It all makes sense!
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently undertaking their first official long haul royal tour, journeying through Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga together.
To say that they have been a hit would be a huge understatement, with the royal newlyweds making viral news every day, from their sweet comments about their future arrival to their warm greetings with members of the public.
But it was Meghan who made particular waves in New Zealand, when she marked the country’s 125th anniversary of women achieving the right to vote by taking to the stage and delivering a powerful speech on feminism and women’s suffrage.
‘The achievements of the women in New Zealand who campaigned for their right to vote, and were the first in the world to achieve it, are universally admired,’ the Duchess of Sussex announced to the audience at Government House in Wellington, giving her speech in front of a portrait of the Queen.
‘Women’s suffrage is about feminism, but feminism is about fairness. Suffrage is not simply about the right to vote, but also about what that represents: the basic and fundamental human right of being able to participate in the choices for your future and that of your community.’
While her words proved powerful, with fans taking to social media in their thousands to praise the Duchess, a lot of people have instead been focusing on the fact that Meghan gave a speech at all - especially a political one.
In fact, in terms of note-worthy speeches on this tour, Meghan has given at least four, a rarity for a first official tour, especially compared to her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, who opted out of any speeches on her first tour in Canada in 2011.
But why? Well, there are many reasons. For one, Kate has more of a shy nature while Meghan has a Hollywood past and is an experienced public speaker, delivering a knock out speech at the UN Women summit before even becoming a royal family member. Besides, women’s equality is a huge passion project for Meghan so it’s hardly surprising that she is keen to make her thoughts known.
According to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams however, there is an official reason too.
‘[Kate and Meghan's] roles are totally different,’ the royal expert explained via Bustle. ‘The facts are that Kate is the future Queen and Meghan, as Harry's wife, has a great deal more freedom.’
Well that’s that. Now if you’ll excuse us we’re off to rewatch all of Meghan’s empowering speeches.
