Meghan Markle has indicated that she is not ready to abandon her campaigning as she prepares to join the royal family, highlighting her support for women’s rights.
Markle, an ardent feminist, has advocated for women and ethnic minorities in the past, but after deleting her social media accounts, it appeared that she might be less inclined to speak out.
However, speaking on Wednesday at a London forum for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry’s charity, the Royal Foundation, she made it clear that such issues were still close to her heart.
“I think right now in the climate we are seeing so many campaigns, I mean #MeToo and Time’s Up, and there is no better time to really continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered, and people really helping to support them – men included,” Markle said. “I mean, it makes such a tremendous difference. So … I guess we wait a couple of months and we can hit the ground running.”
The Los Angeles-born actor has worked as an ambassador for UN Women and the charity World Vision. Markle has previously used her celebrity status to back Hillary Clinton, lament Brexit and attack Donald Trump as “misogynistic” and “divisive”, but royal protocol dictates that she will no longer be able to comment on UK or international politics.
Markle was appearing alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and her fiance, Prince Harry, who could be heard quietly mentioning the wedding as she spoke. That prompted laughs and Markle to respond: “We can multitask.”
She said she could not go into detail on what future work she would be doing, but added: “I certainly know how passionate I am, and Harry and I see the world so similarly in our approach of being very hands-on with things.”
