Meghan Markle to play key diplomatic role after surprise endorsement – ‘Important to US’
Meghan Markle earlier this week received the unexpected endorsement of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who praised the Duchess of Sussex on Instagram for her work. Royal commentator Juliet Rieden said comments from top American figures indicate Meghan is playing an important diplomatic role in promoting “American values” as a senior member of the Royal Family. Speaking to Nine News Australia, Ms Rieden said: “Hillary Clinton came out on Instagram with this wonderful message.
“She said, ‘I’m so inspired by how Meghan Markle – aka one half of Sussex Royal – is representing the US in the UK and on the world stage.’ I found that quite interesting, ‘representing the US.’
“For America, this is very important, that someone from America is in the UK not just in the Royal Family, but in the UK standing up for American ideals.”
The royal commentator continued: “Meghan Markle has shown herself to be interested in environmental causes as we know and these are the sort of things Hillary Clinton is talking about.
“She’s not just talking about going, ‘ra-ra America,’ because she’s not doing that. She’s saying Meghan is a role-model person and an American and that’s great.”
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The special Instagram message came shortly before the Duchess of Sussex returned on active duty after she spent nearly six months on maternity leave.
Meghan on Thursday unveiled a capsule collection of womenswear designed to raise funds for Smart Works charity.
The items, which include a “Smart Set Dress” and a blouse designed by the Duchess’ designer friend Misha Nonoo, are currently on sale at Marks and Spencer, Jigsaw and John Lewis – with a portion of the sale donated to the charity.
Presenting the collection, the Duchess of Sussex said: “I kept thinking about it as I went home and it didn’t track for me and I said we have to do something to change this. And a big piece of this is trying to transform the idea of charity to the community.
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I’m so inspired by how Meghan Markle—aka one half of @sussexroyal—is representing the U.S. in the U.K. and on the world stage. Meghan’s new project: Helping @SmartWorksCharity equip women who have been out of the workforce with the office essentials they need to feel confident in job interviews and beyond. The ability to earn their own paycheck is a key part of women’s economic, social, and cultural equality, and it can all start with some smart suits.
A post shared byHillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on
“When I first moved to the UK it was incredibly important to me personally to be able to connect with people on the ground doing really important work and one of the places that I went to very early on was Smart Works.”
Meghan praised the “ethos” of the charity and she said she felt privileged to be able to offer her support: “What can I do in some small way, how can I try to help you amplify this? How can we make this even better, greater and more impactful for the women that you’re trying to help?”
During her speech, the Duchess also hinted at potential work she may pursue alongside husband Prince Harry with their new charity foundation.
The couple originally worked alongside Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge within the Royal Foundation but earlier this year Meghan and Harry announced they would leave the organisation.
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Meghan added: “This is the kind of work that I’ve been doing for a really long time and to be able to do it here in my new home of the UK means quite a bit to me.
“It’s also the same vein of work that my husband and I will continue doing – really strong community-based projects – and this is something that we will be excited to be able to share more about next year when we launch our foundation, Sussex Royal, in 2020.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will embark on their first tour since welcoming their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, and will travel to South Africa together later this month.
Meghan and Archie will be staying in Cape Town throughout the tour while Prince Harry will be visiting Angola, Botswana and Malawi alone before joining his family in Johannesburg the day before their return to London.
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