
Charity shares unseen photo of Duchess Meghan to commemorate her support as a royal patron
By Heather Cichowski
Royal fans were recently treated to an unseen photo of Duchess Meghan volunteering in a Toronto shelter’s kitchen. Now, we're in for a double delight because Smart Works Charity has shared a similar photo of the former actress to commemorate her support as royal patron!
The UK charity took to Instagram to explain it was "taking time to reflect on an incredible year" in a special “12 Days of Christmas" countdown. For the “11" milestone, Smart Works celebrated 11 months of support from their royal patron, the Duchess of Sussex!
“In January 2019, we were thrilled to announce HRH The Duchess of Sussex as the Royal Patron of Smart Works,” the post reads. “The Duchess is a natural champion of our service; her compassion and kindness towards our clients is inspirational and we are so grateful for her commitment to helping women in need across the UK.
“We have shared some incredibly special moments with The Duchess over the past eleven months,” the post continued. “As well as dressing and coaching our clients, she has supported and spread the word about Smart Works in the seminal issue of British Vogue #ForcesforChange and through The Smart Set Capsule Collection.”
Smart Works also told followers to stay tuned to see the impact of the #TheSmartSet in its centres.
MORE: Unseen photo of Duchess Meghan volunteering in Toronto shelter’s kitchen surfaces
Meghan has a number of royal patronages, and she and Prince Harry also recently selected 12 charities they want fans to support this holiday season.
Smart Works is a charity that provides interview training and high-quality clothes for unemployed women in need. Its mission is to help these women and give them confidence to succeed during their interviews and transform their lives.
Meghan has a passion for supporting women, so she makes a brilliant royal patron! She made her first official visit to the charity while pregnant with Archie at the start of 2019. After hearing about the organization during the engagement, she even offered styling advice to one of the women!
Meghan inspects bags with Lady Juliet Hughes-Hallett during her visit to Smart Works on Jan. 10 in London. Photo: © Clodagh Kilcoyne - WPA Pool/Getty Images
In British Vogue’s “Forces for Change” September issue, Meghan revealed she and fashion designer friend Misha Nonoo had teamed up to create a capsule collection, called The Smart Set, consisting of women’s workwear that would benefit Smart Works.
Duchess Meghan launching the Smart Works capsule collection at John Lewis Oxford Street in London on Sept. 12, 2019. Photo: © Karwai Tang/WireImage
When the duchess returned from maternity leave following the birth of Archie, her first engagement was The Smart Set launch. And she arrived wearing clothing from the collection!