Meghan Markle all smiles for first appearance since admitting to 'struggle'

Meghan Markle stepped out last night for the first time since the release of the ITV documentary where her and husband Prince Harry conducted emotional interviews detailing the pressures of royal life.

The Duchess of Sussex, 38, was glowing, sporting perfect curls as she arrived at the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony Ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She attended the event without Harry, 35.

Meghan beamed and smiled throughout the event, seemingly a world away from her poignant appearance in the ITV documentary.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle: 'Not many people have asked if I'm OK - it's a struggle'

The royal, who is vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, which is partnering with One Young World this year, was also pictured hugging One Young World’s managing director Ella Robertson and shaking hands with Ian McCullough, the president of the Royal Albert Hall.

Meghan Markle arrives at the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony Ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London. [Photo: Getty]
Meghan Markle arrives at the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony Ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall in London. [Photo: Getty]

The Duchess has been involved with the One Young World Summit since before she met Prince Harry, first attending the organisation’s summit in Dublin in 2014 and agreeing to be a counsellor there.

She is one of 70 counsellors appearing at the annual summit this year.

READ MORE: Meghan Markle reveals her nickname for Prince Harry

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall on October 22, 2019 in London, England. HRH is Vice-President of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, which is partnering with One Young World this year. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex hugs One Young World’s managing director Ella Robertson at the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall on October 22, 2019 in London, England. [Photo: Getty]
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall on October 22, 2019 in London, England. HRH is Vice-President of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, which is partnering with One Young World this year. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
The Duchess of Sussex attends the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall. [Photo: Getty]

The likes of Sir Bob Geldof and singer Ellie Goulding were also present at the event.

For the event, the Duchess rewore a purple Aritzia dress previously sported in January 2019, while pregnant with Archie.

The dress, made from matte satin and featuring a thigh high slit that Meghan since appears to have had tailored to be less revealing, is currently sold out online.

She paired it with navy Manolo Blahnik ‘BB’ pumps, also a repeat wear.

The one-hour ‘Harry & Meghan: An African Journey’ documentary aired last Sunday on ITV.

In a heartfelt interview, Meghan opened up about the “behind the scenes” pressures she had faced from the press during her pregnancy, adding it was “made really challenging”.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Ian McCullough attend the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall on October 22, 2019 in London, England. HRH is Vice-President of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, which is partnering with One Young World this year. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
The Duchess of Sussex greets Ian McCullough at the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall. [Photo: Getty]
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 22: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall on October 22, 2019 in London, England. HRH is Vice-President of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, which is partnering with One Young World this year. (Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage)
The Duchess of Sussex attends the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony at Royal Albert Hall. [Photo: Getty]
BIRKENHEAD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits Hamilton Square to view a new sculpture erected in November to mark the 100th anniversary of Wilfred Owen's death, on January 14, 2019 in Birkenhead, England. (Photo by Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
The Duchess of Sussex visits Hamilton Square to view a new sculpture erected in November to mark the 100th anniversary of Wilfred Owen's death on 14 January 2019 in Birkenhead. [Photo: Getty]

She also shared that her British friends warned her: “You shouldn't [marry Prince Harry] - the British tabloids will destroy your life.”

READ MORE: Meghan Markle rewore her engagement dress at the WellChild Awards

The documentary was made during the Sussexes’ 10-day royal tour of southern Africa.

During the tour, Prince Harry put out a statement to the press addressing the treatment of his family by certain media outlets, and defending the Duchess’ High Court claim against The Mail On Sunday and its parent company, Associated Newspapers.

He writes that it “hinges on one incident in a long and disturbing pattern of behaviour by British tabloid media”, adding that “the contents of a private letter were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner”.

After the furore of the last couple of months, the Sussexes will be taking some time from the public in upcoming months, a royal source confirmed to CNN.

The family will take “family time” off from around mid-November onwards, it is believed, and will divide their time between the US and the UK.

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