Sussexes to support Mind after Piers Morgan furore

THE Sussexes are to give financial support to the charity that defended the Duchess during a bitter row with Piers Morgan over her admission to having had suicidal thoughts.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation named Mind, the mental health charity, among a number of causes it would be supporting, along with campaigners for racial justice.

It made the announcement on Friday, less than a week after the couple’s extraordinary interview with Oprah

Winfrey was broadcast, in which the Duchess revealed that she had suffered from suicidal thoughts when she was a working member of the Royal family.

Following the interview’s broadcast Mr Morgan told Good Morning Britain viewers that he “didn’t believe a word” of what she told the US chat show host, including her claim that she received no support from Buckingham Palace when experiencing suicidal feelings.

After being told of his comments the Duchess lodged a formal complaint with ITV, telling the broadcaster that she was concerned they could have a detrimental effect on others who were experiencing their own mental health problems.

She was supported by Mind, a partner with ITV on its “Britain Get Talking” campaign, which said it was “disappointed and concerned to see Piers Morgan’s comments on not believing Meghan’s experiences about suicidal thoughts”.

The charity added: “It’s vital that, when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health, they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy.” On receiving her email, ITV bosses asked Mr Morgan to apologise to the Duchess during Tuesday’s show but he refused, as disclosed in The Daily Telegraph last week.

The former Daily Mirror editor then quit the show after storming off the set following a row with Alex Beresford, the weather presenter, over his earlier comments

During the interview, the Duchess told Ms Winfrey she had felt suicidal while in the Royal family and claimed she received no help after telling staff about her suffering.

Mind praised her bravery, stating: “We know that opening up in this way can be really difficult, but when highprofile people talk about these experiences, it helps to break down the stigma around mental health issues.”

The couple also claimed they had suffered racist comments from a member of the Royal family who had expressed concern over what colour the skin of their unborn child Archie might be.

In its update, the Archewell Foundation said it would also be providing support to “Colour of Change”, which describes itself as the US’s “largest online racial justice organisation”. Support is also being given to The PressPad

Charitable Foundation and URL Media. The PressPad Charitable Foundation works to improve diversity within the media by “lowering the financial barrier for young people who want to become journalists”. It stated: “We’re excited by such positive action after difficult yet important moments of reckoning for the UK media.”

URL Media describes itself as a “multi-platform network of high-performing Black and Brown media organisations” and was launched in January, offering “an alternative to business as usual”.