Meghan to fight for feminism
Palace gives its blessing to new Duchess of Sussex championing women’s rights in her royal role
MEGHAN MARKLE has been given the blessing of Buckingham Palace to use her position to fight for feminism, as she plans her life as the newest member of the Royal family.
Ms Markle, who will now be known as the Duchess of Sussex after her wedding to Prince Harry, is expected to announce which charities and campaigns she will support when she returns from her honeymoon.
However, her official biography posted on the Royal family website yesterday suggested that she will use her role to champion feminist causes as it highlighted that she is “proud to be a woman and a feminist”.
It adds: “From a young age, The Duchess had a keen awareness of social issues and actively participated in charitable work. These early experiences helped to shape her lifelong commitment to causes such as social justice and women’s empowerment.”
The Duchess will immediately join her new husband, and in-laws the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at their Royal Foundation.
The prominent inclusion of such causes on the official Royal family website indicates the charitable direction the new Duchess plans to take. She has been working behind the scenes for months to create a blueprint for her focus as a working member of the Royal family, which could also involve her promoting the work of the Diana Award for youngsters who champion social change.
She told guests at her wedding reception that she would “love” to get involved in their campaign work, saying: “That’s why I am here, bring it on.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex yesterday left Windsor Castle to begin married life, delaying their honeymoon in order to return briefly to the public eye tomorrow for the Prince of Wales’s 70th birthday garden party.
They are expected to begin their honeymoon later this month, before returning to a full schedule of overseas tours, including trips to the Netherlands and Australia, and charity work closer to home. The Duke paid moving tribute to his wife at their reception, praising her “grace” and telling her: “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
In keeping with her beliefs on gender equality, the Duchess went on to make her own speech during a private evening reception in which she expressed her love for the Duke, and her joy at being welcomed into his family.
The groom and his best man, the Duke of Cambridge, are said to have paid tribute to their late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in moving speeches to their closest friends.
The wedding was hailed by American media as a breakthrough in British race relations, according to The New
York Times. Yesterday, the Duchess donated the wedding flowers to charities and hospices for others to enjoy, with her bouquet being laid, as per royal tradition, at Westminster Abbey’s grave of the Unknown Warrior.