Prince Harry and Meghan Markle issue new statement on presidential election – but are yet to endorse either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have stressed how voting is a ‘fundamental way to influence communities’ and make a ‘more equitable world’ as they issued a new statement ahead of the US election.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live in Montecito, California, marked National Voter Registration Day yesterday by getting the Archewell team to take part in a letter-writing activity. 

The Archewell website outlined how the couple’s staff used ‘Vote Forward’s impactful letter-writing tool’ to encourage unregistered voters to vote in the presidential election in November. 

The statement read: ‘Voting is not just a right; it’s a fundamental way to influence the fate of our communities. 

‘At The Archewell Foundation, we recognize that civic engagement, no matter one’s political party, is at the heart of a more just and equitable world. 

Pictured: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive in Bogota on the first day of their Colombia trip last month

‘By participating in initiatives like this, we aim to amplify the message that every voice matters.’ 

The couple then went on to invite readers to ‘join us in this important effort’ and volunteer time to write letters to unregistered voters. 

The statement concluded: ‘Together, let’s make sure every eligible voter is informed and empowered to participate in shaping America’s future.’

Ahead of the last presidential election, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex filmed a video statement from the garden of their Montecito mansion – which they had only just moved into at the time. 

In the video address, Prince Harry told US voters to ‘reject hate speech’ while Meghan labelled the 2020 presidential race the ‘most election of our lifetime’. 

While Harry and Meghan did not name their favoured candidate, many viewers thought it ‘obvious’ they were backing Joe Biden over Donald Trump. As such, the Sussexes were accused of ‘violating’ the terms of their ‘Megxit’ deal.

In the aftermath, Republicans and other critics called on the Royal Family to strip the couple of their titles, calling the interference of the Duke and Duchess ‘inappropriate’. 

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said at the time: ‘We would not comment. The Duke is not a working member of the Royal Family and any comments he makes are made in a personal capacity.’ 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured in July) marked National Voter Registration Day yesterday by getting the Archewell team to take part in a letter-writing activity

Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex weighed in on US politics in 2020 when they told US voters to ‘reject hate speech’

Following the video statement, Piers Morgan said: ‘Prince Harry poking his woke nose into the US election and effectively telling Americans to vote against President Trump is completely unacceptable behaviour for a member of the Royal Family.’ 

Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, the author of the book And What Do You Do? What The Royal Family Don’t Want You To Know, said Harry should not speak out about US politics while he is still a ‘representative’ of the UK.

‘I think it’s appropriate for any private citizen to comment on the US election. The problem is that Harry has retained his HRH status and is not a private citizen but still a representative of this country,’ Mr Baker told MailOnline.

‘He needs to stop trying to have a foot in both camps – royal when it suits him and private when it doesn’t.

‘Or to turn on its head the old phrase, I agree with what he says but disagree with his right to say it.’

Questions have arisen about the Duke and Duchess’ political plans – above Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at the United Nations headquarters in New York in July 2022

In 2020, Meghan Markle joined Gloria Steinem for a ‘backyard chat’ in which she indicated who she was supporting in the election

A few years ago, a friend of the Duchess told Vanity Fair that one of the reasons Meghan did not give up her American citizenship when she married into the Royal Family was to allow her to keep open the option of entering politics. 

She has already gotten involved in policy issues. The Duchess was a vocal critic of the Supreme Court‘s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade and threatened to go to Washington D.C. to march in the protests. 

She also lobbied members of Congress to approve mandatory paid parental leave, writing to then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer, as well as cold-calling senators to ask them to support the measure.

She signed her letters to the lawmakers with her royal title: ‘Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex.’ 

In August 2020, Meghan sat sat down with activist Gloria Steinem for a conversation about women’s rights, representation, and the importance of voting – and has been pictured with the political activist several times since.  

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are once again wading into U.S. politics – above the couple at the Invictus Games in Germany in September

In April, the couple waded into US politics again when they joined a campaign to warn American voters against misinformation in the upcoming presidential election.

Their Archewell Foundation and other Hollywood political players supported an initiative to prepare U.S. voters for a possible onslaught of AI deepfake information, Axios reported. 

This year’s campaign is being coordinated by Miles Taylor, chief policy officer of The Future US. Taylor was chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security during Donald Trump‘s presidency and was the anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed revealing the dangers of the Trump presidency.

He’s now ringing alarm bells about the use of fake videos and images.

‘This is a disaster waiting to happen — no one’s doing the public inoculation,’ he told Axios.

With the advent of cheap generative AI and a plethora of social media platforms available, experts are warning manipulated images, edited videos, and misleading robocalls could dominate this year’s politics.

Compounding matters is a lack of regulation and coordination between the relevant federal agencies and social media companies. 

‘The government isn’t talking to social media companies. Many of the social media companies don’t want anything to do with the government — which means novel AI threats could get missed,’ Taylor noted. 

Google, Meta, and OpenAI have pledged to combat deceptive AI election content, while two advertisements have been produced by Jesse Dylan, Bob Dylan’s son, to raise awareness for the issue. The ads will run this spring in battleground states.