Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were honoured with the Humanitarians of the Year award last night at the annual Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Gala. The award recognised their work through their Archewell Foundation to make the digital world safer for young people and their families.

The pair stepped out, hand in hand on the red carpet in New York City at Spring Studios where the pair matched in a black minimalist look. Meghan dazzled in a black Armani suit and chunky gold necklace, and Harry matched in a black suit, layering the look with a white shirt and a black tie.

Speaking at the ceremony about the impact of social media and young children, Harry claimed that 4,000 families are taking legal action through the Social Media Victims Law Centre, as the Duke of Sussex stressed said more needed to be done to protect young people from online dangers.

He said: “Tonight, we are all here together to focus on what remains one of the most pressing issues of our time…”

Prince Harry added: “Let me share a number with you: 4,000. That’s how many families the Social Media Victims Law Centre is currently representing – families whose children have been harmed or lost forever to social media.

“Four thousand cases at just one firm. And that number represents only those parents who have been able to link their child’s circumstance to social media use.”

Harry explained how “there may be no road to closure for grieving parents” as some companies “refuse to disclose” childrens’ activities on their platforms.

The couple’s Archewell Foundation announced that its Parents’ Network initiative is joining forces with ParentsTogether, a non-profit organisation dedicated to family advocacy and online safety.

The Parents’ Network is a community for parents and caregivers whose children have been affected by social media harms, including families who have lost a child or whose children have experienced near-fatal harm due to dangers online.

The Parents’ Network began in 2022 as a community of families in the US who lost a child to social media-driven suicide or whose children have struggled because of online platforms, and the new partnership with ParentsTogether aims to expand the efforts of the network to impact and help more families.

While Markle was in Paris until recently, attending the Balenciaga fashion show, this is the prince’s second big event in New York City this week.