Just last year, Meghan attended the Endeavour Fund Awards alongside her then-fiancé Prince Harry. Now, she’s returning to the event as a full-fledged member of the royal family, and Meghan chose a gorgeous bespoke Givenchy outfit for her second go-round at the Awards.
Meghan and Harry attended a private event to judge the Endeavour Awards at Kensington Palace last month. Tonight’s event will “celebrate the achievements of injured or ill service personnel who have used sport and adventurous challenge as part of their recovery and rehabilitation,”
Meghan and Harry walked the red carpet upon arrival
Meghan and Harry’s involvement with the ceremony stems from the fact that the Endeavour Fund was created by the Royal Foundation – of which Meghan, Harry, Kate Middleton, and Prince William all are joint patrons of.
The event is a fitting one for Harry and Meghan to attend: Helping wounded veterans and active service member is a passion of Harry’s. He founded the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event for wounded veterans. At the last Invictus Games, which were held in September 2017 in Toronto, Meghan and Harry made their debut as a couple during a wheelchair tennis match.
The Endeavour Fund Awards are an annual ceremony thrown to celebrate the achievements of wounded and sick servicemen and women who have participated in sporting and adventure challenges to aid their recovery in the past year. Since its launch in 2012, it has supported 66 different projects that have directly assisted over 2,265 individuals. Through their own fundraising, the participants have also collectively raised over £2.5 million for other forces charities.
Ahead of the ceremony, Meghan and Harry spent some time meeting the nominees, as well as Andeavour participants and key supporters of the Endeavour Fund.
DailyMail reported:
As they moved around the pre-awards party at Draper’s hall, Harry was heard to tell one invitee: ‘There’s a heavy baby in here.’ For her part, Meghan told one guest: ‘He’s going to be the best dad.’
A guest also asked Meghan whether she knew the gender of the baby – she said they didn’t: “It’s one of those things, no matter what it is, it’s still going to be a surprise.”
In the video below, you’ll find some lovely clips from the pre-ceremony.
Tonight’s event is taking place at the Drapers’ Hall – home to the Worshipful Company of Drapers, one of London’s twelve great historic livery companies. Henry VIII sold the house to the Drapers in 1543, having passed into the monarch’s possession after Cromwell’s execution in 1540. The house has been renovated three times: first, in 1666; second, in 1772; and third, from 1866 to 1870.
Meghan and Harry were hosted by Ross Kemp. Grazia reported:
As the host of the awards, Ross had a chance to spend some time with the royal couple, who were guests of honour at the central London event. And he told People: ‘We talked about how they’ve got a puppy, and we got a puppy before we had our first boy
‘It’s a preparation for nappy changing and pooing basically.’ As well as the poo chat, Ross recalled that Harry had thanked him for his work on documentaries about soldiers in Afghanistan, saying: ‘He said it changed public opinion in terms of the sympathy towards the soldiers on the ground.
‘He was saying it helped bring awareness. It was actually nice to be thanked by someone like him who’s been there himself and seen and done it.’ Ross is a big fan of the royal couple, saying: ‘They are down-to-earth, very warm, very decent human beings who care. They could potentially be a massive catalyst for great change — not just in the U.K. but around the world’
Then it was time for the awards.
During the event, Meghan took the stage to presents the Celebrating Excellence Award.
During her speech, she said: “I’m so, so grateful to be back. Last year was my first time coming and it was such a meaningful night. Before the reception, Harry and I were talking to all the nominees and in speaking to one of them he said, you know after I mentioned to him, ‘Gosh the impact you guys make is huge. It’s so much bigger than you.’ No, it’s not about us, it’s the ripple effect. And, in true modesty of all the nominees; yes, it is about the ripple effect. What I admired in him – and I feel is true about all the nominees – is you don’t have that ripple effect unless each of you is brave enough to make that first wave. It’s so important to remember that because what you’re doing is inspiring so many people – so thank you from all of us for being that inspiration.”
A video from her speech
Meghan presented the awards to Nathan Forster, a former soldier of the Army’s Parachute Regiment.
Harry presented the last honor of the evening – the Henry Worsley award – to Shaun Pascoe, who was an officer commanding the RAF Medical Emergency Response Team on an aircraft. He suffered PTSD after many tours abroad he has since set up a forces’ sailing charity — Turn to Starboard.
The Henry Worsley Award is named after the late Henry Worsley, who tragically lost his life in January 2016 while attempting to cross the Antarctic – solo and unsupported. Henry, a soldier, and an experienced polar adventurer undertook the incredible expedition to raise money for the Endeavour Fund.
DailyMail reported:
‘Your Royal Highness, you’re absolutely amazing in acknowledging many of us soldiers,’ Ms Ganfield said. ‘And the Duchess of Sussex— you’ve got all this to come.
Earlier, Ms Ganfield met the couple at the reception when Harry had teased her and her running guide Mikael Huggins as he had watched her race in the Invictus Games. ‘He said that Mikael slightly slowed me down and we giggled about that,’ she said.‘He met me in Bath for the trials with Meghan. She is a total asset to the British public and nation.’
‘She is going to be a mother soon and — yet again from the trials — she saw my daughter Bethany who was two at the time. She is now three. Bethany gravitated to her and [Meghan] kind of gravitated to Bethany. She has cerebral palsy. Meghan was amazing with her. And [Harry] was beaming — but he’s always like that.’
Ms Ganfield recalled how in Bath, ‘His Royal Highness put my glasses on to see what I see in day-to-day life and he made Meghan put the same glasses on.’
Before departing, Meghan and Harry posed for a picture with all the nominees and presenter Ross Kemp.
For tonight’s formal event, Meghan went for a bespoke Givenchy look featuring a white button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves tucked into a long black skirt with a leg slit. Meghan is an avowed fan of designer Clare Waight Keller’s work at Givenchy. She even took the time to present an award to her last year – so the Givenchy look by Meghan was hardly a surprise.
She styled it with the Aquazzura Rendez Vous 105 mules.
Meghan carried her black Givenchy clutch.
She accessorized with an Ecksand Ruby Cocktail ring.
… and her Vanessa Tugendhast Precious earrings.
We will see Meghan and Harry again on Tuesday, for the VIP gala night performance of ‘The Wider Earth’ held at the Natural History Museum in London’s Kensington. This is as part of Harry’s official capacity of President of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
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