Meghan Markle Taps Melissa McCarthy, Prince Harry for Birthday Video
Meghan Markle turned 40 and celebrated by releasing a video featuring Melissa McCarthy and a cameo from Prince Harry doing something silly in the background. The clip was meant to promote Meghans 40×40 initiative where she asked people to donate 40 minutes of mentorship to women returning to the workforce. Its exactly the kind of celebrity philanthropy content that plays well on social media – polished, feel-good, featuring famous friends being charming together.
The video shows Meghan video chatting with McCarthy from what appears to be her Montecito home. Theyre bantering about the mentorship initiative when Harry appears through a window behind Meghan, juggling balls and generally being goofy. Its staged obviously – everything in these releases is carefully planned – but its meant to show the couple as relatable, fun, normal people despite their extraordinary circumstances. Whether it works depends on your existing feelings about them.
The Calculated Authenticity Game
Everything the Sussexes release publicly is strategic even when it looks casual. This is by design and honestly good PR – controlling your own narrative is important when youve got tabloids writing about you constantly regardless of what you actually do. The royal family media coverage is relentless and often hostile, so producing your own content is basically necessary self-defense.
McCarthy is an interesting choice of collaborator. Shes genuinely funny, mainstream enough to be broadly appealing, and carries none of the political baggage that might come with other celebrity friends. The video is clearly produced by professionals but has a loose conversational energy that reads as authentic even if its scripted. This is harder to pull off than it looks – plenty of celebrity content feels forced and awkward when famous people try to seem normal.
The Mentorship Initiative Itself
Beyond the celebrity video content, the 40×40 project asks people to donate 40 minutes of their time to mentor women re-entering the workforce after pandemic disruptions. Its focused on a real problem – women dropped out of the labor force at much higher rates than men during COVID, often due to childcare responsibilities. Getting them back to work requires support and connection that mentorship can provide.
Whether this initiative has lasting impact or is primarily a birthday PR vehicle is hard to assess from the outside. Celebrity philanthropy often gets criticized as performative – more about the celebrity looking good than actually helping. But even performative philanthropy can raise awareness and direct resources toward real issues. If some women get valuable mentorship connections because Meghan Markle made a video with Melissa McCarthy, thats a net positive regardless of anyone’s motivations.
Harry juggling in the background is obviously the part that gets the most attention because thats how these things work. The substance gets less engagement than the spectacle. But hey, at least the substance is there alongside the entertainment. Worse things have happened on celebrity birthdays than promoting volunteer mentorship.
The 40×40 framing is clever marketing – asking people for 40 minutes on her 40th birthday creates a memorable hook that spreads more easily than generic calls to volunteer. Whether 40 minutes of mentorship actually changes anyones life is debatable but the awareness raised about workforce reentry challenges for women is valuable regardless. Sometimes the discussion matters as much as the direct action.
Meghan turning 40 is itself a milestone worth noting for someone whose public life has been so scrutinized. Shes navigated royal protocols, tabloid attacks, a transatlantic move, and building a new career in media – all while raising young children. Whatever you think of her choices or her public persona, thats a lot to handle. Using the birthday to promote something beyond herself rather than just celebrating is a choice that reflects her priorities.
