A royally awesome and historic event took place in Great Britain on Wednesday morning.
As documented below, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ALL took the stage as a foursome for the first time at the inaugural Royal Foundation Forum.
The charity organization was initially set up by the two princes and Middleton, but after Markle officially joins the family on her wedding day, she will be a patron as well.
The only other time we’ve seen all four of these very famous people in the same place together was when they made their way to church on Christmas day.
The royals (and the one gorgeous royal-to-be) used this event to lay out various hopes and plans for their current and future work under the charitable umbrella of the Royal Foundation.
Audience members on hand got to hear them talk about why the foundation was set up, the projects they are working on right now and other ones in the pipeline.
“Ten years ago Harry and I were still serving full-time in the military, but we were starting to look to the next stages of our lives,” William explained in stage, elaborating as follows:
“As we discussed together the best way to set out on our official work, we looked to the values our family had instilled in us.”
He said he was “particularly happy” that Markle had joined the efforts and added:
“Both our parents had provided for us an example of diligence, compassion and duty in all they did.
“Our grandparents, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh, had made support for charity central to their decades of service to the nation and the Commonwealth.”
After her husband said he wanted to “celebrate this spirit of togetherness” with others around the world, Middleton took the stage to talk about Heads Together.
This is a campaign meant to break the stigma around mental health and promote conversation around the issue, something Middleton has admirably been on the forefront of for years.
“The campaign set out to change the national conversation on mental health,” she said.
“We are all so proud of the work we did with our partners; to challenge the stigma which has prevented so many people from speaking openly about their mental wellbeing…
“I am sure you will agree that the mental health of children and adults is one area where a longterm view will make a huge difference to generations in the future.”
Finally, Markle addressed her old profession (entertainment) and the ongoing #MeToo movement and #TimesUp movement that are at least empowering women to speak out.
She wanted to make one point very clear as it pertained to this topic.
“I hear a lot of people speaking about girls’ empowerment and women’s’ empowerment you will hear people saying they are helping women find their voices,” she said.
“I fundamentally disagree with that because women don’t need to find their voices, they need to be empowered to use it and people need to be urged to listen.”
This said, the future Mrs. Prince Harry is thrilled that things are finally changing in Hollywood, and in other work places as well, she hopes.
“I think right now in the climate we’re seeing with so many campaigns, with #MeToo and Time’s Up, there’s 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.”
Speaking of men also playing a role in this battle, she said simply:
“It makes such a tremendous difference.”
It really does.
Markle will exchange vows with Harry on May 19 in London.
She is clearly very comfortable already on the world stage, likely helped over the years by the promotional tours she embarked on for the USA Network hit drama Suits.
We cannot wait for her wedding day.
Learn more about it below:
