Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce multi-year partnership with Procter and Gamble

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Picture: AFP, POOL

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Picture: AFP, POOL

Published May 12, 2021

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Foundation have vowed to tackle gender inequality as part of a global partnership with Procter & Gamble.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan - who was known as Meghan Markle before marrying the royal in May 2018 - have announced they will be working with the US consumer goods giant to tackle gender inequality and bring about "systemic cultural change".

A message on the Archewell website read: "Archewell Foundation believes that with community, and through compassionate service to others, we can unleash systemic cultural change.

"In service of doing this, and building more compassionate communities, Archewell Foundation announced a multi-year global partnership today with Procter & Gamble."

The couple vowed to help "elevate the voices of adolescent girls" by making sure "their point of view and lived experience is heard at the tables where decisions are made".

P&G said in a statement on their own website: "We've also been inspired by the mission of the Archewell Foundation and its founders, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that with community, and through compassionate service to others, we can drive systemic cultural change, benefiting everyone."

The couple worked with P&G for Global Citizen's Vax live concert at the weekend, which urged world leaders to ensure vaccines are accessible for all.

P&G owns brands such as Gillette, Pantene, Olay, and Tampax.

Meanwhile, Meghan's connection to the firm goes back to when she was a child.

Aged 11, the former actress - who is heavily pregnant with the couple's second child, a baby girl - sent a letter to the company after being disappointed by the wording of their soap commercial.

The TV advert featured the line: "Mothers around America are fighting greasy pots and pans."

After she sent in the complaint, the 39-year-old women's rights activist - who has two-year-old son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor with 36-year-old Harry - was interviewed by Nick News in 1993, Sky News reports.

Meghan said: "When they heard this, the boys in my class started saying: 'Yeah that's where women belong - in the kitchen.'"

And as a result, the firm changed the messaging to "people all over America".