The Duchess of Sussex joined an impressive panel of female powerhouses to discuss the importance of International Women's Day at King's College London today. The event was hosted by The Queen's Commonwealth Trust and marked Markle's first engagement as Vice President of the organisation.
The Duchess got to speak about areas of focus in her work as a royal: female empowerment, equal opportunity and access to education.
She opened up alongside singer Annie Lennox, model and Gurls Talk founder Adwoa Aboah, former Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard, Let us Learn founder Chrisann Jarrett and Angeline Murimirwa, Executive Director of the Campaign for Female Education in Africa. Anne McElvoy, Senior Editor of The Economist, chaired the special panel.
The mother-to-be said that she hoped their 'little bump', would be a feminist, joking, 'I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism', whilst rubbing her 8-month bump.
The Queen's Commonwealth Trust and Kensington Palace highlighted some of the key quotes from the talk on social media. On speaking up about inequality, Markle said: 'If there’s an injustice and a lack of inequality someone needs to say something - and why not you?'
According to royal correspondent Omid Scobie, Markle also addressed the idea of 'global feminists'.
Sartorially, Markle wore a monochrome print dress from Reiss paired with a black Alexander McQueen blazer for the discussion.
Since joining the royal family, Markle has used her profile to support causes close to her heart, from launching the Together for Grenfell cookbook to becoming patron of Smart Works - which helps women prepare for employment opportunities. During her tour of New Zealand last October, she gave a powerful speech about feminism at a celebration of the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in the country. 'Women's suffrage is about feminism, but feminism is about fairness,' she said. Who better to champion women's rights?
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