Accepting the award, Prince Harry said: 'I think it's safe to say I come from a very different background to my incredible wife'. Photo / MTV
Accepting the award, Prince Harry said: 'I think it's safe to say I come from a very different background to my incredible wife'. Photo / MTV
The Duke of Sussex said he and his wife had been "brought together for a reason" and shared a "commitment to a life of service" as they accepted a top accolade at the 53rd annual NAACP Image awards.
The Duke and Duchess appeared in person at the ceremony to accept the President's Award, which recognises special achievement and distinguished public service.
Accepting the award, Prince Harry said: "I think it's safe to say I come from a very different background to my incredible wife, yet our lives were brought together for a reason.
"We share a commitment to a life of service, a responsibility to confront injustice and a belief that the most overlooked are often the most important to listen to."
The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will honor humanitarians, global leaders, and co-founders of Archewell, Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with the prestigious President's Award. The President's Award is presented in recognition of distinguished public service. pic.twitter.com/pCZcG5p3Tg
The duchess added: "I couldn't be prouder that we're doing this work together."
"We are so deeply humbled to be here in the company of such illustrious awardees."
The Sussexes' Archewell Foundation is supporting a new NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, which recognises leaders creating "transformational change at the intersection of social justice and technology".
"This community knows what it means to speak up for what is right and to march forward is just," said Harry.
"As the fight for justice for justice still remains, it's time to extend this march to the world online, a place where hate and discrimination are fuelled instantly, propagated globally and felt deeply."
Harry and Meghan appeared in person at the ceremony to accept the President's Award, which recognises special achievement and distinguished public service. Photo / MTV
Meghan added: "This is the era of the digital justice movement. We are proud to partner with NAACP and each of you to translate the vital efforts of those who came before us to the modern challenges that exist ahead of us."
Harry wore a tuxedo while his wife wore a long blue dress, revealing her mother had also joined them for the occasion.
At the top of his speech, Harry acknowledged the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and called for support for the country's people from the global community.
The NAACP, which stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, was set up in 1909 in response to ongoing violence against black people.
It is the US' largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organisation, with more than two million activists.
