Meghan to speak as guest of honour at LA museum's Night of Wonder
The Duchess of Sussex will speak as the guest of honour at a museum's Night of Wonder in the US, as part of her work championing community wellbeing.
Meghan will be joined by other high-profile guests at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, as the space is transformed into an enchanted nocturnal garden on June 14.
The event will feature live music and installations representing local ecosystems and the LA landscape, and guests will be treated to a farm-to-table dinner that uses ingredients from the museum's nature gardens.
The duchess's mission to advance community wellbeing and uplift young women 'dovetails with the museums' approach to connecting community and science by fostering meaningful educational experiences that empower young minds', the Office of Prince Harry and Meghan said.
Among the programmes shared on the website of their charity, the Archewell Foundation, is The Welcome Project, where Meghan focuses on addressing 'the social isolation recently resettled women experience around the world and building more inclusive and connected communities'.
The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County (NHMLAC) hold one of the biggest and most valuable collections of natural and cultural history in the world, with more than 35 million objects.
Their collections are used for ground-breaking scientific and historical research and in a range of community science programmes, including creating indoor-outdoor visitor experiences.
NHMLAC's president and director Lori Bettison-Varga said: 'We are proud to honour Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, a native Angeleno, whose work to advance community wellbeing and expand opportunity, especially for underserved communities, aligns with our equity-focused approach to developing science literacy for the next generation, including through our Stem and Steam Pathways programmes.'
Meghan and Harry, who celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary last month, live in the US with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, after stepping away from the working monarchy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
SLO County hills hid fossil treasures from a tropical era millions of years ago
Maybe Templeton High School's mascot should be a crocodile or rhino, not an eagle. Maggie White wrote this article that explains the deep history hidden in the hills of the area on Oct. 25, 1994. TEMPLETON — Imagine Templeton as a tropical seaside paradise overgrown with lush greenery and lined with white beaches along warm waters filled with colorful fish. It's tough to picture this dusty inland ranching town as a thriving shoreline, but 200 million years ago it was. Rex Saint'Onge doesn't just believe that — he's helping to prove it. Saint'Onge is a field associate in vertebrate paleontology — a fancy name for someone who looks for animal fossils — for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 'I always wanted to be in search of the truth about the Earth's history,' says the San Miguel resident. 'I don't want people to tell me what to think.' The volunteer researcher doesn't have to travel to exotic locations to do his digging for the museum. He can take his picks and brushes and head out to the hills near Adelaide, the dry creekbeds behind his house or the innocuous-looking mounds in Templeton. What he's finding are clues to what the Central Coast was like more than 20 million years ago. It was a place none of us would even recognize, says Saint'Onge. At different periods between 10 million and 23 million years ago — the age of many of the fossils Saint'Onge is discovering — sea water covered much of North America. As the water receded, 75-foot-long whale-eating sharks ruled the local oceans. Mastodons, camels and rhinos roamed where we walk today. Palm trees were abundant, beavers were the size of bears and hippo-like mammals munched on seaweed and shellfish. 'It's kind of romantic to think of that kind of stuff going on here,' Saint'Onge says. 'You go to work every day and you don't think about what the Earth's history is, but you're walking on it.' Saint'Onge searches for fossils — which include bones, teeth, shells and impressions in rock — at hundreds of locations in the county. Some of his most important finds have come out of sites near Templeton, where he was spending a morning digging last week. While most people would pass by the cream-colored hill near town without a second glance, Saint'Onge knows what he's looking for. With a couple of hammer-sized picks, a knife, some small boxes and tubes for his finds and a sifting screen to separate the fossilized treasures from the sand, Saint'Onge can usually find a handful of history. In about half an hour at the site last week, the researcher found a nearly whole mako shark tooth, two smaller shiny black shark teeth, three fish molars and two teeth form a tiny tropical fish known as a surgeon fish. Though the large shark tooth looked the most impressive, it was the least interesting to Saint'Onge — he finds dozens of them. It was the surgeon fish teeth — as tiny as sesame seeds — that were the most important, he said. The tropical teeth are more proof that Templeton was a pre-historic Hawaii. What is also important about the Templeton site is that Saint'Onge is finding fossils from both water and land animals. That means the sandstone mound was once a beach, lagoon or marshy area where the land met the water, he says. Sites like those are rare. 'We never know what we're going to find,' he says. 'That's the neat thing about this site — you had two different things going on.' Saint'Onge has found hundreds of shark, dolphin, sea lion and tropical fish teeth in Templeton, as well as rhino and rodent teeth. He's also turned up a 4-inch tooth from a 75-foot shark called carcharocles megaladon. The Templeton hillside has also produced the county's first — and so far only — pre-historic crocodile tooth, one of Saint'Onge's key discoveries. Until he found the tooth three months ago, researchers had no record that crocodiles — which have remained almost unchanged for millions of years — existed in this area. But the researcher's biggest find is a previously undiscovered bird that may be named after him, the Saint Ongii. In the hills between Paso Robles and Cambria, Saint'Onge found an almost complete, detailed fossil impression in the shale. It was of a new species of a diving bird similar to a gull or shearwater. Because birds' bones are hollow and the feathers decompose, their fossils are extremely hard to come by, the researcher says. This is the first record that the bird existed. Saint'Onge's other finds include fist-sized mastodon molars in San Miguel, whale skulls all over the county, camel bones in Dry Creek in Paso Robles and molars and tusks from desmostylians, an extinct animal similar to a hippo or walrus, in Coalinga. Teeth are the most common finds because they are harder than marrow-filled bone, allowing them to fossilize more easily. 'I'm adding to the fossil record of North America,' he says. Saint'Onge specializes in the Miocene time period — about 23 million to 10 million years ago. In contrast, dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago and man showed up about 5 million years ago. He's been with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County as a field researcher since 1988. 'After a couple of hundred finds I guess they decided to give me a chance,' he said. Saint'Onge sends all of his finds to the museum for official identification, aging and cataloging. Though Saint'Onge keeps his sites secret so they aren't picked clean or overrun, he will take an interested amateurs on digs with him to show what to look for. 'Most people throw away 80 to 90 percent of what they're looking for' because the fossils are so small or indistinguishable, he said. It is illegal to collect items from private property without a permit or permission. Saint'Onge has been interested in the pre-historic since his first-grade class took a field trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. 'I saw the dinosaurs and I was hooked,' he said. 'It's the idea that all these things lived on this earth that amazes me,' he said. 'Fossils are like pages in a history book — it's a different way of looking at the world. After living in Southern California for several years and learning about the miocene era there, Saint'Onge moved to San Miguel — partly because he knew this county is a virtually unresearched 'bone bed.' 'Pretty much you can go everywhere and find stuff,' he said. Saint'Onge digs during the day and works at night and Ennis Business Forms in Paso Robles. He's a graphic designer and former illustrator for Warner Bros. cartoon characters. He still creates T-shirt and product packaging designs for them as a freelancer. His wife, Sherry, and children, Rex Jr. and Ashley, help him occasionally on his digs even though they don't share his passion for paleontology. 'But I just cant think of anything else I'd rather be doing.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Prince Harry Sets Return to the UK After Claiming He'd ‘Only' Come Back Home For a ‘Funeral'
Every family has family drama; it's just that when you're the British royal family, that family drama is something everyone is interested in. That's turned into a big issue, particularly considering King Charles is ill, and he and Prince William are in the middle of a feud with Prince Harry. Not to mention, divorce rumors are always flying, both about Prince William and Kate Middleton and about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Prince Harry recently said in an interview that he's looking for a reconciliation, especially as he doesn't know how much time his father has left. But his recent loss in the case involving his security also means he has refused to bring his wife and kids to the UK, due to safety concerns, even going as far as to say he couldn't imagine a situation where it would make sense for them to visit. That makes a family reunion all the more unlikely. More from StyleCaster Harry & Meghan Just Snubbed Their Sussex Past After William Went After Their Kids For Their Royal Titles William Just Involved Archie & Lilibet in His Feud With Harry as He Goes After His Brother For the 'Ultimate Windsor Crime' Related: See what each royal inherited from Queen Elizabeth However, there's an upcoming event that might change all of that, the Invictus Games in Birmingham. Both Harry and Meghan have attended all the recent Invictus Games, with one royal observer saying, 'The Invictus Games have so far been unmissable for Harry and Meghan.' The two attended the last games in Vancouver and before in Düsseldorf. In fact, in 2022, Meghan even paid tribute to Harry during the opening ceremony of the COVID-postponed games in The Hague. There's still a long time until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have to worry about this eventuality, though. The Invictus Games are set to happen in Birmingham from July 10-17, 2027. Competitors are set to participate in nine core sports, with three new additions – e-sports, pickleball, and laser run. 'We are thrilled to officially announce the confirmed dates for Invictus Games Birmingham 2027,' Helen Helliwell, CEO of Birmingham 2027, said. 'These Games will shine a light on Birmingham's incredible community spirit and the West Midlands' strong commitment to supporting the recovery and rehabilitation of our Armed Forces community.' And though this is in no way a confirmation of Harry's presence, he did address the next games during the opening ceremony in Vancouver by saying: 'Bring on Invictus Birmingham 2027. You have permission to party!' The Invictus Games are a biannual sporting competition for injured service personnel. They have become, at this point, a big part of the Sussex brand. So, it's likely Prince Harry will find a way to be there, though the presence of Meghan Markle might still be in doubt. Still, a lot can happen from now to 2027. All of this comes after Prince Harry said in his latest BBC interview that, the 'only time I come back to the U.K. is, sadly, for funerals or court cases.' Sources even told Fox News that they don't expect the brothers to see each other again unless Charles dies. 'The funeral of Charles would be the first time that courtiers would imagine [them reuniting],' the source said. 'I can't imagine William would invite Harry to his coronation.' But if anything's going to bring Harry back home outside of that, it might just be the Invictus Games. Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
William & Kate Already ‘Preparing' George, Charlotte & Louis For ‘Future Roles' Amid Charles ‘Incurable' Cancer
There's no doubt that King Charles' illness has accelerated the timeline for succession, or at least the timeline for preparations in the UK. The King has returned to most of his duties, but his age and his illness have made the British Royal Family very aware of the reality that there will soon be another King. And preparations for that have already started, with reports indicating that Prince William and Kate Middleton's roles are already starting to resemble this reality. Perhaps the clearest sign of this is King Charles pretty much deferring to Prince William's preferences when it comes to how they've handled the feud with Prince Harry. Reports indicate King Charles hasn't wanted to take too harsh a stance on his son, but Prince William isn't of the same line of thinking. King Charles has, so far, not taken any steps that might be hard for William to come back from when he is King. More from StyleCaster William Seen Looking 'Sad & Subdued' as Kate Faces 'Major Shifts' Amid Her Cancer Diagnosis Kate Middleton Suffers Devastating Setback as She Faces 'Major Shifts' Amid Her Cancer Diagnosis Related: See what each royal inherited from Queen Elizabeth And, of course, the preparations for a possible succession don't just include Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton. They also, necessarily, involve their three kids: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. All of this comes amid reports that King Charles' cancer is reportedly incurable, but manageable. Royal writer and associate editor of the Daily Telegraph, Camilla Tominey wrote, 'The talk now is that he may die 'with' cancer, but not 'of' cancer following a rigorous treatment program.' This presumably ties into how William and Kate are preparing their kids going forward. It all started with the trio making their first appearance of summer 2025 at Trooping the Colour. The family then posted a picture of all of them on Instagram. On Father's Day, another picture was shared, now of the kids with their father, Prince William. Royal expert and author Robert Jobson discussed the preparations with Hello! magazine. 'It's all about William now, and him preparing Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis for their future roles in the next decade or so,' Jobson told the outlet. 'William takes his responsibilities to the institution, to his father, to his family, very seriously. You see that in the way he looks and the way he acts. He has grown into the role of supporting his father and being a King in waiting.' This reportedly includes the understanding that Prince George has a different burden to bear than his siblings, as the firstborn. That's reportedly why, on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Prince George attended a tea party for veterans with his parents. His siblings were not present. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Mirror, about it. '[It] may be the only opportunity George will ever have of speaking to men and women who served their King and country during the war.' She added, 'It's a lesson that will serve him well in the future…One day he will be Chief of the Armed Forces himself, and he may well look back at some of those conversations and be glad that he had the chance to meet some of the few remaining veterans.' There have been many reports about Prince William's intention to scale down the monarchy. That means that, in the years to come, his three kids will likely play big roles in what the monarchy will look like in the future. And they're already being trained for it. Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways
