Prince Harry, Meghan Markle wade into politics with new campaign

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have weighed into politics ahead of this year’s US presidential election in a surprise new step for the couple.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have waded into US politics ahead of this year’s presidential election.

The couple, who moved to California in early 2020, has partnered with the AI + Election Security Coalition, which “represents an acceleration of efforts to secure the 2024 election against threats enabled by artificial intelligence (AI).”

Their campaign, coinciding with November’s election, aims to “prepare US voters for a possible deepfake onslaught during the election year”, reports Axios.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are supporting a US campaign targeting election misinformation. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

Harry and Meghan’s support of the anti-election misinformation initiative is just their latest foray into the political realm.

While working royals are discouraged from publicly weighing in on governmental issues, the couple – who quit official duties four years ago – also released a video during the 2020 US election in a bid to tackle misinformation.

In it, Harry urged voters to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” and Meghan declared the Donald Trump/Joe Biden showdown as “the most important election of our lifetime.”

The duchess also “cold-called” people to encourage them to vote during that period, joining forces with feminist and political activist Gloria Steinem.

The following year, Meghan also spearheaded a campaign pushing for compulsory paid leave in the US, lobbying Democratic politicians to support the cause.

The Duchess of Sussex with Gloria Steinem. Picture: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Harry and Meghan’s involvement in this latest political initiative comes just days after it was revealed that planning is underway for the duke to possibly reunite with his estranged brother during his return to the UK next month.

Harry is expected to attend the Invictus Games’ 10th Anniversary service at St Paul’s Cathedral on May 8, although there’s yet to be official confirmation or any indication of whether Meghan will join him.

It comes at a deeply challenging period for the royal family, who are dealing with both King Charles’ and the Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses – and has put all parties in a tricky position.

“William and Kate are really nervous that whether Harry comes alone or with Meghan there are going to be difficulties and a great deal of planning is going on to try to reduce all the inevitable awkwardness and embarrassment,” royal author Tom Quinn told The Mirror.

“One plan being looked at is to let the brothers appear in public for a short period to try to show they can at least be civil to each other.

“It’s a question of the lesser of two evils. If Harry comes to the UK in May and avoids his brother and Kate, there will be more damaging speculation than if they try to patch things up just enough to cope with a short meeting.”

Originally published as Prince Harry, Meghan Markle wade into politics with new campaign