The Duchess of Edinburgh’s visit to Ukraine has “proven she is the Royal Family’s champion of women’s rights” while Meghan Markle “wasted her potential” by sending jam to celebrities, a royal expert has claimed.
Prince Edward’s wife, 59, bravely denounced Putin’s forces for using rape as a weapon of war and became the first British royal to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Sussex, 42, is preparing to launch her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard and recently sent pilates instructor Heather Dorak a sample of her “kid-tested, mom-approved” preserve. .
Speaking to FEMAIL, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams pointed out how Meghan’s work around women’s rights appears to have diminished in the wake of Megxit and how it could have flourished in the Royal Family.
He explained: ‘We know that Meghan is a feminist who promotes women’s rights. At the age of 11 she protested against a sexist commercial.
Pictured: The Duchess of Edinburgh with Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska at St. Sophia Cathedral in kyiv during her visit to Ukraine.
Pictured: The Duchess of Sussex at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge to benefit Sentebale in April 2024
‘In her visits to Rwanda in 2016 and India in 2017 and in a memorable speech at the United Nations International Women’s Day Conference in 2015, she campaigned for equal opportunities.
‘She highlighted this on her visits to the Antipodes and South Africa when she and Harry were still senior members of the royal family.
‘This potential has surely been wasted since she and Harry left their royal duties.
The expert highlighted how the Duchess of Edinburgh has worked tirelessly in recent years in the field of women’s rights together with her sister-in-law, Queen Camilla.
Richard continued: ‘While (Meghan) sends jars of jam to celebrities, it is the Duchess of Edinburgh who meets survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and displaced women on a historic visit to Ukraine.
“It is Queen Camilla who has done so much to give a voice to survivors of domestic abuse and who has spoken out so strongly against gender-based violence.”
He added: “If Meghan had really wanted to make a difference, she surely should have remained a senior royal.”
“It involves a commitment, but think about what could have been achieved for an important cause that she says is so dear to her.”
Pictured: The Duchess of Edinburgh seen at the Aberdeen Women’s Clinic in Sierra Leone in January 2020.
Pictured: The Duchess of Edinburgh arrives at the United Nations in New York to deliver a speech on women’s rights in Afghanistan in March 2022.
The Duchess of Edinburgh meets Jeanne Mukunilwa, a survivor of conflict-related sexual violence in the City of Joy, in Bukavu, South Kivu province, during a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in October 2022.
In January 2020, Sophie flew to Sierra Leone, where she visited a women’s center. Two months later, the Duchess traveled to the Republic of South Sudan and visited various initiatives to protect the safety of girls and women, as well as meeting female peacebuilders and human rights activists.
In March 2022, the Duchess gave a keynote speech at the United Nations in New York about the importance of standing up for women’s rights in Afghanistan.
Yesterday, the royal denounced the use of sexual violence to “degrade, degrade and destroy” women and girls while meeting survivors of the Russian invasion.
The mother-of-two said she was grateful for the “honesty” and “openness” shown by the women she spoke to during an emotional day trip to and around kyiv.
The duchess, who visited the country in her role as an advocate for the UK Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative and the Women, Peace and Security agenda, said: “Women and girls pay the highest price ” in the war.
In January, Queen Camilla gave a speech during the 50th anniversary of the Swindon Domestic Abuse Support Service, where she said she hoped the “horrible” scourge of domestic abuse would be “eliminated” within the next 50 years.
Queen Camilla said in January that she hoped the “horrible” scourge of domestic violence would be “eliminated” in the next 50 years, while giving a speech to an anti-domestic violence charity.
In 1993, the Duchess of Sussex wrote to Proctor & Gamble asking them to change the message of their sexist washing liquid advert.
The narrator of the original commercial declares that the soap is useful because “women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans.”
A young Meghan was unhappy with the wording of the commercial, especially after two boys in her class said it confirms the stereotype that women “belong in the kitchen.”
In 2015, Markle recalled the incident during a speech at the United Nations for International Women’s Day.
In 2015, Markle recalled the incident during a speech at the United Nations for International Women’s Day.
She said: ‘I remember feeling shocked and angry and also very hurt. “It just wasn’t right and something needed to be done.”
Meghan recalled how her father inspired her to make a change.
“He encouraged me to write letters, and I did, to the most powerful people I could think of,” she said.
Young Meghan sent a letter to soap maker Proctor & Gamble, as well as famed civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred, then-first lady Hillary Clinton and Nick News host Linda Ellerbee.
After Ellerbee received the letter, she and a camera crew from her show went to meet Markle.
Proctor & Gamble also responded by changing the wording of the commercial from “women” to “people.”
Little information has been released about Meghan’s new project, American Riviera Orchard, but a trademark application filed in February shows the company wants to offer downloadable and printed recipe books, tableware, textiles, and preserves and jams, according to the Patent Office. and United States Brands. website.
Pilates Platinum owner Heather Dorak revealed that her jam was numbered ‘7 out of 50’, becoming the tenth person identified as one of Meghan’s ‘jamfluencers’.
Heather Dorak thanked her friend Meghan for the ‘tasty homemade jam’ in an Instagram post
Meghan Markle photographed with Heather Dorak, owner of six studios under the Pilates Platinum brand
Earlier this month, a branding expert said Meghan was distributing the jam to her friends as a way to highlight her new business by giving them a “personal gift” that she likely produced herself with ingredients sourced from Montecito.
PR expert Nick Ede said the jars looked “very homemade, with a fancy crest and almost handwritten branding”.
She added that the jam “will probably have been sourced in Montecito and hand-produced by Meghan herself to make it feel special and thoughtful.”
And Ede said her strategy was to “highlight the brand rather than Meghan” while trying to get people to “buy into the ARO lifestyle, not just her own personal brand.”
Meanwhile, it was announced that the Duke and Duchess will visit Nigeria next month after Harry attends an event in the UK.
He will attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on May 8, and Meghan is not expected to join him.
The pair will then head to Nigeria after being invited by the West African country’s chief of defense staff, who met Harry in Germany last September at the Invictus Games Dusseldorf.