise calls to NHS staff and organizing
video calls with teachers and children to hopefully lift everyone’s spirits. Heck, even the Queen herself has
been engaging more with her people these days.“Full respect to every single one of you,” Harry continued in his call. “This is hard on everyone, but it is especially hard on you. I know that WellChild are doing everything they can to support you. Hopefully, through this video we can make it more clear and obvious to government and everybody else that you are in the ‘vulnerable’ bracket and WellChild needs more help,” he added. “It is really nice to see you all smiling and happy. Keep going, keep the morale up, keep busy, keep being creative, dare yourself to try new hobbies and I hope to see you all again very, very soon!”No one knows how soon is soon given the state of things right now, but in the meantime Harry and Meghan are continuing their philanthropic efforts by donating the money generated from the TV broadcast of their May 2018 royal wedding to charity.According to a spokesperson for the couple, they’re sending roughly $158,000 to the organization Feeding Britain. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who presided over the nuptials, is president of the charity and the cash will go to helping food banks and community food organizations that are keeping people nourished during the pandemic.“The Duke and Duchess were able to speak to The Archbishop recently, and were moved to hear all about the work Feeding Britain was doing to support people during COVID-19,” said a statement quoted by
Town & Country magazine. “They have particularly fond memories of their visit to the citizens' supermarket in Birkenhead, especially the generosity and compassion of everyone working there to help others. They are delighted to be able to ensure this money is donated to such a great cause."[video_embed id='1936894']BEFORE YOU GO: Kelly Ripa gets tearful over the stress of physical distancing[/video_embed]
