Meghan Markle wows Queen, gets new role in the Queen's Young Leaders programme
Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth's newfound friendship, it seems, is moving in a more trusted direction, as the news of her being bestowed with an important royal duty by the royal matriarch, has emerged. It might have started on the day of Harry and Meghan's royal wedding rehearsal, when the majesty was pictured arriving in her Range Rover along with the bride's dog, a rescued beagle named Guy, sitting beside her. The closeness has reached a level where the two royals were pictured sitting next to each and sharing a good laugh during their first official engagement together and also Meghan's first solo appearance, sans Prince Harry.
Their bond may have been the reason why her Majesty chose to let the Duchess of Sussex take her place and carry out one of her own royal duties. According to the Express, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry "will welcome those in the Queen's Young Leaders programme to Buckingham Palace this summer, continuing the role started by the Queen during her lifetime of service to the Commonwealth nations."
The Express further reports that the particular programme aims at recognizing the work of exceptional young people and the work that they do within the Commonwealth nations. It was initially started by the monarch five years ago during her lifetime of service to the Commonwealth nations, reported the publication.
In past years, the Queen has been known to welcome the participants of the Queen's Young Leaders programme to Buckingham Palace, which is now going to be a responsibility and honor that will be carried out by the newly-minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and, Meghan.
Prince Harry was handed the responsibility of the program earlier this year in April. Speaking about it, the young royal had said, “I have really enjoyed meeting so many of them over the past four years and their passion and understanding always leaves me hugely optimistic about the future,” Express quoted him as saying.
Back then he dropped a hint about his wife eventually join him working on the programme. "I am also incredibly grateful that the woman I am about to marry, Meghan, will be joining me in this work, of which she too is hugely excited to take part in," he had said.
It seems like Meghan worked her charm over the royal family matriarch when she and Harry set out on their first royal engagement in Chester together recently. The pair traveled overnight by train for a day of Royal engagements - the Mersey Gateway Bridge and Storyhouse in Chester.
For their first royal engagement together, the Queen provided Meghan with a pair of pearl and diamond drop earrings, which appear to be a smaller version of her own. The Queen is very rarely seen without her pearl accessories and she frequently pairs her necklace and matching earrings on Royal outings.
While the Queen and Meghan were on their first royal engagement visit to Cheshire, Meghan could be seen taking on the "duchess slant". Of course, her grandmother-in-law was very pleased with Meghan's posture and had a huge smile on her face as the two chatted with each other while attending the event.
Meghan has also announced that she, along with her husband Prince Harry, would soon be taking off to fulfill their personal royal duties, i.e., their first royal tour as a wedded couple. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake an official visit to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and New Zealand in the Autumn," Kensington Palace said in their full statement.
"Their Royal Highnesses have been invited to visit the Realms of Australia and New Zealand by the countries’ respective governments. The Duke and Duchess will visit the Commonwealth countries of Fiji and Tonga at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office."
Meghan and Harry's royal tour, however, will coincide with the 2018 Invictus Games, which are scheduled to take place in Sydney from October 20 to October 27. This year's games would be a big milestone for the couple since the two made their first joint appearance as a couple at last year's installment in Toronto.
