Meghan’s dad, Thomas Markle, is Caucasian, while her mom, Doria
Ragland (Queen of our hearts 😍), is African
American. In 2015, Meghan wrote about her
mixed-race identity for Elle magazine,
where she talked about her pride “in being a strong, confident mixed-race
woman”. 👏
Meghan’s mom descended from African
Americans enslaved in Georgia, while on her dad’s side, Meghan already had some
royal blood in her. (Ooh-er.) Among her dad’s distant ancestors are King Robert I of
Scotland, Sir Philip Wentworth, and Mary Clifford, a descendant of King Edward
III of England. I guess you could say that Meghan has always been low-key
destined for royalty. 💁👑
Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland, worked as a social worker and yoga
instructor, while her dad worked as a television lighting director. As a child, Meghan would often visit him on the set of Married...
with Children. At an early age, she was already getting a taste of the big
screen.
Meghan grew up in Hollywood, and began private education at the
age of 2 (!!) at the Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse, where she studied until
she was 11 years old.
At just 11, she successfully
campaigned to get a company to change their national TV commercial due to its sexist language. At 12, her campaign was even covered by Nick
News on Nickelodeon. (So, y’know – no biggie 💁).
But that’s not all. From the ages
of 13 to 17, Meghan volunteered at a local soup kitchen. She also continued to volunteer there whenever she returned home to L.A. We love a
charitable queen! (Or Duchess.)
At 15, Meghan took a trip to Europe
with her close friend, Ninaki. While they were there, they snapped this now-famous photo
of the two both posing outside Buckingham Palace – a.k.a. the home of her
future grandma-in-law, Queen Liz!
Then, before graduating high school at 17, Meghan was officially
crowned Prom Queen. Little did people know that this wouldn’t be the last time she
wore a tiara!
After high school, Meghan went on to double major in Theatre and
International Relations at Northwestern University, Illinois. While she was
there, she joined the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, and participated in community
service and charity projects.
During her time at university, she also completed an internship at
the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she learned to speak Spanish.
She spent one semester in Spain, and also studied French for six years. Très
impressive!
By 2003, Meghan officially graduated with a dual degree. Duchess
of Sussex? More like Duchess of SUCCESS. 👏👏
After graduating, Meghan worked as a freelance calligrapher to
support herself between early acting jobs. (Sis is talented!)
She started out doing smaller roles, and even did a stint as a
"briefcase girl" on the American version of Deal or No Deal.
In the early part of her career, Meghan found it
difficult to land acting roles. In her 2015 piece for Elle, “I’m More
Than an ‘Other’”, Meghan wrote. “I wasn't black enough for the black roles and
I wasn't white enough for the white ones, leaving me somewhere in the middle as
the ethnic chameleon who couldn't book a job.” She certainly wasn’t afraid to call
Hollywood out on its BS.
You may have spotted Meghan playing
smaller roles in movies like Get Him to the Greek, Remember Me, and Horrible
Bosses, or in the pilot episode of 90210 (if you know, you know 👀). But Ms. Meghan was about to have
a glo-up!
In July 2011, she joined the
cast of the USA Network show Suits, where she starred in over 100 episodes as
paralegal-turned-attorney Rachel Zane.
Whilst working on Suits, Meghan moved to Toronto, Canada, where the
show was filmed. While there, she volunteered at a Canadian soup kitchen from
2011-2013. She also established a program at work where all leftover meals from the
set were donated to local homeless shelters. A real-life angel? I THINK SO.
Speaking of charity – in 2014,
Meghan became a Counsellor for the organisation One Young World, a global forum that gathers together young leaders to develop
solutions to some of the world's biggest issues.
Then,
in 2015, Meghan became the UN Women's Advocate for Women’s Political
Participation and Leadership. In this role, she gave a beautiful speech on the
importance of gender equality on International Women’s Day in NYC.
Before becoming an advocate for them, Meghan spent time
at the UN's New York office to understand the organisation's day-to-day work,
before embarking on a learning mission to Rwanda. On this trip, she met female
parliamentarian leaders in Kigali, and visited Gihembe refugee camp.
Then, in 2016, Meghan became a Global Ambassador for World Vision. As
part of her work with the charity, she visited Rwanda on a clean water campaign
that would work to allow young children to continue their education.
In 2017, she went on a
second learning mission with the organisation, where she visited India to bring awareness to girls' lack of access to education.
Struck by her
experience in the slum communities of Mumbai, Meghan wrote an op-ed for TIME Magazine about the stigmatisation of menstrual health management,
and its hindrance to girls’ education.
And let’s not forget Meghan’s website, The Tig (launched in 2014),
which she used as a platform to interview other powerful females, discuss
social issues like gender equality, and share lifestyle posts on travel,
food and fashion. Talk about being a total #GirlBoss!
It wasn't until June 2016 that Meghan and Prince Harry met for the first time. The pair got to know each other on a blind date set up by a mutual
friend (FRIENDSHIP GOALS). As it grew clear that their relationship was
endgame, Meghan finished work on Suits in 2017, as well as sadly deleting all
of her social media, where she’d built up quite the following.
Then, in November 2017, Meghan and Harry’s engagement was
officially announced! Harry got down on one knee in their Nottingham cottage
while they were roasting chicken in the kitchen. Chicken AND a proposal? No
wonder she was so keen to say yes!
(Cute titbit: Meghan’s engagement ring was designed by Harry
himself. *Swoon* The band is yellow gold – Meghan’s favourite – while the
central diamond is from Botswana, where the two had camped under the stars soon
after they met. On either side are two smaller diamonds, which come from Princess Diana’s jewellery collection. Too. Damn. Cute.)
This engagement was a Big Deal™. Not only were people excited
about the significance of there being a mixed-race member of the royal family,
but Meghan is also a divorced American woman. Should that matter? Of course
not! But it is significant. In 1936, King Edward VIII was forced to give up the throne to marry Wallis
Simpson – a divorced American woman. Times are finally changing. (AT LAST! 🎉)
Meghan jumped into royal life right away, travelling across the UK
to visit local communities and charitable organisations.
Then, on the 19th of April 2018, Meghan and Harry officially married,
making Meghan Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex.
And YES, though she isn’t officially 'Princess Meghan', she IS a Princess of the UK – so if you want to call her a Princess, don’t let anybody stop you.
At the wedding, Meghan smashed outdated traditions by beginning
her walk down the aisle alone, and by giving her own speech at the wedding
reception (which apparently brought guests to tears).
Meghan is now officially Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor, Her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Sussex – as well as Princess Henry of Wales, Countess
Dumbarton, and Baroness Kilkeel. (That's all a bit of a mouthful, but don't worry – she's most likely to be referred to as simply 'the Duchess of Sussex' or Meghan Markle.)
Before even going on her honeymoon, Meghan has already begun
undertaking her royal engagements. Meanwhile, her Bio has been published on The
Royal Family’s official website, where she is described as a "proud woman
and feminist". (A royal first!)
And that pretty much brings us up-to-date! So, to summarise: Meghan Markle is an intelligent, kind-hearted, brave,
charitable woman, who has worked hard from an early age to better herself and
the world around her. Her addition to The Royal Family is an exciting one, and we can't wait to see what she does next with her new platform!
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