Meghan HER LIFE SO FAR

As the new princess in waiting settles into Royal life, we take a look at her early beginnings…

When Meghan Markle was 11, she wrote a letter to Hillary Clinton, who was, at the time, America’s First Lady. Meghan explained in the note that she had just seen an advertisement put out by a soap manufacturer that suggested women belonged in the kitchen, and it upset her. As a result of the missive (which she also sent to other notable figures), the company ended up adjusting the advert.

It seems that Meghan was always destined for celebrity, and also that from a very early age she was intelligent enough to know what was right and what was wrong. It also tells us that Meghan is not just a pretty face. She has something else about her which wasn’t always part of the princess-to-be package, but has become a key part of the modern role.

When Princess Diana married Prince Charles she was a shy young nanny. When Kate Middleton married Prince William she was similarly not used to the media spotlight. But Meghan comes into her new royal role already firmly established as a campaigning force.

Indeed, her and Prince Harry’s shared passion for social change was, she says, what got him the second date.

At 15, she was volunteering in soup kitchens. She’s tackled the delicate issue of the stigma around menstrual health in an article for Time magazine and been global ambassador for World Vision Canada, which campaigns for better education, food and healthcare for children around the world. It may not be unusual for actors to take up fashionable causes to boost their profile and appear kind and thoughtful.

But Meghan is the real deal, says Kate Robertson, co-founder of the charity One Young World.

Robertson invited Meghan to speak on a stage in Dublin after watching her in her hit TV series, Suits, and seeing her UN speech.