Is Meghan Markle the embodiment of International Women’s Day?

Watch the full episode 17 of Yahoo UK’s show ‘The Royal Box,‘ here.

When Meghan Markle’s relationship with Prince Harry became public in 2016, she was hailed as a ‘breath of fresh air,’ for the Royal Family.

Not only did she have a successful acting career behind her and financial independence, she was politically vocal and has long been an advocate of women’s rights.

In 2015, Meghan became the UN Women’s Advocate for Women’s Political Participation and Leadership. In this role, she gave a speech on the importance of gender equality on International Women’s Day for UN Women in New York City.

Two years on from the, the now Duchess of Sussex has a global platform on which she can champion the causes she feels most passionate about, such as education and gender equality.

While the Royal Family has always remained impartial on political issues, Meghan has not lost touch with her feminist roots.

Her first patronages were announced earlier this year, one of which is Smart Works, a charity which helps vulnerable women get back into full-time employment.

Meghan also took over as patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities from the Queen, an organisation representing higher education across all 53 Commonwealth countries.

Prior to the announcement, during her visit to Fiji last year, Meghan gave a passionate speech in which spoke about the importance of accessible education for all.

She said: “Because when girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves but also for those around them.”

READ MORE: 7 reasons why it’s better to be a woman now than last International Women’s Day

As the duchess joins a panel discussion at King’s College London today (8 March), broadcaster Vanessa Feltz thinks Meghan is the “embodiment of International Women’s Day.”

Speaking on Yahoo UK‘s ‘The Royal Box,‘ Feltz says: “She’s international, she’s entirely self-made, she’s a woman, she’s proud of it, she says so and she does kind of conventional traditional womanly things, like cook really, really well.

“But she also does other fantastic things, like make a terrifically good living, which is what she did before.”

While some commentators feel that Meghan has lost her feminist beliefs since joining the Royal Family, her recent engagements seem to suggest otherwise.

READ MORE: Prince Harry was a feminist long before meeting Meghan Markle

During her trip to Morocco last month, she and Harry visited an ‘Education for All’ boarding house in Asni, which gives girls from the rural communities access to secondary education.

The couple have also become ambassadors for the Commonwealth and part of that area of their work is encouraging youngsters, particularly girls, to speak up about the issues their generation faces.

Within her biography on the Royal Family’s website, it cites all of the causes Meghan is working with, including women’s empowerment.

While some may argue that the Royal Family is still playing catch-up with the modern world, the Duchess of Sussex has certainly brought them up to speed.

To find out more about International’s Women’s Day 2019, join the conversation here where Yahoo Style and its sister sites take about the issues and stories that matter most to women.