Meghan Markle Delivers Speech on Women’s Suffrage as First Outspoken Feminist Royal

On the final stop of their 16-day royal tour, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrived in New Zealand earlier today and visited the Government House in Wellington to mark the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

At the event, Meghan delivered her third speech of the tour to honor the country’s historic milestone for women. The Duchess made powerful statements on voting rights, human rights, and feminism throughout, and commended the country for “championing the right of women to vote 125 years ago.”

Royal reporter Omid Scobie tweeted the transcript of Meghan’s speech, which you can read below, while Kensington Palace posted the full video:

Markle has always been very outspoken about feminism and her stance hasn’t wavered since becoming Duchess of Sussex. The Washington Post notes that Meghan’s biography on the British Monarchy’s website clearly declares her as a feminist. “I am proud to be a woman and a feminist,” the page reads.

The line was pulled from a speech Meghan delivered at the UN back in 2015. That year, Markle was named the UN Women’s Advocate for Women’s Political Participation and Leadership and traveled to Rwanda to visit refugee camps.

The Post also points out that Meghan is “the first senior royal to loudly declare herself a feminist on the monarchy’s website.”

Royals have actively supported women’s issues in the past (Camilla Duchess of Cornwall is president of the Women of the World Festival for example,) but Meghan’s outspoken support for women’s rights and public feminist declarations are unprecedented.