Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took a break from planning their
May nuptials
to discuss some of the serious issues affecting today's youth at the
Commonwealth Youth Forum
in London Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Prince Harry was announced as
the new Commonwealth Youth Ambassador
, and both he and Markle expressed a shared interest in speaking up for LGBTQ rights at the forum,
People
reports.
“Miss Markle said, and these were her exact words, ‘This is a basic human rights issue, not one about sexuality,’” Australian Jacob Thomas, who won a Queen’s Young Leaders award for helping to reduce the suicide rate within the LBGTQ community in Australia, told reporters.
According to Thomas, Prince Harry praised how much progress has been made over the past decade, but recognized that there is still work to be done.
“Prince Harry said that what was so amazing was that 10 or so years ago, we wouldn’t have been having this conversation and how incredible it was that we now were,” Thomas said, adding that the couple also told him that LGBTQ issues would be at the forefront of their philanthropic pursuits after their wedding.
“Both Prince Harry and Miss Markle said they would put LGBT issues at the front of their work,” Jonah Chinga, an LGBTQ activist from Kenya who was also at the forum, confirmed to reporters.
According to
The Independent
,
same-sex relations are still considered illegal in at least 36 Commonwealth countries, and British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke out against this at the
Commonwealth heads of government meeting
on Tuesday.
“I am all too aware that these laws were often put in place by my own country. They were wrong then and they are wrong now," May said.
I’m Eileen, the digital news reporter at Hearst Digital Media. As a member of the newsroom, I report on a wide range of news, including entertainment, politics and lifestyle. I also cover red carpet events for over 20 of Hearst's magazine brands. I previously held positions at CNN, Facebook and MTV, where I worked as a digital producer, writer and on-camera host. Fun facts: I'm fluent in Spanish, a BU alum, and love fashion and travel.