Sept 15 (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Wednesday graced the cover of Time magazine’s annual 100 most influential people in the world issue.

The list also includes singers Billie Eilish and Britney Spears, and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.

Harry and Meghan, who quit their royal duties last year and moved from Britain to California, are featured on one of seven worldwide covers highlighting the honorees.

The photo shows the couple, who are titled the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, dressed casually with a background of trees.

Time magazine editor in chief Edward Felsenthal said the 100 list features “extraordinary leaders from around the world working to build a better future” who “in a year of crisis have leaped into the fray”.

The 100 list, which is not ranked, included 54 women. It also comprised political figures such as U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Harry and Meghan left Britain in 2020 to build an independent life, launching their Archewell Foundation as well as cutting lucrative deals for producing TV shows and a podcast.

Chef Jose Andres, who funded the World Kitchen nonprofit that partners with the Archewell Foundation, wrote in a tribute that it would have been safer for the couple to stay silent.

“That’s not what Harry and Meghan do, or who they are…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. They don’t just opine. They run toward the struggle,” Andres wrote.

Spears, 39, made the list for the first time in a year that has seen her struggle to get rid of a conservatorship that has controlled her personal and business affairs for 13 come under increasing scrutiny.

The “Stronger” singer was celebrated by reality star Paris Hilton, who wrote that Spears “embodies joy” despite her struggles. “So we stand by hear and root for her as she turns pain to purpose, her unwavering spirit stronger than ever.”

Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, writing about seven-time Grammy winner Eilish who also got her own cover, called the 19 year-old musician “a unique soul” who “stands up for herself and advocates for women everywhere.”

The special issue of Time goes on sale on Friday.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Angus MacSwan

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