Prince Harry and Meghan celebrate LGBTQ+ charities for Pride Month
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, kicked off Pride Month by declaring that "love is love."
"This month we pay tribute to the accounts supporting the LGBTQ+ community - those young and old, their families and friends, accounts that reflect on the past and are hopeful for a deservedly more inclusive future," the new parents captioned a June 1 Instagram post. "We stand with you and support you. Because it’s very simple: love is love."
The @sussexroyal Instagram account used by Harry and Meghan is now following 11 accounts that support the LGBTQ+ community. It follows the tradition they began last month, when they followed mental health accounts, of rotating the Instagram accounts they follow each month based on "causes and social issues" they support.
Their latest post features a photo of Princess Diana, Harry's late mother, who was a pioneer in her efforts to destigmatize and change misconceptions about HIV/AIDS. In the 1980s, when HIV/AIDS was just emerging and was stigmatized as a disease affecting homosexual men, Diana famously held hands with AIDS patients.
One of the charities followed by Harry and Meghan in their new post is the Elton John AIDS Foundation, founded by Sir Elton John, a close friend of Princess Diana.
Harry has continued his mother's work, even traveling to Amsterdam last year to join forces with John at the International AIDS Conference.
Harry and Meghan, who gave birth to their son, Archie, last month, also followed a charity that supports older LGBTQ+ adults, one that offers safe homes for LGBTQ+ youth and one that works with institutions to create "inclusive and accepting cultures," among others.
The couple also highlighted a few U.S.-based organizations, including the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention to LGBTQ+ youth, the Matthew Shepard Foundation, founded in honor of Shepard, who was killed in a hate attack in Wyoming at age 21, and the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ civil rights organization in the U.S.
June is celebrated as Pride Month around the world. New York City is hosting World Pride this year, as advocates come together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, riots in New York City that are seen as a catalyst for the gay rights movement.
