Now that Meghan Markle along with her husband Prince Harry has stepped down from her role as a senior member of the Royal Family, she can speak freely on whatever social justice cause célèbre her heart desires.
Speaking on the Heirpod podcast, Omid Scobie, author of the book “Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family,” said that Meghan Markle’s recent statements indicate that she is now starting to flex her newly-liberated muscles as she and Prince Harry carve out a “progressive” role for themselves in the Royal Family. Last week, for instance, Markle gave the keynote speech at the Girl Up Leadership Summit where she urged girls to fight against racial and gender inequality.
“I know you have already done so much and made so many people’s lives better. The moment we are living through right now asks all of us to do more,” she said. “It’s a moment where your voices, and your action, have never been more urgently needed.”
“Believing in true equality is not enough – it’s going to take more than belief; we have to work for it every day, even when it’s hard and even when it makes others feel uneasy,” she continued. “We have to speak up for ourselves and we have to speak out for others who struggle to be heard.”
According to Scobie, Markle’s speech was evidence that the Duchess of Sussex is now starting to speak “from the heart.”
“This was Meghan really being able to talk without the constraints of some of the things you might have to bear in mind when writing a speech as a working member of the royal family,” said Scobie, as reported by Fox News.
Traditionally, Scobie said, the royals work from a tight script, but Markle’s speech was markedly different from previous ones because she followed a series of bullet points that illuminated the workings of her heart.
“I understand she spent a long time preparing for this speech,” he said. “Usually we see members of the royal family reading from very tight scripts when they go up onto a stage. I understand Meghan had bullet points.”
“She spoke more from the heart than from a script,” he continued. “I had an interesting conversation with Team Sussex after this happened. They said this speech really spoke to many of the issues she will continue to focus on passionately moving forward — gender equality, racial injustice, youth empowerment. This worked a really great preview for the Duchess of Sussex and some of her future speaking engagements.”
Both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle waded into politics this month when they called upon Britain to reckon with its colonial past during a video meeting with young people from across the British Commonwealth.
“There is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past,” Harry said with Meghan Markle at his side.
“We’re going to have to be a little uncomfortable right now because it’s only in pushing through that discomfort that we get to the other side of this,” added Markle. “It’s not just in the big moments, it’s in the quiet moments where racism and unconscious bias lies and thrives.”
“There is no turning back now, everything is coming to a head,” Harry concluded. “Solutions exist and change is happening far quicker than it ever has done before.”
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