Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Culture
    2. Celebrity News
    3. Royal News

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just called out the entire G20 for this important reason

    Kate McCusker's avatar
    By Kate McCusker
    Published 30 October 2021 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Global Citizen Live
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are determined to do things their way.

    After stepping down from their roles as senior working royals and swapping Frogmore Cottage for sun-soaked Montecito, the couple have been exploring different ways to use their celebrity for the good of others – from launching their global nonprofit, Archewell Foundation, to their appearance at Global Citizen Live, in which they called for vaccine equity.

    Now, the Sussexes have penned a candid open letter to G20 leaders claiming that promises of vaccine donations from nations are not reaching the globe's most vulnerable.

    Ahead of the two-day G20 summit, which will see leaders from the world's richest nations convene in Rome this weekend, Meghan and Harry called said leaders out for lack of action on the issue of vaccine equity, writing that access to the COVID-19 vaccine is a "fundamental human right".

    Though environmental issues are expected to be high on the G20 agenda ahead of COP26 kicking off in Glasgow on Sunday, the world's recovery from the pandemic is also likely to be a point of discussion at the summit.

    You may like
    • Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan' Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
    • The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
    • Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress

    Co-authoring the letter with Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general, Meghan and Harry certainly didn't mince their words, writing: "When the leaders of the world's wealthiest nations met at the G7 Summit in June, they collectively announced that one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines would be sent to low and-middle-income countries to help vaccinate the world.

    "Pharmaceutical companies have pledged almost the same. Yet, as several nations still don't even have enough vaccines for their own health workers, the world is left asking, where are the doses?

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    "Of the almost 7 billion doses that have been administered globally, just three per cent of people in low-income countries have had a jab so far. Where are the rest?"

    The letter found high profile supporters in the likes of Dr Seth Berkley of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Chelsea Clinton of the Clinton Foundation.

    This is far from the Sussexes' first time using their platform to pressure political leaders, though.

    Just last week, Meghan made headlines for an open letter she penned to US Congress, in which she called for paid parental leave as a national right, and opened up about her own early career financial struggles, writing: 'I worked all my life and saved when and where I could – but even that was a luxury – because usually it was about making ends meet and having enough to pay my rent and put gas in my car.'

    Sadly, Meghan and Harry will not be attending COP26 in Glasgow next week, though other senior royals, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will undertake a number of engagements at the summit. Her Majesty the Queen will also miss the landmark event, following doctors' advice to rest for the next two weeks.

    Kate McCusker
    Kate McCusker
    Social Links Navigation

    Kate McCusker is a freelance writer at Marie Claire UK, having joined the team in 2019. She studied fashion journalism at Central Saint Martins, and her byline has also appeared in Dezeen, British Vogue, The Times and woman&home. In no particular order, her big loves are: design, good fiction, bad reality shows and the risible interiors of celebrity houses.


    Read more
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Andy Burnham and Marie-France van Heel entering 10 Downing Street
    Fashion “Are We Just Jealous?” Victoria Moss Unpacks the Sexist, Ageist Commentary Around Marie-France van Heel’s Victoria Beckham Dress
    UK heatwave
    Sustainability I'm a Climate Communicator: Britain's Heatwaves Feel Like Summer—But They're a Sign of Something Much Bigger
     
     
    Latest in Royal News
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Colombia
    Royal News Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Had a Secret UK Home in the First Year of Their Marriage
     
     
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit Southport
    Royal News Prince William Has Given an Emotional Update on Princess Kate
    The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a state visit by the President of the French Republic in 2025
    Royal News Why Prince William and Princess Kate ‘Won’t Change" Their Minds on the Buckingham Palace Situation
     
     
    Latest in News
    Kinda Chic Trend
    Shopping Is "Kinda Chic" Kinda Cringe? Everyone's Favourite Fashion Word Just Went Completely Out of Fashion
    Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: The Foundation Using Exosome Technology, the Treatment That Transformed My Skin Texture—Plus, the Ever-Earlier Advent Calendar Race
     
     
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Everything Kaia Gerber Wears Is a Masterclass in Minimalism—These Are the Pieces and Brands She Always Goes Back to
    Copenhagen Fashion Week street style
    Shopping Kitten-Heel Sandals, Lace Dresses and the Season's New Favourite Shade of Blue— These are the Copenhagen Fashion Week Street Style Trends to Note
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.