On Thursday, Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at Smart Works charity in London as her official royal patronages were finally announced — and each of the organizations seem like a perfect fit for the Duchess of Sussex.
It had already been reported over the weekend that Markle would be working with the National Theatre as its royal patron (taking over duties from Queen Elizabeth), and on Wednesday, the organization even accidentally released a press release about the news. So it wasn’t at all shocking when Kensington Palace finally revealed on Thursday that it was one of the groups she’d be working with. And of course, the patronage is extremely fitting: Not only did she star on Suits, but she also studied theater at Northwestern University.
Beyond that, Kensington Palace also announced three other groups Markle would be working with as royal patron, each of which deal with the arts, women’s empowerment, education, and animal welfare:
Here’s the list:
• National Theatre: Well, I already explained that above. Hope you got the gist. (Remember how Meghan likes Hamilton? I’m so excited for her to see more plays and musicals as a royal.)
• The Association of Commonwealth Universities: The world’s first and oldest international university network, which represents higher education across the 53 Commonwealth countries. During her royal tour in Fiji with her husband Prince Harry, Markle gave a speech about the importance of access to education — and she was rumored to have recently chatted with Michelle Obama about women’s education — so this makes perfect sense. This is another royal patronage handed down to her by the queen.
• Mayhew: Kensington Palace also announced she will be working with the animal welfare organization. It’s widely known that Meghan loves animals, so it’s nice she will be taking this on.
• Smart Works: Markle will also be working with the Smart Works charity, which helps train unemployed and vulnerable women, and gives them the clothes and tools they need for interviews and to regain employment.
On Thursday, the pregnant Markle (as seen in the picture above) actually stopped by the Smart Works charity headquarters in London for an appearance, where she met with women and staff at the organization. For her appearance, Meghan wore a trench coat by Oscar de la Renta, dress by Hatch, sustainable earrings by Kimai, and cow-print shoes by Gianvito Rossi. (To see how to copy Markle’s style, click here.)
And keep in mind that all these announced charities are on top of the work Markle has been doing with the Hubb Community Kitchen, with which she teamed up to produce the Together: Our Community Cookbook to help benefit survivors of the devastating Grenfell Tower fire. We can only hope that the excitement of her royal patronages and charities will help put a pin in the annoying tabloid rumors she’s had to deal with lately.
