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For the past year the most popular royals by far have been Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
From the incredible and intersectional, feminist wedding that broke the rules in more ways than one, to both ignoring rules of royal protocol and being openly affectionate in public (something many other royals have shied away from), both Meghan and Harry have brought about a new wave of change that we certainly hope will continue amongst royalty.
We’ve always known that Meghan was a strong feminist and that she is at heart, someone we can relate to in many ways. Being made a royal has never changed that.
READ MORE: ALL the dresses and coats that have sold out because Meghan Markle wore them
And according to Teen Vogue, while on tour and visiting the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji Meghan delivered a speech that reminded us that she certainly hasn’t forgotten her own roots.
In her speech, she not only acknowledges her own university journey, stating that she understands that value of the time spending countless nights studying, but she also adds that there’s a lot of joy in knowing that some of the best friends you meet are your fellow alumnis.
Most importantly she notes that there’s nothing like the feeling of receiving your diploma and that that the “the journey of higher education is an incredible, impactful and pivotal one.”
She added in her speech that she was “fully aware of the challenges of being able to afford this level of schooling for many people around the world, myself included.”
Meghan takes it one step further though by talking about her own experiences and how she had a lot of help through financial aid, scholarships and work-study programs that all helped her get through university.
What we really loved about her speech is that, much like influential women like Bonang, Rihanna and Michelle Obama who are all strong advocates for empowering girls and are all about promoting and highlighting the need for young girls to be educated, Meghan feels as strongly about young women getting access to education.
She says: “When girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves but for all of those around them. And while progress has been made in many areas across the Commonwealth, there is always scope to offer more opportunities to the next generation of young adults, and specifically to young women.”
This speech was also then followed by the announcements that grants would be given to local universities of Fiji in support of empowering female staff, according to Time.com.
See? As if we needed to love her even more.
READ MORE: WATCH: Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex invited to join the Women's Institute
But, just in case you needed a reminder of other ways in which Meghan is awesome, we highlight a list:
1. She’s a humanitarian
We spoke about her championing for the rights of education access for everyone and the fact that she’s a feminist, so it should come as no surprise that her need to speak up for equality – particularly gender-based – is at the forefront of who she is.
And what’s more is that she’s using her public platform to speak up and out about these issues. Some of her charity work includes being a global ambassador for World Vision, which saw her visiting Rwanda in 2016 as part of World Vision’s clean water campaign.
In fact, a friend actually relates that one of the biggest things that brought Harry and Meghan together was a shared love of philanthropic work. And if that’s not a recipe for success, then we don’t know what is.
2. She breaks rules all the time – and the royals don’t seem to mind at all
From taking selfies and hugging fans (it’s standard procedure that when meeting any members of royalty you shake their hand, some etiquette commenters even stating that you should wait for them to offer their hand to you), to wearing shoes the Queen isn’t fond of, Meghan has been flouting the rules – with both grace and style.
She’s even been subtly more open about expressing political opinions – something all royals are allowed to have, but are not encouraged to air their views about in public.
3. She’s graceful in everything she does
Listen, if I had family like hers that are trying to cause drama left, right and centre, I would have absolutely lost my cool.
While we have no doubt that her father and stepsister’s constant interviews and criticisms must be hurtful, her non-responses feel like the best “I’m doing fine without you” message ever.
If you ask us, they deserve far less than the diplomacy she’s granted them. Sometimes the best way to cut toxic people out of your life is through the art of deafening public silence.
We’re not saying that the opposite reaction wouldn’t be any less than deserved, but we certainly admire that she doesn’t let them get to her.
4. She’s good for business – and she doesn’t even know it.
According to Business Insider, a clothing company revealed that they are in the process of hiring between 15 - 30 new seamstresses after a pair of jeans she wore sold out completely. The brand, Outland Denim, tweeted that the recruitment process for new employees have already begun and that they’re looking to hire workers for the production house in Cambodia.
So creating employment opportunities without even trying. Many have called this the Markle effect and it’s proven to be real because it’s not the first time that something she’s worn has completely sold out.
Check out this list of ALL the clothes she’s worn that has sold out.
