EDMONTON -- A U.K. charity says the Duchess of Sussex's revelations during her interview with Oprah Winfrey prompted them to reveal a 10,000-pound donation she made in August, which it previously kept a secret.
Himmah, a grass-roots initiative aimed at addressing poverty, mental health, racism and social exclusion, thanked Meghan for her “generous” donation Thursday in a Facebook post, sharing a link to a U.K. tabloid article revealing the donation.
The duchess donated 10,000 pounds (about C$17,300) from The Royal Foundation to Himmah, according to a statement issued to Harper’s Bazaar. Her donation reportedly included additional proceeds from her charitable cookbook “Together: Our Community Cookbook,” which she published in 2018.
Speaking to BBC, Sajid Mohammad, director of Himmah, said the charity initially kept the news of the donation a secret because they feared the duchess was "like Marmite" and could damage Himmah's reputation.
"The reason we didn't go public is the trustees took a view that she was like Marmite and there could be reputational issues - people not liking our charity because they don't like her - so we decided to keep the donation secret,” Mohammad told BBC.
"After the interview we realised we're a poverty and race organisation [and] that we needed to show solidarity."
During the candid interview with Winfrey, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared several bombshell revelations, including Meghan’s struggles with mental health and suicidal thoughts, and allegations of racism, including a claim that a member of the Royal Family was concerned about how dark their son's skin might be.
CTVNews.ca has contacted Himmah for comment.
