Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were all smiles while meeting with software engineering fellows at a Brooklyn trade school.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are in New York City to celebrate World Mental Health Day, stopped by the Marcy Lab School on Tuesday, October 10, to meet the group of high school graduates who were chosen as the Fall 2023 Marcy Lab Fellows. The Marcy Lab School — which is a partner of Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation — offers a year-long fellowship to teach chosen candidates “software engineering skills they need to pursue tech jobs, while incorporating mental wellness and civic engagement into their curriculum,” the official Archewell Foundation website states.
During their visit with the current fellows, as well as those who are alumni of the program, the Sussexes learned how the fellowship has impacted their lives and careers — and how they aim to use technology they’re working on for good. After all, the “core purpose” of the Archewell Foundation itself, the website notes, is “quite simply, to do good.”
In addition to their time with the Marcy Lab School fellows on Tuesday morning, Harry, 38, and Meghan, 42, are set to host their first-ever in-person mental health summit in New York through their Archewell Foundation. The event, titled “Mental Wellness in a Digital Age,” will feature parents who have dealt with tragic loss following their children’s use of social media.
“The families have been engaged with The Archewell Foundation for the past year, bolstering community and driving towards solutions,” a spokesperson for the couple told Us Weekly earlier this month. “Together, they are united in their mission to share personal experiences, data and research to ensure the same does not happen to other families.”
The Sussexes’ trip to the Big Apple marks their first time in New York since they were involved in a “near-catastrophic” car chase in May following the 2023 Women of Vision Awards, where Meghan had been honored by Gloria Steinem. After leaving the event in a car, Harry, Meghan and Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland, were chased by a “a ring of highly aggressive” photographers, a rep for the pair told Us at the time.
Harry and Meghan’s visit to New York also comes just one month after Harry’s estranged brother, Prince William, spent time in the city for his own event — the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit.
While the princes have had a tense relationship for years, a source exclusively told Us earlier this month that there is a desire to reconcile — just not at the moment.
“William wants his relationship with his brother to improve, but they’re not speaking right now,” the insider said. “So when that will happen is still uncertain.”
