I’m glad to be home in US for so many reasons, says Meghan
Laughing duchess in ‘backyard chat’ video with feminist
THE Duchess of Sussex declared she was ‘glad to be home’ as she discussed gender rights and politics in a video with leading feminist Gloria Steinem in the US.
Meghan looked relaxed in what was described as a ‘backyard chat’ thought to have been filmed at her new £11million mansion in Santa Barbara, California.
At one point, Miss Steinem tells Meghan: ‘Meg, welcome home, I’m so glad that you’re home.’ Meghan replied: ‘Thank you, me too, for so many reasons’.
Meghan, 39, then praised the 86-year-old – who has recently been portrayed in the hit mini-series Mrs America – for her long fight against sex discrimination.
The exchange was part of a discussion between the pair released last night. The duchess said: ‘People forget how hard women like you and so many others have fought for us just to be where we are right now.’
Miss Steinem replied: ‘If you don’t vote you don’t exist, it is the only place we’re all equal, the voting booth.’
The conversation is thought to have been filmed in the garden of Harry, 35, and Meghan’s nine-bedroom Californian mansion Chateau of Riven Rock.
The couple bought their home in June after taking out a £7.25million, 30- year mortgage. After announcing in January that they were stepping down from royal duties – less than two years after their 2018 Windsor Castle wedding – the couple moved to a £14million mansion on Vancouver Island, Canada. They then moved to a £13.8million, 12-bedroom, Beverly Hills mansion owned by US entertainment tycoon Tyler Perry before buying their own luxury Californian property.
The interview with Miss Steinem came days after Meghan’s most politically partisan appearance since she became a royal. She took part in an online event backed by the Democrat Party last week in which she urged more women to vote in the presidential election, pointedly telling viewers: ‘We all know what is at stake.’
In the latest video, filmed for feminist media platform Makers Women, Meghan gushed about meeting Miss Steinem, declaring: ‘Today is a pretty great day, for me it’s a pretty great day.’
The pair appeared at ease as Harry and Meghan’s dogs – labrador Pula and beagle Guy – ran into shot. Meghan, who wore Anine Bing trousers, Stella McCartney sandals, and a straw hat by Janessa Leone, was filmed sitting cross-legged and checking her mobile phone in the clip posted on Instagram and Twitter.
In the ‘historic backyard chat' Miss Steinem confessed that she was concerned about youth attitudes towards voting, but added that her own activism work was ‘no sacrifice’.
‘What worries me the most are young people, who I understand are the least likely to vote,’ she said.
‘I can understand the feeling that they don’t think they have an impact, and yet it’s more important for them to vote than anyone else because they’re going to be alive long after I am. They’re going to be suffering the consequences.’
She added: ‘Movements are families, it’s no sacrifice. I get to do what I love and care about every day of my life, how great is that?’
Miss Steinem has recently been portrayed in the historical drama Mrs America, one of the surprise hits of the summer. The miniseries – about the battle to pass the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution in the 1970s – starred Rose Byrne as the feminist icon pitted against conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, played by Cate Blanchett.
She is also the subject of biopic The Glorias, starring Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander, which will be available on Amazon Prime next month.
She recently had strong words to say about President Donald Trump, telling the How to Fail podcast: ‘ We have a virus who happens to be president... I apologise for imposing him on the world.’