Duchess to diplomat? How Meghan's education and experience set her up for a promising future in politics
Meghan Markle has become a household name ever since she announced her engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017. While most fans know her life's story as the middle-class girl who grew up to be an actress and later a real Duchess, there is a lot more to her than what meets the eye.
Following Meghan's bombshell royal exit with Prince Harry, speculation is rife about the couple's post-Megxit plans. What will the former Suits actress do, now that she is free from the shackles of royal protocol?
Meghan resumed her charity work soon after announcing she and Harry would step away from their senior royal duties. Few know that she has long harbored a passion for activism; and now that she no longer has to carry out engagements on behalf of the Queen, she has the flexibility to later pursue political office.
"They are ambitious young people, they want to see their status as doing something different," crisis management expert Mark Borkowsky told British radio station LBC. "I’d put a sneaky bet in the future, 15-20 years maybe, what would stop Meghan Markle running for President? That's the ambition these people have."
"There's no stopping what they can do. They don't have to report back to the Crown or ask permission. They can get out and be a lot more disruptive," Borkowsky added. "This sends a bit of a chilling signal down. She's highly politicized, why wouldn't this be a thought?"
Although Meghan always had a fascination with the acting and theater, she did not always want to pursue acting. And you'll probably be surprised to know that she once interned at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires.
Being an overachiever from the start, Meghan completed most of her school credits at Northwestern University by the end of her junior year and went on to secure a double major in theater and international relations. With time on her hands during senior year, Markle accepted an internship at the embassy in Buenos Aires before finally graduating from Northwestern's School of Communication in 2003.
During her six-week internship in 2002, Argentina was facing a devastating economic devaluation. She recounted in a 2013 interview with Marie Claire how she was just 20 years old when she was riding motorcades alongside then-U.S. Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill as junior press officer. At the time, Meghan was actually working towards a career in diplomacy and was confident she would "for sure have a career in politics" someday.
Argentinians were not too happy about O'Neill's visit considering the economic crisis that plagued the country at the time. They partially blamed the US and the International Monetary Fund for the devaluation of their currency, and to top it off, O'Neill himself had made some disparaging comments about South American countries.
The motorcade was greeted by an angry mob when it reached Buenos Aires.
“I remember the arrival because protesters banged on my limo with their placards. It was a memorable event," O'Neill later recalled. But Meghan -- who was initially excited to be part of the convoy -- told royal biographer Andrew Morton that the ordeal was probably “the scariest moment of her life.”
“Meghan would have already been wary and it’s easy to imagine how frightening she would have found an angry mob of protesters attacking her car," Morton noted.
Despite having done a tremendous job at her internship, Meghan eventually veered off the diplomacy path. While in Buenos Aires, she even took the Foreign Service Officer Test -- but she did not make the cut and reportedly thought it was “a stretch too far."
Nonetheless, it goes to show that Meghan had a front-row seat to realtime inter-governmental efforts to salvage Argentina's economy. And despite being an intern for just a couple of months, it appears civic involvement and tackling important social issues were always close to the future royal's heart.
Meghan's former theater professor, Harvey Young, recounted in a post on her alma mater's website Northwestern Now how she was always "passionate about women's rights." Being biracial herself, Meghan acknowledged the importance of understanding the experiences of people of different races and backgrounds, Young noted.
Having said that, Megxit could very well be the prelude to a whole new socio-political chapter for Meghan and her husband.
PR Expert Borkowski -- who suggested that Meghan and Harry may relocate to the United States once Donald Trump is no longer president -- said the pair could "certainly be more political" following their royal stepdown.
"They can launch a foundation, they’ve got to raise money for themselves, obviously, but you can imagine them collecting huge amounts of money for global charities," Borkowski noted. "They are based in Canada at the moment but that’s probably because of Trump and if Trump doesn’t get a second term I think they’ll be back in the heartland and, of course, they can be very big names."
Furthermore, Meghan has the support of several prominent figures to back her future projects.
"All these stories of Oprah Winfrey, the Obamas – the A-list of American society supporting them, that’s going to give them both a powerful voice," Borkowski concluded.