Prince Harry says he believes he met Meghan for this reason

The Duke of Sussex pays tribute to his wife at the NAACP Awards over the weekend

The Duke of Sussex has said that he and the Duchess were "brought together for a reason," in a heartfelt speech at the NAACP Awards in LA over the weekend.

Appearing at the NAACP Awards on Saturday night, Harry and Meghan took to the stage to receive the President's Award' for "distinguished public service". Past recipients of the award include Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, LeBron James and Rihanna, Jennifer Hudson, Samuel L Jackson and Will Smith

The NAACP Awards celebrate outstanding achievements on the part of black and other minority ethnic persons in the arts. Through the couple's Archewell Foundation, which they launched in 2020, Harry and Meghan have continuously raised awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement and advocated for racial justice.

Harry began his acceptance speech by declaring his support of the Ukrainian people, who are currently fighting to protect their country from Russian invading troops saying: "Before I begin, we would like to acknowledge the people of Ukraine, who urgently need our continued support as a global community."

He went on to recognise his relationship with Meghan: “I think it’s safe to say I come from a very different background to my incredible wife,” Harry said after receiving the award, “yet our lives were brought together for a reason.”

He added, "We share a commitment to a life of service, a responsibility to combat injustice and a belief that the most often overlooked are the most important to listen to."

Taking over from her Harry, who she married in a lavish ceremony in Windsor Castle in 2018, Meghan paid tribute to George Floyd, whose brutal murder by US police in May 2020 ignited the Black Lives Matter movement.

"We moved to California, my home state, shortly before the murder of George Floyd. For Black America, those nine minutes and 29 seconds transcended time, invoking centuries of our unhealed wounds."

Meghan went on, "In the months that followed, as my husband and I spoke with the civil rights community, we committed ourselves and our organisation, Archewell, to illuminating those who are advancing racial justice and progress."