Meghan and Harry appeal for charity donations, not wedding gifts

MEGHAN MARKLE and Prince Harry have nominated a women’s foundation in the slums of Mumbai to be one of the seven recipients of charitable donations they are encouraging from well-wishers who might have been tempted to send them wedding gifts.

Kensington Palace said the couple had picked organisations that reflected their shared values and represented a range of issues on which they were passionate, including women’s empowerment, homelessness and HIV.

Miss Markle visited the Myna Mahila Foundation last year. It supports working women in Mumbai’s urban districts and aims to breaks taboos around female hygiene. Suhani Jalota, who founded Myna Mahila in 2015, said she was “delighted to be a part of this special occasion”, adding: “This support will enable us to expand our reach into more urban slums in Mumbai.”

The organisations chosen also include the Children’s HIV Association, the homeless charity Crisis and Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity for bereaved Armed Forces children.

The couple also picked StreetGames, which uses sport to help young people change their lives, Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity, and the Wilderness Foundation, which promotes the benefits and enjoyment of wild nature.

Kensington Palace said Harry and Meghan were “incredibly grateful for the goodwill shown to them”. The statement added they were “keen that as many people as possible benefit from this generosity of spirit”.

It went on: “The couple have therefore asked that anyone who might wish to mark the occasion considers making a donation to charity, rather than sending a wedding gift.”