SAN FRANCISCO — Britain’s Prince Harry shared the stage with actress Mindy Kaling this week at a conference focused on transforming stress in the corporate world, marking another foray into the wellness space for the former senior royal.
On Wednesday, the Duke of Sussex, 39, led a panel discussion titled “Beyond Burnout: Transforming C-Level Stress Into Strength” at the annual BetterUp Uplift Summit in San Francisco. BetterUp is a coaching and mental health company where Harry serves as chief impact officer.
Joining Harry were the company’s chairman of the Center for Purpose & Performance, Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, and Kelly Jones, the chief people officer at the technology giant Cisco. The discussion centered on the psychological toll of leading businesses through uncertainty.
But Harry was not alone on stage. Mindy Kaling, the actress, writer and producer known for shows like “The Office” and “The Mindy Project,” made an appearance as a guest speaker. Kaling is a friend of Harry’s wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
In a photo shared on the couple’s website, Archewell, Harry and Kaling beam warmly at the camera. Kaling wears a patterned red, black and white cardigan with gray jeans, while Harry is dressed in a crisp gray suit and white shirt without a tie.
When asked what she has been “rethinking lately,” Kaling reflected on parenting her two young children, according to Hello! Magazine. “Gentle parenting I am rethinking,” she said. “It’s this thing lots of L.A. and New York and certain progressive cities do, and sometimes you just have to scream at your kids … so I am rethinking it!”
Archewell’s overview of the panel said Harry and the other speakers “dove into the psychological toll of leading through uncertainty” by “sharing personal anecdotes, evidence-based practices, and forward-thinking policies aimed at helping leaders thrive amidst the pressures of today’s world and modern corporate life.”
Kaling has been outspoken in supporting Harry and Meghan’s decision in 2020 to step away from frontline royal duties and pursue financial independence. She later appeared on Meghan’s podcast “Archetypes,” where the two women discussed overcoming insecurities while growing up.
The wellness summit came amid an ongoing rift between Harry and Meghan and the British royal family. When Prince William’s wife, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, revealed last month that she had been diagnosed with cancer, reports indicated the California-based couple learned the devastating news through television reports rather than directly from the royals.
“When you do discover that your sister-in-law has cancer and you’ve written stuff that can’t be retracted, that’s quite a painful place to be in,” royal expert Tessa Dunlop told Us Weekly, referring to Harry’s memoir “Spare,” which chronicled tensions with his family including William.
Wednesday’s appearance continues Harry’s post-royal career focused on advocating for mental health support in the workplace. The prince has made corporate coaching and well-being a priority, including through his role at BetterUp.
By aligning with a famous actress like Kaling, who has a large following among younger audiences, Harry may be aiming to expand his wellness messaging to resonate with millennials and parents balancing careers and families.
The summit exemplified Harry’s efforts to establish new philanthropic interests and professional identities outside the confines of the monarchy. Working with American companies allows him independence from the royal family as he charts his own course in the modern era.
