The Duke and Duchess of Sussex today launched a website for their new charitable foundation.
Archewell, named in honour of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, will serve as the home for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s charitable activities and will focus on what the couple describe as ‘humane tech’.
The Sussexes registered the name Archewell, which combines the Greek word ‘Arche’ and ‘well’, in March but there was speculation the couple could postpone the launch until next year in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic.
However the website going live suggests the couple are ready to move forward to the next phase of the release, following on from weeks of virtual engagements in which they have discussed the negative impact of the internet and social media.
Hosting a special edition of the Time100 Talks yesterday, Meghan, 39, admitted that while she and Harry ‘don’t speak tech’, they ‘know the experience of being a human being and the pain and suffering and joy that has come from this worldwide web’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex today unveiled a sleek website for their new charitable foundation. The website includes definitions for the Greek word ‘Arche’ and ‘well’
Archewell, named in honour of son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor (pictured last September), will incorporate causes close to the couple, including their interest in ‘humane tech’
The Archewell landing page features a plain taupe background with the definition for the words ‘Arche’ and ‘well’ written in black font similar to the one used by their Sussex Royal brand.
It reads: ‘Arche (/rki/; Ancient Greek: ): (n.) Greek word meaning “source of action. Well (/wel/): (n.) a plentiful source or supply; a place we go to dig deep.’
Below visitors are encouraged to sign-up for email updates. The page also reveals Archewell is based in Los Angeles, close to the couple’s new $14million Santa Barbara home.
The website tagline reads: ‘Archewell is an organisation committed to creating compassionate communities online and off, to serve our collective wellbeing.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had originally planned to carry out their royal work under the Sussex Royal brand. However they were forced to give up the name when they stepped down as senior working royals earlier this year.
Speaking in April, the couple offered some insight into Archewell, saying: ‘Before SussexRoyal, came the idea of Arche – the Greek word meaning source of action.
‘We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters.
‘Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.’
Royal biographer Omid Scobie explained this would form a key part of the couple’s work, tweeting last month: ‘Duchess Meghan will speak at tomorrow’s Fortune summit about how experiences online shape communities offline. She will join the summit for a virtual one-one-one on rebuilding the digital world and creating humane tech (a big part of Archewell).’
The couple have been increasingly vocal about their interest in ‘humane tech’ in recent weeks in the lead up to the launch of the new site.
Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex hosted a special edition of TIME100 Talks about the ‘state of our digital experience’.
Dressed in an Alexander McQueen black suit, Meghan, 39, admitted that while she and Harry ‘don’t speak tech’, they ‘know the experience of being a human being and the pain and suffering and joy that has come from this worldwide web’.
Meanwhile Harry said online platforms are ‘distracting us from the things we should be focused on’, adding: ‘What is happening in the online world is affecting the world. This is a global crisis of hate, a global crisis of misinformation, and a global health crisis.’
Meghan recently insisted that all social media users are like ‘people who are addicted to drugs’ during a virtual summit appearance – despite spending many years as a prolific Instagram user.
She drew the bold comparison during Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Virtual Summit – an online event that was reserved for invited guests willing to pay a $1,750 fee.
She told Fortune associate editor Emma Hinchliffe that she has ‘not been on social media for a very long time’ – despite sharing an official Sussex Royal account with Prince Harry for several years before they stepped down as senior royals.
The couple have been increasingly vocal about their interest in ‘humane tech’ in recent weeks in the lead up to the launch of the new site. Pictured, hosting yesterday’s Time 100 Talks
And earlier this year Prince Harry said social media was stoking a ‘crisis of hate,’ and urged companies to rethink their roles in advertising on digital platforms.
In an opinion piece for U.S. business magazine Fast Company headlined ‘Social media is dividing us. Together, we can redesign it,’ Harry said that social media, as it currently stands, is ‘unwell’.
The former senior royal said he and his wife, Meghan, have spent the past few weeks working with business leaders and marketing executives on the issue to try and introduce changes.
‘The digital landscape is unwell and companies like yours have the chance to reconsider your role in funding and supporting online platforms that have contributed to, stoked, and created the conditions for a crisis of hate, a crisis of health, and a crisis of truth,’ he wrote.
He called for online communities to be ‘defined more by compassion than hate; by truth instead of misinformation; by equity and inclusiveness instead of injustice and fearmongering; by free, rather than weaponised, speech.’
It remains to be seen whether the Archewell website launch will be accompanied by a new social media presence, making the most of their roughly 11million Instagram followers.
In the most recent episode of his podcast, Heirpod, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s biographer Omid Scobie discussed their recent comments, saying: ‘It’s interesting to hear Meghan allude to the fact she will never return to the online social space. I don’t know how that will look personally vs professionally.
‘Obviously they do plan to launch their Archewell foundation with big focus on drive to create healthy compassionate online and offline communities. It’s sort of a rebuilding a humane tech landscape for users around the world.’