Duchess of Sussex launches mentoring project on her 40th

LONDON (AP) — Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has shown her comic side in a video she released Wednesday to launch a mentoring project for women as she marked her 40th birthday.

The initiative will see 40 celebrities and public figures each commit 40 minutes of their time to help a woman in their community return to the workplace.

“Over two million in the U.S. alone and tens of millions around the world have lost their jobs due to COVID, and I think if we all do it and all commit 40 minutes to some sort of act of service we can create a ripple effect," the wife of Prince Harry tells comedy actress Melissa McCarthy in the video.

Meghan jokes with McCarthy in the short film, but Harry then steals the show when he is seen juggling balls outside a window in the background.

The duchess wrote on the website of her charity Archewell that she wants to help women who have left the workforce due to the pandemic “regain confidence and rebuild their economic strength” and that she hopes her initiative will help inspire a “global wave of service” to those in need.

Others who have committed to the project include singer Adele, fashion designer Stella McCartney and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.