Prince Harry and Meghan praised for their 'moral courage' and 'willingness to speak up'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been praised for their "moral courage" and their "willingness to speak up".

Prince Harry and Meghan are likely to travel to New York in December to collect their award in person, after they were honoured by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.

The royal couple has been named this year's Ripple of Hope Award laureates in recognition of their work on racial justice, mental health, and other social impact initiatives through their Archewell Foundation.

READ MORE: King Charles will 'certainly' invite Harry and Meghan to the coronation

They now join the ranks of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Bono and Desmond Tutu as previous winners of the award.

A gala awards night will be held in New York on December 6 where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also be honoured as a Ripple of Hope laureate.

The organisation said Prince Harry and Meghan were chosen after demonstrating a "lifelong commitment to building strong and equitable communities", highlighting their work in "advancing the global dialogue around mental health, and advocating for a better world – both on and offline".

READ MORE: How Harry helped Meghan at her 'worst point'

"When the Duke and Duchess accepted our award laureate invitation back in March, we were thrilled," the organisation's president Kerry Kennedy said.

"The couple has always stood out for their willingness to speak up and change the narrative on racial justice and mental health around the world.

"They embody the type of moral courage that my father once called the 'one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change'."

The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation is a non-for-profit created in 1968 to realise the former president's "dream of a more just and peaceful world".

READ MORE: Princess Eugenie shares sweet wedding memory, four years on

Prince Harry and Meghan were singled out for their work with the Archwell Foundation, which they set up in the wake of their exit as senior working royals.

The organisation highlighted Harry and Meghan's "mission to uplift and unite communities".

The media release for the organisation said of the couple's work: "In a short time, they have done so in remarkable ways: from supporting Afghan refugees seeking resettlement to uplifting families in the United States in need of paid parental leave; investing in organisations working in Ukraine, to partnering with the NAACP to create the first-ever Digital Civil Rights Award; working with the World Health Organisation, People's Vaccine and Global Citizen to champion vaccine access globally, to raising funds to purchase doses for frontline health workers; among many other initiatives".

December is shaping up for the British royals in the United States.

On December 2, Prince Harry's brother Prince William will be in Boston for the Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony.

It remains unclear whether Catherine or their three children will join the Prince of Wales in the US.

Days later, on December 6, Prince Harry and Meghan are expected to be in New York to collect their latest award.

In February, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared on stage to receive the coveted President's Award at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards, recognised for their work with Archewell.