What Meghan Markle Will Actually Do as a Royal

From Harper's BAZAAR

Now that she can put all of that wedding prep behind her, Meghan Markle can now focus on her official royal duties as the Duchess of Sussex. Here are some of the roles Markle has or will take on as part of the royal family.

Patron of the Royal Foundation

The Duchess of Sussex is now an official patron of the royal organization, People reports. The Duchess will “have a role within the royals’ ongoing mental health initiative, and she has been visiting various people in the local community and charity sectors as she prepares for her new work.”

Her name has also been added to the Royal Foundation's official website:

Markle has already been playing a part in the organization before the wedding. She attended the Royal Foundation Forum in February and spoke alongside current patrons Prince Harry, Prince William, and the Duchess of Cambridge. The Duchess talked about her ideas for the foundation and her interests in women's rights and mental health.

Currently, the Royal Foundation is used as a way for the royal family to continue to support causes that are close to them as well as create new projects to help further their philanthropic goals, which fall under five categories: armed forces, conservation, cyberbullying, mental health, and young people.

One of the foundation's best-known efforts is Heads Together, which brings together eight mental health charities to maximize reach and impact on mental health. The foundation also created a cyberbullying task force which works together with big tech companies and various charities to create an online code of conduct called Stop Speak Support. It works with government and industry officials and young people to protect children between 11 and 16 years old on the internet. The Invictus Games were also originally created under the Royal Foundation.

Commonwealth Youth Ambassador

While Markle hasn't officially received the title yet, Prince Harry already announced his fiancée will be joining him as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, which Queen Elizabeth named him just last month. The couple will visit various young adult leaders within the Commonwealth and work alongside them to make their voices and needs heard in differing areas.

“It’s going too be one of the first official roles Meghan takes on,” sources at the organization told Vanity Fair. “There have already been talks, and when Meghan was asked when she wanted to get involved she replied ‘May 20.’”

"The Commonwealth is a diverse community of 53 nations that work together to promote prosperity, democracy and peace," its website states. The Commonwealth is mostly made up of countries that were previously part of the British Empire, though that is not a requirement to join. Currently, Queen Elizabeth is the head of the Commonwealth, although the head does not need to be from the royal family. According to Reuters, 16 of the member nations currently view the monarch as their head of state.

The Invictus Games

Created by Prince Harry, the Invictus Games allows wounded soldiers from participating countries to take part in various adaptive sports. Prince Harry has been a patron of the games since its creation, and Markle recently attended the Invictus Games trials for the United Kingdom team earlier this year. It wouldn't be a surprise to see her take on a bigger role in the foundation and possibly become a patron herself.

The next games are set to take place in Australia later this year, and the Duke and Duchess will be attending during their first royal tour as a married couple.

Other Royal Duties

Prince Harry and Markle have been making appearances throughout the United Kingdom since their engagement, visiting several places in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Prince Harry is also involved with the HALO Trust, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, Walking with the Wounde, and various other charities which Markle may make appearances at and support herself.

As Markle transitions into her official role as a royal, it is expected that she will become a patron of other organizations that are close to her heart, just like the Duchess of Cambridge has since she officially joined the royal family in 2011.

Before her engagement, Markle was deeply involved in a number of charities, including One Young World, where she worked as a counselor for their 2012 and 2016 summits. She was also a World Vision Global ambassador, through which she traveled to Rwanda and India to advocate for clean drinking water and women's rights. Markle also gave a speech at the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing in 2015; she was there as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Political Participation and Leadership.

With all these causes she's worked with in the past, it shouldn't take long for Markle to figure out her new path as a royal.

Want more royals? Now you can watch all of the best episodes from Bazaar's Royal Watch-right here on Prime Video.

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