Irish Daily Mail

Meghan gets pregnancy tips... from Mrs Obama

- By Rebecca English

THEY are two of the most recognisab­le women in the world, both renowned for their passionate activism – and with very high-profile husbands to boot.

So it is little surprise Meghan Markle and Michelle Obama got along famously during a private meeting. The pair discussed everything from female empowermen­t to pregnancy tips during their 15-minute chat in London.

Meghan, whose baby with Prince Harry is due in the spring, secretly met the former first lady on Monday.

Mrs Obama, 54, had just given a sell-out speech at the Royal Albert Hall to publicise her autobiogra­phy, Becoming.

Meghan slipped into the audience with an aide and low-key security to listen to the talk in a ‘private’ capacity. Afterwards she went backstage and had a one-to-one with Mrs Obama about supporting women globally,

‘They formed a strong bond’

female education, pregnancy and raising children.

It is understood the two women, who hadn’t met before, formed a ‘strong bond’ and plan to keep in touch. Their meeting came after Mrs Obama had offered Meghan advice about coping with her public role in an interview with Good Housekeepi­ng magazine.

She had urged the 37-year-old ‘to take some time and don’t be in a hurry to do anything’.

Harry is very friendly with the Obamas and last year interviewe­d former US president Barack Obama in his role as guest editor of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The Mail understand­s Meghan plans to put education for women in developing countries at the heart of her public work when she announces her first royal patronages next year.

She has been having secret briefings with a number of organisati­ons, including Camfed – the Campaign for Female Education – which works in several African countries, including Zambia, which was visited by Prince Harry last week.

The couple are both said to be keen to work together on the issue in their role as roving Commonweal­th youth ambassador­s.

Camfed’s chief executive, Lucy Lake, who was with Harry in Zambia, told the Mail she had briefed Meghan privately at Kensington Palace earlier this year about their work in the country, as well as Zimbabwe, Ghana, Tanzania and Malawi. The duchess also met with Zimbabwean­born Angeline Murimirwa, one of the first girls to go to secondary school with the organisati­on’s support and now its African executive director.

Ms Lake said: ‘We had the opportunit­y to meet with the duchess in the spring.

‘As an organisati­on our team very much represents what we are working towards and that was why the duchess was interested to meet with us and hear more about that.

‘The way both she and her husband have spoken about these issues in such a thoughtful and discerning manner has really helped the wider movement.’

 ??  ?? Famous friends: Meghan Markle, left, and Michelle Obama got along famously at meeting
Famous friends: Meghan Markle, left, and Michelle Obama got along famously at meeting
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