Mindy Kaling Poses Alongside Prince Harry at BetterUp Summit: 'Met My Friend's Husband'

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The Duke of Sussex and Mindy Kaling have something fun in common — young children!

<p>Kirby Stenger for BetterUp</p> Prince Harry and Mindy Kaling at the Betterup Uplift Summit on April 10, 2024

Kirby Stenger for BetterUp

Prince Harry and Mindy Kaling at the Betterup Uplift Summit on April 10, 2024

Prince Harry and Mindy Kaling shared a smile backstage at the BetterUp summit in San Francisco.

On April 10, the Duke of Sussex, 39, and Emmy Award-nominated writer, producer and actor, 44, crossed paths at the two-day Uplift conference, where they were both speakers. As seen in a snap shared to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s recently launched sussex.com website, Harry and Kaling posed for a picture behind the scenes together.

Kaling also posted the photo on her Instagram account on April 11, mentioning her friend Meghan Markle and Harry's bestselling memoir Spare in the caption. She wrote: "Met my friend's husband at a work event. Seemed pretty cool. Said he wrote a book. Gonna go check it out!"

Elsewhere at the event, where Prince Harry took part in a conversation with C-suite leaders in his role as BetterUp’s Chief Impact Officer, Kaling had something playful to say about her parenting philosophy. The Never Have I Ever creator star hit the stage with psychologist and author Adam Grant for a conversation titled "Leading with Laughter," where she joked about why she might reimagine her approach to raising kids. Kaling is mom to daughter Katherine, affectionately nicknamed Kit, 6, and son Spencer, 3.

"What are you rethinking lately?" Grant asked towards the end of the fireside chat in a series of speed questions, Hello! reported.

"Gentle parenting I am rethinking. It’s this thing lots of L.A. and N.Y. and certain progressive cities do, and sometimes you just have to scream at your kids…so I am rethinking it!" Kaling joked in reply.

Related: Prince Harry Takes the Stage for 'Beyond Burnout' Session at BetterUp's Uplift Summit in San Francisco

The Cut defines gentle parenting as a softer approach to raising children than previous generations, trending with millennial and Gen-Z parents.

"The idea behind gentle parenting is to approach kids with respect and empathy, to offer choices rather than make demands, to give space to the child’s feelings and emotions and avoid losing your cool in frustrating situations," they write.

Like Kaling, Prince Harry and Meghan are also parents to two young children — son Prince Archie, 4, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 2. In September 2022, Kaling joined the Duchess of Sussex on the third episode of her Archetypes podcast for a chat titled "The Stigma of Singleton." The pair broke down the sexist definitions of "spinster" and "old maid," also addressing the pressure for women to marry. During the conversation, Meghan spoke about the jabs she navigated when her courtship with Prince Harry began.

"When I started dating my husband, we became engaged and everyone was just like, 'Oh my god, you're so lucky! He chose you!' " Meghan said of the gravity of marrying a member of the royal family.

"And at a certain point, after you hear it a million times over, you're like, 'Well, I chose him too,' " she continued. "But thankfully, I have a partner who was countering that narrative for me and going, 'They've got it all wrong. I'm the lucky one, 'cause you chose me.' "

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty, Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Meghan Markle at the WellChild awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on September 4, 2018; Mindy Kaling at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Focus Features' "Vengeance"at Ace Hotel on July 25, 2022.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty, Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Meghan Markle at the WellChild awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on September 4, 2018; Mindy Kaling at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Focus Features' "Vengeance"at Ace Hotel on July 25, 2022.

Related: Meghan Markle Describes Herself as an 'Ugly Duckling' Growing Up in Podcast Chat with Mindy Kaling

Meghan released one season of Archetypes on Spotify in 2022, which explored the labels that hold women back. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s production company Archewell Audio split with the streamer in June 2023, and Meghan’s new podcast deal with Lemonada Media was announced in February.

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In addition to the first season of Archetypes now being distributed to all podcast platforms, Meghan is also set to launch a yet-untitled new show that she will host.

"I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting," Meghan said in a statement. "Being able to support a female founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024. Our plan to re-release Archetypes so that more people can now have access to it, as well as launching a dynamic new podcast are well in the works. I’m so eager to be able to share it soon, and am overjoyed to be joining the Lemonada family."

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