Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Sweetly Surprise a Group of Youth Poets for Black History Month

‍The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are ringing in Black History Month with the help of some very talented students.

Both Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan surprised a group of youth poets as part of the educational group Get Lit – Words Ignite, a Los Angeles–based poetry curriculum taught in more than 100 L.A. schools. For the appearance, the duke and duchess kept things cool and casual while chatting with students about the importance of poetry in culture. Meghan, showing off her now signature pared-down California style, wore a light blue button-down and left her hair in soft waves, while Harry looked laid-back in a white polo.

Mason Granger, the manager of community outreach for Get Lit – Words Ignite, shared a screenshot of the conversation on Instagram featuring the royal couple, and applauded the pair’s appearance and natural chemistry with the students.

“Soooo Prince Harry and Meghan dropped into my poetry class on Saturday and kicked it with the Get Lit Players for a multitude of minutes. My favorite part of it all was Meghan echoing so many sentiments we’ve talked about in class, about this particular moment in time/history to be a young person and the ripple effect of a single voice,” wrote Granger. “The root of them deciding to come is because at some point in their lives, they were moved by a poem. And whoever wrote that poem at some point thought to themselves, ‘Does this even matter? Is anyone even listening?’ And they shared it anyway.”

Granger continued, revealing that the couple chatted with students for almost an hour and described the experience as “surreal.”

“Fast forward ripple ripple ripple and these kids get a surprise 45 minute chat with the Prince Harry and Meghan. It was pretty surreal. My kids shared poems, they asked questions, the kids answered and asked questions back, they responded authentically (they actually read and learned the kids bios I’d sent earlier),” continued Granger. “The org and all the kids are posting today with more details about the visit— I just want to say that the Get Lit Players are brilliant and 10/10 would recommend The Duke and Duchess of Sussex for your next Zoom poetry practice.”

The Sussexes’ appearance was in conjunction with the release of Get Lit’s new 2020-2021 Virtual Anthology celebrating all Black authors and poets. The anthology which can be accessed here, was created in support of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement and aims to “inspire new perspectives, spread understanding, celebrate great art, and highlight the multitudes of injustice” in the world.

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