Just a few days after she gave birth to little Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, a secret video recording of Meghan Markle speaking at a prestigious charity event in New York has surfaced.
On Thursday May 9th, the Campaign For Female Education (CAMFED) held its 25th anniversary gala in New York City and the Duchess of Sussex, who is a fierce champion of girls’ education, delivered a private message of support via video to the event’s attendees.
CAMFED is a global organisation that works to break the cycle of poverty and inequality in rural Africa by educating girls and investing in economic and leadership opportunities for young women.
That’s also a huge focus for Meghan and Prince Harry, who are both extremely passionate about educating young women in third world countries and much of their charity work has focused on the region.
In March, Meghan was appointed vice president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and in her new role she will work with young people across the Commonwealth and in particular, support underprivileged women and girls.
And the Duchess’s speech focused exactly on this issue.
She said increasing the number of young women who receive an education can “solve some of the world’s greatest problems.”
Delivering a powerful message, she said: “As we said on International Women’s Day, a girl who is educated becomes a woman who is influential.”
The pre-recorded message appears to have been filmed well before Meghan gave birth to little Archie this week.
A grainy snapshot of the video was shared by royal reporter Omid Scobie on Twitter. (Image: @scobie/Instagram)
CAMFED is an organisation Meghan is already familiar with. On International Women’s Day the Duchess spoke on a panel alongside former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, as well as CAMFED’s executive director Angeline Murimirwa, for a discussion about gender equality.
Angeline Murimirwa, executive director of the Campaign for Female Education in Africa and cofounder of CAMA, a pan-African network of young female leaders.
“[Meghan’s] a long-standing supporter for women’s rights, for equality and for equal opportunities, and it is really exciting that she is doing this along with other women who are in the space of education on International Women’s Day,” Murimirwa told PEOPLE magazine at the time.
“I’m really excited that she’s carrying forward this passion here in Europe,” Murimirwa said.
“It is about dismantling barriers to girls’ education and education for children.”
“I respect that they focused on that – looking at what is that is stopping girls going into school in every context and tackling that head on.”
Meghan and Harry with baby Archie at the official photocall in Windsor Castle. (Image: AAP)
Speaking on the IWD panel about her lifelong commitment to equality and feminism, Meghan said that even as a little girl, she learned to speak up for what was right.
“Once I became old enough to travel, specifically to developing countries and see what was happening abroad, I think for me what really resonated was the lack of education for girls, and how that has a ripple effect on so many things,” she said.
“It really does solve so many of the world’s problems when a girl has access to education… early childhood marriage, susceptibility to trafficking, modern slavery, all of that.
“But equally look at all the positives that come out of it when you do have access to education for young girls. How it affects the economic development, the GDP. Billions of dollars on the table are lost by girls being pulled out of education.”
WATCH BELOW: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan introduce Baby Sussex to the world. Story continues after video.
It’s believed that after the Sussexes settle into their home at Frogmore Cottage and Meghan recovers from birth, the little family trio could be soon making the move to Africa for an extended period of time.
The couple have a special connection to the region – it’s where Harry took his gap year and Meghan also spent some time during charity work in Rwanda.
Early on in their courtship in 2016, Harry whisked Meghan away to a romantic trip to Botswana, a country Harry often refers to as his “second home” and where he is also the Patron of Rhino Conservation Botswana.
A year later, the couple returned to celebrate her 36th birthday with a safari trip.
Even Meghan’s engagement ring features a symbolic nod to the continent.
The sparkler features a large ethically-sourced diamond from Botswana, as well as two diamonds from his late mother Princess Diana’s personal collection.
