Meghan Markle used the opportunity of her first public appearance as a working royal by enunciating her support for the MeToo and Time’s Up anti-sexual harassment campaigns, and saying that she wants to “hit the ground running” in her new role in public life.

The 36 year old former ‘Suits’ star was speaking alongside her fiancé, Prince Harry, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at a forum to honour the work of the Royal Foundation.

Markle has long been committed to gender equality and empowering women through her work as a women’s advocate at the United Nations, and at the event on Wednesday (February 28th) in central London she said that now was the ideal time to highlight “women feeling empowered”.

Meghan MarkleMeghan Markle vocalised her support for MeToo and Time's Up

She replied during a Q&A session: “I think right now in the climate we are seeing so many campaigns, I mean Me Too and Time’s Up, and there is no better time than to really continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people really helping to support them – men included in that. I mean, it makes such a tremendous difference. So, yeah… I guess we wait a couple of months and we can hit the ground running.”

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Markle has been working “quietly behind the scenes” with the Royal Foundation for three months, but remained tight-lipped about her involvement so far. She said only that she had been “meeting with the right people, meeting with the organisations behind the scenes quietly, learning as much as I can so I can maximise the opportunity we have here to really make an impact.”

The event was the first official event attended by the two young royal couples, Harry and Meghan and William and Kate. Harry, when asked, said that his bride-to-be was a welcome addition, saying it was positive they now had “four different personalities” at the Foundation.

“We’re pretty tied up with planning a wedding at the moment but we’re really looking forward to working as a pair and as a four going forward, hoping to make as much of a difference where we can," Harry added.

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