Prince William Strikes New Blow in Harry and Meghan Rivalry

Prince William appeared to land another blow in his reported rivalry with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Tuesday, with the announcement that former New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has joined his Earthshot Prize charity as a trustee.

The news comes just four months after Ardern appeared to publicly distance herself from Harry and Meghan over their Netflix docuseries Live to Lead, which featured an extended interview with the politician. Ardern was previously presumed to be close to the couple, as highlighted by biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in the 2020 book Finding Freedom.

Ardern's appointment as a trustee of the Earthshot Prize, William's charity aiming to identify and scale-up worldwide eco-initiatives, came via Kensington Palace on Tuesday.

In a press release hailing the former Prime Minister's "commitment to sustainable development and climate action," William said:

"It is an honour to welcome Jacinda to The Earthshot Prize team. Her life-long commitment to supporting sustainable and environmental solutions, along with her experience as Prime Minister of New Zealand, will bring a rich infusion of new thinking to our mission.

"Four years ago, before The Earthshot Prize even had a name, Jacinda was one of the first people I spoke to, and her encouragement and advice was crucial to the Prize's early success. I am hugely grateful to her for joining us as she takes the next steps in her career."

In return, Ardern said she was "humbled" to be working with the Earthshot team, which also counts among its trustees former Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf, who accused Meghan Markle of bullying palace staff in a leaked 2018 email.

Jacinda Ardern, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Ardern first became linked to Harry and Meghan in 2018 when she played host to the couple during their tour of the South Pacific shortly after their marriage.

The couple had announced that Meghan was expecting her first baby at the time of the tour and before their visit to New Zealand ended, Ardern praised the duchess for carrying out royal engagements while pregnant.

"It's just increased my respect for the role that she's playing at such an often tiring time," she said. "I have real empathy and I think she's incredible."

The prime minister and the royal couple are said to have bonded during the visit. Authors of Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, wrote of the friendship and said the couple and Arden "stayed in regular contact" since the 2018 tour.

"Exchanging emails and even meeting up again at Kensington Palace on January 21, 2019," they wrote. "Meghan regularly wears the earrings Ardern gifted her in New Zealand—a pair of simple gold studs with a feather engraving on each by the Kiwi musician and jewelry designer, Boh Runga."

Meghan also included Ardern as one of her "Forces for Change" during her guest editorship of British Vogue's September 2019 issue, featuring a portrait of the politician along with other inspirational women on its cover.

Live to Lead and Public Distancing

By December 2022, the public's perception of Harry and Meghan had developed since their New Zealand visit. The couple had dramatically split from the monarchy and spoken of their grievances with the royal family in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the process, their popularity appeared to decline among Brits and Americans, though they still retain a strong and loyal fan base around the world.

In December 2022, the couple released their first docuseries as part of a multi-million-dollar content creation deal signed with Netflix after leaving Britain for a new life in America. The show, called Harry & Meghan, detailed their decision to leave the monarchy and charted their love story.

After the show's release, the couple quickly announced a new show they would be fronting called Live to Lead. It featured previously recorded interviews with high-profile leaders such as Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Greta Thunberg and Ardern. Harry and Meghan acted as hosts, introducing each one.

"Inspired by the iconic legacy of Nelson Mandela, Live to Lead highlights the fundamental values, daily disciplines and guiding principles that leaders employ to motivate others and create meaningful change," the press release said.

Supported by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, it emerged that the interviews were filmed long before a docuseries was conceived and, coming off the back of their controversial first series, that the participants did not work closely with Harry or Meghan on the show.

On December 20, Ardern's office released a pre-emptive statement that appeared to attempt to distance her from the royal couple. It detailed her involvement with the initial interview project in 2019 and added:

"In March 2021 the Nelson Mandela Foundation advised the prime minister's office they had secured an agreement with Netflix to broadcast the series of interviews, including the 2019 interview with the prime minister.

"In May this year the prime minister's office was notified that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would introduce the series; noting this was nearly two and a half years after the interview had been recorded and permission for its use by the Mandela Foundation had already been provided.

"All communication throughout has been with the foundation (there has been no communications with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex regarding the project)."

Live to Lead was released globally on Netflix on December 31, 2022.

Ardern and Earthshot

Though there has been no public confirmation or demonstration of any issue between Ardern or Harry and Meghan, the news that she has signed up to work closely with Prince William has drawn her previous royal relationships into focus, given Harry's public criticism of his brother in his recently released memoir, Spare.

In his book, Harry lists a number of issues with his brother including jealousy and rivalry, as well as an allegation of a physical assault during a 2019 argument over Meghan's alleged treatment of palace staff.

Of Ardern's decision to work with Earthshot, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Newsweek that it was not an unexpected move, as she looks to build a career outside of politics.

"It is not surprising that the former leader of a Commonwealth Country would want to align herself with the prestigious global environmental Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William," he said. "It seeks ideas to fight climate change and help to save the environment."

Newsweek reached out to representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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