Prince Harry Reveals Why Archie & Lilibet Will Be “Grateful” When They’re Older

There are a lot reasons you’d think Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s children will feel gratitude when they’re older. They’ve got those prince and princess titles, they live in a gorgeous home in California with an adorably named chicken coop, and their grandfather is the King of England. But, according to their parents, there’s another, perhaps less obvious, reason. Meghan and Harry believe their kids, 4-year-old son Archie and 2-year-old daughter Lilibet, will be grateful for all the hard work that’s been done to keep them safe online.

On Tuesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared in a video for the Responsible Technology (RT) Youth Power Fund, a cohort of 26 youth-led organizations around the United States working to change “the future of technology,” backed by the couple’s Archewell Foundation. “These innovators and campaigners have been awarded a total of $2 million to support their efforts to build a more inclusive, equitable, and accountable online world,” a statement on their foundation’s website reads.

In the video, Harry and Meghan call members of the inaugural cohort to congratulate them on the award and thank them for all the work they’ve been doing.

“Thank you for doing everything that you do, our kids especially are incredibly grateful,” Harry tells a member of the cohort over the phone.

“They don’t know it yet but they will,” Meghan adds.

Harry and Meghan, who once said the cyberbullying she’s faced was “almost unsurvivable,” have long been advocates of responsible technology and online safety. In 2022, the Duke of Sussex spoke at an event for 5Rights Foundation about his concerns for the future of social media, especially how it will affect his children.

“As parents, my wife and I are concerned about the next generation growing up in a world where they are treated as digital experiments for companies to make money and where things like hatred and harm are somehow normalized,” Harry said last May. “We want our children and all children to feel empowered to speak up. My two little ones are still at their age of innocence. Sometimes I feel like I can keep them away from the online harm that they could face in the future forever, but I’m learning to know better.”

Harry and Meghan have also publicly backed the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, bipartisan legislation that takes effect in July 2024 and aims to make online platforms safer for children under the age of 18. “As parents of two young children in California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex extend their deep gratitude to these young advocates, their supporters, and all the leaders who listened to them and acted,” the couple said in a statement last year. “Your tireless dedication will help make the internet a safer, more hopeful place.”