Live to Lead: Prince Harry and Meghan hail Jacinda Ardern and Greta Thunberg in Netflix series

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hailed Greta Thunberg and Jacinda Ardern as inspirational figures, in their latest documentary series for Netflix.

The environmental campaigner, and New Zealand’s prime minister are among the people profiled in Live to Lead, a series dedicated to the memory of Nelson Mandela and featuring those who have “followed in his footsteps” by “caring for others and working for a better and more equal world”.

Each episode begins with an introduction from the Duke and Duchess.

Harry introduces the episode devoted to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish climate change activist, saying: “In speaking for a new generation, her brave campaigning is both an inspiration and a stark reminder that everything we do matters.”

Meghan says of Jacinda Ardern: “The legacy that New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is building stems from a belief in never losing her capacity for empathy.”

The other subjects are Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the late US Supreme Court justice; feminist campaigner Gloria Steinem; Bryan Stevenson, the US lawyer who challenges racial discrimination in the US justice system; Siya Kolisi, captain of the Springboks; and Albie Sachs, the South African anti-apartheid campaigner.

Jacinda Arden in Live to Lead. Photo / Netflix

In their introduction to each episode, Harry and Meghan explain: “This was inspired by Nelson Mandela, who once said what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived, it is what difference we make to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.

“His life left a lasting mark on the world, a legacy that has helped inspire so many others to stand up, to fight for change and to become leaders.

“So this is in memory of Madiba. It was made to remind us of the difference one person can make. It’s about people who have made brave choices, leaders who have walked alongside him and followed in his footsteps, caring for others, working for a better and more equal world, and giving inspiration to the rest of us: to live to lead.”

The series has been made in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and is based on I Know This To Be True, a series of interviews first produced in book form.

Live to Lead is part of the Sussexes’ Netflix deal, rumoured to be worth $100 million, and arrives shortly after their fly-on-the-wall series, Harry & Meghan.