Prince Harry and Meghan fans add WellChild to #ArchieDay fundraiser

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fans add British charity WellChild to #ArchieDay fundraiser to ‘mark his birthplace’ as they raise over £21,000 ahead of his first birthday

  • Fans celebrating Archie Mountbatten-Windsor’s birthday using tag #ArchieDay
  • Lovers of Meghan Markle, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, started campaign weeks ago
  • Initially raised funds for children’s charities in Canada, America and South Africa
  • Have now added British charity WellChild to effort to mark ‘Archie’s birthplace’
  • The initiative has raised over £21,000 to mark Archie’s first birthday on 6 May  

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fans have added the British charity WellChild to ‘mark Archie’s birthplace’ as they raise over £21,000 in fundraising efforts to celebrate the royal’s first birthday.

Supporters of Meghan, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, are marking the celebration on 6 May with the hashtag #ArchieDay on social media. 

After officially launching the campaign earlier this month, they urged others to share donations with charities to help vulnerable children impacted by coronavirus in countries which the Duke and duchess of Sussex hold dear to their hearts, including Canada , America and South Africa.

 The organisers of the initiative have now revealed they have added WellChild to the efforts, writing online: ‘We heard all of your suggestions and we agreed that the #ArchieDay fundraising campaign would not be complete without a nod to Archie’s birthplace. His fatherland, the UK.’

Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, supporters have raised over £21,000 for charities around the world to mark their son Archie’s birthday on 6 May 

It’s the first British charity of the official organisations in the campaign, and is the only one of the royal couple’s patronages to be featured.

The move comes days after the Duke showed support for WellChild, of which he has been patron for 10 years, by speaking to British families caring for seriously ill children during the pandemic from his bolthole in Los Angeles, where he is enjoying family time with Meghan and Archie. 

While Harry can continue being a patron for a number of charities, he and Meghan were forced to give up their Sussex Royal brand and any other official roles in the UK.

The couple have both attended the WellChild awards together on several occasion, most recently in October last year.  

The organisers of the initiative added the British charity WellChild to the fundraising efforts in order to ‘make a nod to Archie’s birthplace’ (pictured, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the WellChild awards in October 2019)

Organisers posted on Instagram to say that they felt the #ArchieDay campaign ‘wouldn’t be complete’ without a British charity

According to official online fundraising pages, Sussex supporters have raised just over £1,600 for the charity since it was included in the campaign.

Meanwhile overall efforts by the initiative have resulted in over £21,000 being donated to the four charities involved.  

Launching the campaign officially earlier this month, fan account @Archie_day urged others to help ‘celebrate Archie’s birthday with a global party’, before listing a series of charities selected for the ‘desire to help children.’ 

Among the three charities chosen by the group was the Nourish Eco Village in South Africa, where Prince Harry and Meghan performed their final royal tour in November.

The addition of the British charity comes after Prince Harry spoke with families caring for seriously ill children during the pandemic from his bolthole in Los Angeles earlier this week

The campaign was launched earlier this month to mark Archie’s first birthday on May 6, encouraging followers to donate to a series of charities to celebrate the day  

The charity provides food to children from impoverished families in rural communities that rely on schools to get a meal daily. 

Canadian charity Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, which was chosen because ‘Canada has always been central to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s love story and relationship’, also tweeted about the success of the campaign. 

Fans were also directed to the organisation Children’s Aid, which helps children living in poverty in America to honour the Duchess’ home country.  

Supporters of the Sussexes have been urging others to share donations with four selected charities in the UK, Canada, America and South Africa (pictured, Archie with Prince Harry in December)

Launching the campaign earlier this month, fan account @Archie_Day shared an image which read: ‘Motivated by the pure joy of Archie’s arrival and the very serious circumstances of our time, we introduce a campaign to honour his first birthday and to promote the principles we hold dear. Community, kindness and compassion.’

The image, which was shared by multiple fan accounts on social media as they launched the coordinated campaign read: ‘Before COVID-19 became an ominous presence in our lives, a group of us got together ot organise a fundraising campaign to honour the principles emphasized by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their humanitarian efforts: community, kindness, and compassion for vulnerable people and ecologies.’

It went on to explain that the group hoped to build on the success of previous fundraising efforts, including last year’s #GlobalSussexBabyShower, which was launched by a Meghan fan account, called for users to celebrate Mother’s Day by donating to some of the Duchess’ favourite charities and patronages. 

It follows a campaign last year by the group ahead of baby Archie’s birth to raise money for some of the Duchess’ patronages and favourite charities 

The message went on: ‘It is in that spirit, we kick off the #ArchieDay fundraiser in benefit of vulnerable children affected by the coronavirus epidemic.

‘We are all in this together. We will get through this together. We would love your support.’ 

Harry and Meghan are in Los Angeles after moving from their multi-million pound Vancouver hideout where they spent their six-week Christmas break ahead of ‘Megxit’.  

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