Meghan Markle’s appearance at an upcoming panel discussion by “visionary female leaders” is a signal of where the Duchess “wants her life going”, a royal expert has said.
The Suits actress will join other major stars at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, in a discussion to mark International Women’s Day.
The royal will be joined at the event by veteran US journalist Katie Couric and film star Brooke Shields, with organisers describing the panel as “visionary female leaders at the forefront of news, media, entertainment, and philanthropy who are breaking barriers, challenging stereotypes, and working toward a healthier society on and off our screens.”
Kinsey Schofield and Katie Nichol, hosts of Talk TV’s Heirs & Spares podcast, agreed that the Duchess’s appearance on the panel was a “complete pre-Harry Meghan move,” indicating she is trying to get back to the “grassroots marketing”, and entrepreneurship that saw her launch popular lifestyle blog “The Tig” in 2014.
Reflecting on the fact that the event in Texas falls on International Women’s Day, Katie Nichol, who is also Vanity Fair’s royal editor said Meghan is “absolutely is a feminist, and counts herself as a feminist”.
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“So for me, her popping up [at the event] very much fits in with where she was before she married Harry, and where she sees her life going now that she’s in California,” she said in the episode, posted to YouTube.
“Yes, ‘The Duchess of Sussex’, but very much fitting into the mould of her former life. She seems to be able to now sort of marry that royal title with the work that really matters to her,” she added.
South by Southwest, also known as SXSW, is an annual festival celebrating technology, film, music, education and culture.
Friday’s event is titled: Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen, and is presented by the Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation and US non-profit newsroom The 19th, according to organisers.
Announcing the panel, the festival said the discussion would focus on how the ubiquity of social media is “creating an often dangerous environment which has led to serious mental health issues for teenage girls in particular.”
It will be moderated The Amendment podcast host Errin Haines and pop culture expert Nancy Wang Yuen will also feature.
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Meghan is also set to address the importance of representation in media and entertainment, MailOnline reports.
The organisers said in a statement: “Women’s representation in media and entertainment has come a long way, but there’s still much to be done, especially for women of color and mothers.
“Social media’s omnipresence has raised the stakes, creating an often dangerous environment which has led to serious mental health issues for teenage girls in particular.
“On International Women’s Day, we’ll hear from visionary female leaders at the forefront of news, media, entertainment and philanthropy who are breaking barriers, challenging stereotypes, and working toward a healthier society on and off our screens.”
