Meghan Markle celebrates her 40th birthday with comedy video [watch]

Meghan Markle celebrated her 40th birthday on Wednesday, 4 August by releasing a comedy video with the Hollywood actress, Melissa McCarthy…and a surprise appearance from her husband, Prince Harry.

Meghan Markle’s 40×40

According to Variety, the video, titled “40×40,” consists of Meghan and Melissa on a video call discussing the duchess’ new philanthropic endeavour, which involves Meghan asking 40 friends to give 40 minutes of their time to mentor women “mobilizing back into the workforce.”

The initiative comes after tens of millions of women around the world have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, Meghan points out, and urges everyone to dedicate 40 minutes to “some kind of act of service” in order to create a “ripple effect.”

In the video, Meghan tries to get this message across to Melissa, but the comedian interrupts frequently, first by getting changed into a dress and hat befitting of a royal wedding guest, then asking whether Meghan is planning a Suits reunion and, finally, grabbing a pair of sunglasses and asking if the duchess wants to have a “yacht party,” to which Markle shakes her head.

Tea with Meghan’s rescue chickens?

The end of the video includes outtakes of Melissa asking about having tea with Meghan’s rescue chickens, who were memorably featured during her interview with Oprah Winfrey in May, and even Prince Harry, who pops up outside the duchess’ California mansion window with some juggling balls. “What?” Meghan asks as she spots the prince out of the corner of her eye before descending into a laugh. You can watch the video in full down here:

Reflecting on her 40th birthday

The video marks the first appearance of Meghan since the birth of her and Prince Harry’s second child, Lilibet Diana. After reportedly hiring Oprah’s party-planner (who is from South Africa), Meghan shared a note on the Archewell website explaining the initiative and reflecting on her birthday in more detail.

“In reflecting on my 40th birthday and the many things I am grateful for, I’m struck that time is among our greatest and most essential gifts: Time with our loved ones, time doing the things we love, time spent learning, laughing, growing, and the sacred time we have on this earth.”

Archewell also announced participants in the programme include Adele, Amanda Gorman, Amanda Nguyen, Deepak Chopra, Dr Ibram X. Kendi, Gloria Steinem, José Andrés, Dr Nadine Burke Harris, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, and Stella McCartney.