Meghan Markle and Prince Harry promote girl POWER with help from surprising ally
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry are going to a Women's Empowerment reception hosted by an important Conservative Minister who is a staunch advocate of women’s rights.
Harry and Meghan attend the Commonwealth Youth Forum
The event, part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, brings together charities and organisations working to promote global gender equality through girls' education.
It will be hosted by the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who said he has been a champion of women’s rights after being inspired by his journalist sister Rachel Johnson.
He said: ”My whole life has been driven by my consciousness of Rachel's equal, if not superior, intelligence.
“Two-thirds of the 796million people who are illiterate in the World are women.
“I’m afraid it's about a sort of casual sexism. It is holding the World back.
“I think the great thing about this campaign to ensure girls get 12 years of education is it's impossible to resist.
“No matter how secretly sexist they may be it's very difficult on a public platform to defend what is going on.”
Mr Johnson will launch his Platform for Girls Education, a group of 12 influential figures from across the Commonwealth who will drive forward the political momentum on girls' education.
More than 130 million girls around the world are not in school and girls in conflict zones are twice as likely to be out of school compared to boys.
Ms Markle is known for her commitment to gender equality and empowering women, previously being a Women's Advocate for the UN.
When she was 11, she persuaded a soap manufacturer to alter an advert after she wrote a letter to then First Lady, Hillary Clinton, complaining it implied women belonged in the kitchen.
The Suits star also visited the Myna Mahila Foundation in India last year and wrote about its work to combat period poverty - highlighting how the schooling of young women in India is disrupted when they are menstruating.
Harry and Ms Markle have nominated the organisation as one of the seven charities well-wishers could donate to, rather than buying them wedding gifts.
Charities at the reception will include the Malala Fund, Plan International, the Varkey Foundation and Code Camp.
Meghan and Harry now have exactly one month to go before they wed on May 19.
The wedding will take place at Windsor Castle.
Following in the footsteps of her future sister-in-law Kate Middleton, Meghan will wear two wedding gowns on her big day, according to reports from Vanity Fair.
A royal source said: “She will have two dresses, one for the ceremony and another dress for the evening.
“The plan is for her to change after the ceremony so she can party the night away in something less restrictive.
“Meghan can't wait to surprise everyone, especially Harry."
The Duchess of Cambridge wore a second Alexander McQueen gown for the evening celebrations of her wedding to Prince William in 2011.