Though most know Meghan Markle as the Duchess of Sussex and as the former actress on Suits, the new royal family member has been an active feminist since age 11, has a degree in International Relations from the prestigious Northwestern University under her belt, used to regularly write moving essays about race relations, women’s rights, and self-acceptance, and works with charities such as the U.N. and World Vision. Phew.
Of course, the royals prefer to shy away from anything even remotely political, hence our shock at Meghan’s brilliantly feminist official bio and the fact that she openly talked about the Time’s Up and Me Too movement at her first event with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Now, with her first royal tour fast approaching, the Duchess has been confirmed for two solo appearances – both of which are feminism-focused.
While in Fiji, Meghan will attend a morning tea at the British High Commissioner’s Residence, which will offer a showcase of women’s organisations across Fiji.
Later, Meghan is learning more about the UN Women’s project, Markets For Change on a trip to Suva Market to meet female stallholders who work alongside the project.
“New Zealand has a strong tradition of female empowerment and it’s the 125th anniversary of suffrage and they happen to be there for the anniversary of a historic time,” a royal insider told marie claire US. “Fiji asked the Duchess to do those events. There’s a movement in Fiji to encourage women to move away from the stereotypical roles of cooking and looking after children.”
“It’s her first tour. It’s all very new and quite daunting in terms of the choice. New Zealand has hosted very many royal visits and they offered up these engagements, and the Duchess thought they were all very good.”
