This marks the first time the couple has formally posed together for a magazine cover shoot.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have made Time magazine's 2021 TIME100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The couple posed for a stunning photograph for one of the covers of the magazine and are praised by their friend, chef José Andrés.
Megan looks chic in a white button-up and trousers on the cover, wearing her long hair down. Meanwhile, Harry stands behind her with his hand on her shoulder, wearing all black. The photo was taken by award-winning photographer Pari Dukovic, and marks the first time the couple has formally posed together for a magazine cover shoot.
Andrés, who's worked with Meghan and Harry through his foundation, World Central Kitchen -- which uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies through times of crisis and beyond -- wrote an essay for Time about what makes the couple so special. Andrés noted that the two have a sense of urgency when it comes to helping others.
"Springing into action is not the easy choice for a young duke and duchess who have been blessed through birth and talent, and burned by fame," he writes. "It would be much safer to enjoy their good fortune and stay silent."
"That's not what Harry and Meghan do, or who they are," he continues. "They turn compassion into boots on the ground through their Archewell Foundation. They give voice to the voiceless through media production. Hand in hand with nonprofit partners, they take risks to help communities in need -- offering mental-health support to Black women and girls in the U.S., and feeding those affected by natural disasters in India and the Caribbean."
Andrés praised their empathy for others and willingness to help.
"In a world where everyone has an opinion about people they don't know, the duke and duchess have compassion for the people they don’t know," he writes. "They don't just opine. They run toward the struggle."
Harry and Meghan are definitely in good company this year. Celebrities who made Time's list include Dolly Parton, Kate Winslet, Billie Eilish, Scarlett Johansson, Lil Nas X, Bad Bunny, Britney Spears, Daniel Kaluuya, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shonda Rhimes, Jason Sudeikis, Omar Sy, Bowen Yang, Steven Yeun, Chloé Zhao, and Red Table Talk hosts Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris. Harry and Meghan also wrote an essay for the magazine about Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first African and first woman to lead the World Trade Organization, who also made the list.
"Okonjo-Iweala took on the role of director-general this March at a watershed moment for our global health and well-being," they write. "Okonjo-Iweala has shown us that to end the pandemic, we must work together to equip every nation with equitable vaccine access. Our conversations with her have been as informative as they are energizing. This is partly because, despite the challenges, she knows how to get things done -- even between those who don’t always agree -- and does so with grace and a smile that warms the coldest of rooms."
Tuesday marks Harry's 37th birthday, and he received public birthday wishes from his brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as other members of the royal family. ET recently spoke to Finding Freedom co-author Omid Scobie, who said that the relationship between Harry and 39-year-old William is still very much distant.
"I don't just mean physical [distance], across the Atlantic, but they are not talking that much, and that is exactly how sources close to William have put it," he told ET.
Among the royal family, Scobie said there are "still feelings of anger" toward Harry and Meghan over "the way the couple carried out their departure from their royal lives," and the experience is something William "has not been able to come to terms with yet."
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