
Meghan Markle to give another impassioned speech while on her first royal tour
By Jessica Pollack
When Meghan Markle spoke for three minutes without notes at the launch of her first solo charity project, Together: Our Community Cookbook, it's safe to say the world was listening. During her impassioned speech, the duchess had her husband Prince Harry and mother Doria Ragland beaming with pride as she spoke with confidence and emotion - so it's no wonder she's planning on speaking again while on tour this month.
More of the speech The Duchess of Sussex about the #Grenfell cookbook. ‘It’s been a tremendous labour of love’ she said.
Prince Harry looked on - proudly... pic.twitter.com/0h8SnPeta9— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) September 20, 2018
During a stop at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, one of four countries the royal couple will visit on their first official royal tour, both the duke and duchess will address the crowds. "She's a very confident speaker," said a Palace aide. "When the Duchess launched Together she spoke confidently, and off the cuff. It's only natural at some of the events she's doing by herself that she would want to speak."
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The former actress will also be stepping out for two engagements of her own during the two-week tour, selected by the host countries to be in line with the causes that are close to Meghan's heart. The 37-year-old will drop by a morning tea at the British High Commissioner's residence in Fiji, where she will further her work empowering females by learning about women's organizations in the country. The Duchess of Sussex will also explore the region's Suva Market to learn more about the UN's "Market's For Change" project. The former UN Women's advocate will surely feel extra close to this initiative as she meets the market's stallholders.
Photo: © Getty Images
"It's her first tour. It's all very new and quite daunting in terms of the choice (of engagements)," said the royal source. "New Zealand has hosted very very many royal visits and they offered up these engagements and the duchess thought they were all very good." They added: "New Zealand has a strong tradition of female empowerment and it's the 125th anniversary of suffrage and they happen to be there for the anniversary of a historic time. Fiji asked the Duchess to do those events. There's a movement in Fiji to encourage women to move away from the stereotypical roles of cooking and looking after children."
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Prince Harry and Meghan will kick off their tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga on Oct. 16, spending just over two weeks exploring the four Commonwealth countries. It's sure to be a busy time as they've got 76 engagements on the books as well as Prince Harry's Invictus Games in Sydney!