Prince Harry and his wife Meghan were presented with the Ripple of Hope Award on Tuesday for their racial justice and mental health work from the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation.
According to the body, honourees are those who have demonstrated “an unwavering commitment to social change and worked to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights”.
Harry and Meghan were recognised alongside other honourees including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the star-studded New York gala hosted by actor Alec Baldwin.
Crowds stood in the rain outside the New York Hilton in midtown Manhattan to catch a glimpse of the couple and other celebrities as they arrived.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wore an off-the-shoulder white gown with long sleeves, and the pair smiled as they walked the blue carpet for the event.
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F Kennedy, and president of the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation, said she was "proud" to be honouring them at the gala.
"They've stood up, they've talked about racial justice and they've talked about mental illness in a way that was incredibly brave," she told US outlet Extra.
"For Meghan to get out there on national television and normalise discussion of mental health, at this point, is incredibly important and very brave."
Other attendees included West Wing actor Bradley Whitford, Bafta winner Forest Whitaker, actress Alfre Woodard, actor Keegan-Michael Key and Van Jones, CNN host and one-time adviser of former president Barack Obama.
"I think given the world that we're living in these days, the time now is almost as important as it has ever been in history for us to be able to make an effort to have justice spread all over the place and that's what RFK Human Rights does," said Key.
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The Harry & Meghan trailer uses famous photos of the couple. All photos: Netflix -
Previously unseen personal images taken by the couple also feature in the documentary -
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in a still from the Harry & Meghan documentary trailer -
The official promotional artwork for Harry and Meghan
Others recognised at the event include Frank Baker, co-founder and managing partner of Siris; Brian Moynihan, chair of the board and chief executive of Bank of America; and Michael Polsky, founder and chief executive of Invenergy.
The ceremony will also recognise NBA legend and US civil rights figure Bill Russell with a posthumous award.
The event was held only days before the launch of the couple’s tell-all Netflix show, which is due to begin streaming on Thursday.
The royal family is bracing itself for bombshell revelations, with Harry speaking of a “hierarchy in the family”, a “dirty game”, and warning “we know the full truth”.
Notable members of the Kennedy clan -- in pictures
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Members of the Kennedy family pose for a photo circa 1948 in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. From left, John, Jean, Rose, Joseph Sr, Patricia, Robert, Eunice and in the foreground Edward. AP -
Joseph Patrick Kennedy, wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and their five children pose in the garden of the US embassy in London in 1937. Getty Images -
John F Kennedy and wife Jacqueline take a ride on their sailboat in Hyannis Port. AP -
President-elect John F Kennedy, centre, is surrounded by family members. AP -
John F Kennedy, right, and Richard Nixon appear in the fourth and final presidential debate in New York. The 1960 presidential election offered the country's first televised debates. AP -
Former US president Dwight Eisenhower shakes hands with Jacqueline Kennedy as she and president-elect John F Kennedy arrive at the North Portico of the White House on inauguration day, January 20, 1961. AP -
President John F Kennedy and British prime minister at the time Harold Macmillan stand in the West Wing Colonnade of the White House in 1961. AFP -
Jackie Kennedy boards a plane with her sister, Lee Radziwill. Getty Images -
Edward Kennedy at the White House in 1962, flanked by his brothers Robert and John. AP -
Jackie Kennedy leads her daughter Caroline's pony, Macaroni, while giving gives a tour of the White House grounds to Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran in 1962. AP -
The Kennedy children play in the Oval Office at White House. AFP -
Deputy administrator of Nasa Robert Seamans and Wernher von Braun with John F Kennedy in November 1963. Nasa / AP -
Jackie Kennedy with her children during the funeral of her husband on November 25, 1963. AP -
Eunice Kennedy cheers on a young athlete during the Special Olympics, started by the Kennedy family. Getty Images -
Joe Biden when he was in the Senate with Edward Kennedy in 1987. AP -
Joe Biden talks to then-president Bill Clinton's Supreme Court nominee Stephen Breyer, as Edward Kennedy looks on. AP -
John F Kennedy Jr answering journalists questions soon after his mother Jackie Kennedy's death in New York. AFP -
John F Kennedy Jr and his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy arrive at the White House for a state dinner in 1998. Both died in a plane crash in 1999. AFP -
A woman adds a candle to a makeshift memorial during a candlelight vigil for Edward Kennedy in Washington. Getty Images / AFP -
Former US representative Joseph Kennedy II speaking at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston in 2009. AP -
The Kennedy brothers, from left, John, Robert and Edward. AP -
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, seen here at Viking Press, became a book editor. Photo: Corbis -
Caroline Kennedy, the sole surviving child of president John F Kennedy, is the current US ambassador to Australia and previously served as ambassador to Japan under president Barack Obama. Getty Images / AFP -
John F Kennedy, right, Robert F Kennedy, second from right, and Patricia Kennedy, front left, pose with friends in Palm Beach in 1936. AP -
Eunice Kennedy Shriver with her husband, Robert Sargent Shriver. Photo: WireImage -
Wearing a gown by Christian Dior, Eunice Kennedy marries Robert Sargent Shriver in 1957. Getty Images -
Maria Shriver and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2007. Ms Shriver is the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. AP -
President Sheikh Mohamed, who was Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the time, greets Maria Shriver. Photo: Ministry of the Presidential Court -
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have three children: Christina, Patrick and Katherine. AP -
Maria Shriver speaks during the Women's March in Los Angeles in 2021. AFP -
Robert F Kennedy addresses campaign workers moments before being shot in Los Angeles in 1968, his wife Ethel at his side. AP -
Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ethel Kennedy, widow of Robert F Kennedy, in 2014. Reuters -
The Kennedy Family at Hyannis Port in 1931. From left, Robert, John, Eunice, Jean, Joseph Senior, Rose, Patricia, Kathleen, Joseph Jr and Rosemary. The dog in the foreground is Buddy. Photo: John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum -
Katherine Schwarzenegger, daughter of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, is married to US actor Chris Pratt. AP -
Robert F Kennedy's daughter Kerry Kennedy in 2021. She was previously married to former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. AFP -
Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks at the Defeat the Mandates rally in Washington, protesting against the Covid-19 vaccine. EPA -
US actress Cheryl Hines is married to Robert F Kennedy Jr. AFP -
Cheryl Hines condemned her husband's remarks comparing the Covid vaccine and mask mandates to the Holocaust. Getty -
Arnold Schwarzenegger and daughter Christina Schwarzenegger. Photo: US Special Olympics
Agencies contributed to this report.
