Thursday 23 September 2021

The Sussexes Visit US Ambassador to the UN & Join Leaders for World Health Organisation Discussion

Following this morning's events, which saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex begin their visit to New York by joining Mayor Bill de Blasio, First Lady Chirlane McCray, and Governor Kathy Hochul for a visit to One World Observatory and the 9/11 Memorial, Harry and Meghan attended a meeting in Midtown East NYC with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

The Duke and Duchess met with the ambassador in their capacity as co-chairs of Saturday's Global Citizen Live in Central Park. It coincides with the incredible news the US has pledged to donate an additional 500 million vaccines to countries all over the world which are most in need. This significant number will raise the total doses donated by the US to over 1.1 billion.

Leaders are gathering in New York for the UN General Assembly. The vaccine announcement was made at the summit by President Joe Biden yesterday, when he told an audience, "We also know that to beat the pandemic here, we need to beat it everywhere. And I made -- and I'm keeping -- the promise that America will become the arsenal of vaccines as we were the arsenal of democracy during World War II. To put it another way: for every one shot we've administered today in America, we have now committed to do three shots to the rest of the world." Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield joined the President for the announcement.

In a speech during yesterday's summit, the Ambassador shared her reaction to the news:

'Thank you, Mr. President. And let me thank you all for joining us today to participate in the COVID-19 Summit, as we collectively work to end this pandemic. This Administration is grateful to be working alongside you. And let me start by echoing what the President made clear: Because this pandemic is global, none of us is safe until everyone is safe. Only a truly global response can meet and defeat this threat.

After all, the world has learned the hard way that global health isn’t only about viruses and disease. It touches every aspect of life itself. Economies have collapsed. Gender-based violence has spiked. Millions of children have lost valuable education time and many – particularly girls – may never return to school.

The pandemic has disrupted people’s lives and livelihoods in ways it will take us years – maybe even decades – to fully comprehend. We have to come together to vaccinate the world, stop this pandemic, and build a global ecosystem that is well-equipped to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks so we’re ready for the next pandemic.

That is what this Summit is all about. Gathered here, we have the people, organizations, and knowledge necessary to put COVID in the past.'

Afterwards the Ambassador described the meeting as "wonderful", adding they also discussed racial justice and mental health awareness.

Below, Harry and Meghan leaving United Nations Plaza.

The couple were spotted leaving the Carlyle Hotel before the meeting.

The prestigious hotel became known as the "New York White House" during the administration of President John F. Kennedy, who owned an apartment on the 34th floor for the last ten years of his life.

It was a favourite of Diana's during her visits to the city.

Speaking of the late Princess, I noticed Henry St. Settlement, a non-profit social service agency Diana visited in 1989, tweeted Harry and Meghan's appearances take them back to the day they welcomed her.

The hotel is described as a "bastion of Upper East Side sophistication known for impeccable sophistication and privacy". The hotel, which opened its doors in 1930, was designed in the Art Deco style, and was named after Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle.

Yesterday evening, Harry and Meghan were spotted dining in the hotel's Bemelmans Bar with Meghan's close friend Misha Nonoo and her husband Mike Hess.

Embed from Getty Images

The bar is adorned with exceptional murals by Ludwig Bemelmans, the creator of the classic Madeline children’s books. Bemelmans murals in the bar are his only publicly displayed works. Instead of accepting payment for his work, the artist received eighteen months accommodation at the Carlyle.

Afterwards, Harry and Meghan visited the World Health Organisation.

The couple joined several leaders including World Health Organisation Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Loyce Pace, Director, Office of Global Affairs, US Department of Health and Human Services. Seth Berkley CEO of GAVI (the vaccine alliance), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and Chelsea Clinton.


ET Canada reports:
“We’re grateful to The Duke of Duchess of Sussex for working with us to bring together this critical conversation,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health, Organization of the roundtable. “We are at an important crossroads for vaccinating the world. It is only with collaboration, coordination, transparency, and creative thinking that we can make it through this pandemic together.”
In a statement, the Duke and Duchess said the meeting was "much-anticipated" and they are "eager to do their part". The piece in full read: "In this room, we had a number of the foremost leaders on public health, pandemic preparedness, scientific progress, and community building. Today’s meeting was a much-appreciated opportunity to learn from some of the most-respected experts who are working tirelessly to end this pandemic. Building on ongoing conversations we’ve had with global leaders over the past 18 months, today further reinforced our commitment to vaccine equity. We’re so encouraged by the spirit of collaboration we heard throughout our conversation and are eager to do our part".


The Duchess looked sophisticated in a camel coat and a black roll-neck top and pencil skirt.


Following an extensive search What Meghan Wore identified the coat as the sold out Max Mara Rispoli style. The piece was described as: "Soft and warm camel coat detailed with open front design and combined belt to tie at waist, notched lapels, two maxi slanting pockets on front and branded viscose lining". Max Mara's Arona is a very similar coat available at My Theresa and Matches Fashion


Candid shots taken outside show the Duchess carried a gorgeous handbag by Valextra (a great spot by What Meghan Wore).



The Mini Iside Grained Leather Bag retails for $2,980. Made in Italy, it features a front flap with turn lock closure, a detachable, adjustable shoulder strap, and gold-coloured metal hardware. It's available at Luisaviaroma in several colours and Net-A-Porter.


The Duchess sported a chic pair of Giorgio Armani velvety leather court shoes with an asymmetric top line (with thanks to Heaven for the ID).


Meghan was also seen wearing a pair of Valentino sunglasses (with many thanks to What Meghan Wore).


The eagle-eyed Laura noted Meghan wore Diana's diamond tennis bracelet -- a piece the Duchess has worn on several occasions.


Meghan also wore Diana's Cartier Tank watch once again, and her Jennifer Meyer gold bracelet.


On a very sweet note, Harry's case had 'Archie's Papa' inscribed on it. Both the Duke and Duchess carried notes and folders for the meeting. Meghan carried her laptop in her Smythson case.

If you're just joining us, please click here to catch up on today's earlier events.

I think it very likely we'll see more of the Duke and Duchess before Saturday's Global Citizen event. Their New York visit is off to a wonderful start!

24 comments:

  1. What a treat for me! I love H&M. I love NYC. I love old New York. I love Madeline. And I love wearing multiple beautiful bracelets and rings. I hope they get to see a lot of old friends. And we get to hear about it! :)

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  2. Thank you for your wonderful coverage, Charlotte. I have appreciated all your recent posts which I have not commented on. It's always great to see Harry and Meghan, and hear about what they are doing.

    I think the US has donated 1.1 billion doses of vaccine now (not 1.1 million.)

    This seems to be the launch of Harry and Meghan's new public role since leaving Royal duties. They're off to a great start.

    R

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  3. she looks so chic. thanks for this she is glowing

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  4. Really nice to see them out and about again!

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  5. Oh my goodness!! I’m so inspired (again) by Meghan and Harry!! They certainly “run towards the struggle” without thought of politics or who it might upset, helping others is their first thought!

    I read earlier that Queen Maxima is also in NYC and the thought of her and Meghan meeting has me on the verge of a meltdown 😀😀. I do hope that at some point, Meghan will continue her work with the UN, specifically UN Women!!

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  6. She’s wearing very heavy clothing for a mild autumn day. Fully acclimated to that hot, dry, California climate.
    It’s nice to see them doing good and making s difference.

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    1. I think her layers of clothing are personal to her probably being cold all the time. Just an FYI SoCal is divided into many little microcosms of weather. Santa Barbara’s temp doesn’t crack 80 fairly often, but humidity makes it so miserable. For hot & dry you have to go inland

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  7. Meghan must be fully acclimated to hot,dry, California weather. She’s wearing very heavy clothing for a mild autumn day on the East Coast.
    Very nice to see them out doing good.
    - Karen in Virginia.

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  8. Amazing. What a treat! It's so lovely to see them and working so hard as well. In Africa we really want people to realise sharing vaccines won't hurt the West but rather it will protect the world

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  9. I live in NYC and I am shocked she wore what she did today. It was a hot, muggy day -- I'm one that gets cold easily and I was sweating in my jeans and t-shirt. Meghan was wearing like November clothes, lol.

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    1. Hi Ivy Lin, I live in Florida. The minute the temps get to 65F in when I visit family in Massachusetts or Michigan , we break out heavier clothing. It feels very cold to us. My sister has a hearty laugh at me. I remember when 60 wasn’t all the cold to me, maybe long sleeves or a light sweater. And remember the windows of our home would be open for fresh air too!

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    2. It’s so funny how different people perceive temp and humidity vs dry. I moved to LA in 1999 from NJ & seriously my colleagues gave me a laugh, wearing gloves & coats when the temp went below 65. I still don’t bundle up well ever, unless going to outdoor gathering at night. My biggest issue is humidity, last week we were at 72 for the high but humidity at 80% I was miserable.

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  10. Love the appearances today! So great to see this power couple in action solo or together. I've noticed something recently that's not significant...just a puzzle to me. Meghan seems to wear her wedding band on top of her engagement ring. Sometimes as at the World Trade Center Tower, she has another ring (there the snowflake) on first. I was always told to wear my wedding band on first, closest to my heart, with my engagement ring "guarding" it so to speak. I'm old so maybe its just an old fashioned practice? Just curious, certainly not criticizing it in any way.

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    1. Hi BeanieG! I too am a bit older and have heard of that practice of wearing the wedding ring closest to the heart. Imho, Meghan probably takes off her rings at night, I do because my fingers swell a bit, and when she puts them on in the morning she might not pay much attention to the order she's putting them on. I also don't imagine that she wears her engagement ring on a daily basis, with little ones around it's bound to get dirty and banged about.

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    2. Thanks for your thoughts, Laurie. I rarely wear my engagement ring in retirement (busy with outdoor casual outdoor activities where it might get damaged 😎). I even wear the engagement ring on my right hand sometimes for the rare formal occasion. I never take off my wedding band however except to clean it. Just wondered if customs had changed. I did look online now and it still states the old standard. Somehow I never noticed Meghan's stack habit until recently. just a curiosity, nothing more. Agree about the possibility of swelling. My problem now is the knuckles are bigger than the finger 😐. In any event, both looked wonderful, and more important, are again out in public gaining attention for good works! Changing her coat for the different engagements was a nice move.

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  11. I'm so happy to see them engaged in bringing the vaccine to all countries, this is vital at the current Covid situation. I understand that they are really actively taking part in this plan, not just visiting and smiling to the press. That's the best way to use the impact of celebrity when you happen to be one. Lookin forward to their next appointment.

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  12. It feels so good to see them again in the field, especially since I am still learning a lot from them via this blog where you have Charlotte's art of exposing the smallest details so well.

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  13. It is wonderful to see them again. I too hope Meghan does something for UN Women.
    #ServiceIsUniversal

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  14. I’m glad to see the Sussexes support getting the vaccine to the parts of the world who need it. They said they wanted to serve and they truly are Global Citizens.

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  15. Autumn in New York. She looks gorgeous!

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  16. After so little for so long I'm having a very hard time processing all of this content...Omg I've missed them so much!!! This is beatiful, they are beautiful. Thank God they're back to work and thanks for the timely updates to whoever runs this amazing blog!!!

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  17. Wow what wonderful day for them I love her new public status oh god here in your country their are limited vacines yet I really love what they doing promoting vaccines and get vaccinated in your social responsibility to the world even it's sinovac phizer and astra j and j we must accept it well her in country their limited vacines access here in Asia so we must accept it whatever it's there it's seems autunmn weather is good and nice

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  18. Yes to Meghan finally putting that fancy International Relations degree she earned from Northwestern to good use! Honestly I could see her working for the UN in the future in a bigger capacity than she did when she still had her full-time job as an actress. I sure hope so cause the UN are based in NY and while I know Meghan's a California girl to the core-and we cannot compete with the California weather-and that her beloved mother lives in LA, I still would so love to see the Sussexes live in our beautiful city or at least travel here more often, after all plenty of their friends are based in NYC.

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Welcome to Mad About Meghan! We do so look forward to reading your thoughts. Constructive, fair debate is always encouraged. Hateful, derogatory terms and insults are not welcome here. This space focuses on Harry and Meghan, not any other member of the Royal family. It's not the place to discuss politics either. Thank you for reading, we look forward to your comments :)