Prince Harry is, as the Brits say, besotted with his fiancée Meghan Markle. By his own admission, he fell in love with the American actress "incredibly quickly" and has wasted no time finding ways to include his soon-to-be wife in every aspect of royal life. Earlier this week, the prince made the surprise announcement that Meghan will be joining him in his newly appointed role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador sharing the responsibilities and said he was "incredibly grateful" that the "woman I am about to marry" will be working with him in his new job. The couple are now expected to undertake overseas tours of the Commonwealth as well as convening young people to hear their ideas on how to give them a bigger platform.
It's a stunning development within the royal family where wives are clearly supporting players except, of course, in the case of Queen Elizabeth II. But Meghan, like Princess Diana before her, isn't a woman who is content with the status quo. And she's never been shy about saying that. Here's Meghan, in her own words, explaining why everything is about to change once she marries into the House of Windsor. And for more about how Meghan Markle plans to rule her post, check out How Meghan Markle Plans to "Push the Envelope" After the Wedding.
1 She's more than Harry's fiancée—and she'll be much more than just a "wife."
"I've never defined myself by my relationship."
And for more on the royal wedding, check out these 20 Things We Know About Harry and Meghan's Wedding.
2 Move over, guys.
"Women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there…where this is not available, they need to create their own table."
3 She plans to put her worldwide fame to good use.
"Very early out of the gate I think you realize you have access or a voice that people are willing to listen to and with that comes a lot of responsibility which I take seriously."
And for more on her royal responsibilities, check out these 10 Signs Harry and Meghan Will Break All the Royal Rules.
4 Hollywood was a great training ground.
"It's either ironic or apropos that in this world of not fitting in, and of harboring my emotions so tightly under my ethnically nondescript (and not so thick) skin, that I would decide to become an actress. There couldn't possibly be a more label-driven industry than acting, seeing as every audition comes with a character breakdown: 'Beautiful, sassy, Latina, 20s'; 'African American, urban, pretty, early 30s'; 'Caucasian, blonde, modern girl next door'. Every role has a label; every casting is for something specific. But perhaps it is through this craft that I found my voice."
5 She broke the mold with her Suits role.
"The producers weren't looking for someone mixed, nor someone white or black for that matter. They were simply looking for Rachel. The Suits producers helped shift the way pop culture defines beauty. Some households may never have had a black person in their house as a guest, or someone biracial. Well, now there are a lot of us on your TV and in your home with you. With Suits, specifically, you have Rachel Zane. I couldn't be prouder of that."
And for one more way she's breaking the mold, check out The One Way Meghan Markle Has Already Changed Prince Harry.
6 She blocks out the haters.
"The people who are close to me anchor me in knowing who I am. The rest is noise."
7 She believes sisterhood is powerful.
"Women make up more than half of the world's population, so it is neither just nor practical for their voices, our voices, to go unheard."
8 She's there for other women.
"May we empower each other to carry out [our] vision. Let us work at it together."
9 She won't let anyone else define her relationship with Harry.
"At the end of the day, I think it's really simple. We are two people who are really happy and in love."
10 She knows who she is and it's more than enough.
"My mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that. To say who I am, to share where I'm from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman. That when asked to choose my ethnicity in a questionnaire as in my seventh-grade class, or these days to check 'Other', I simply say: 'Sorry, world, this is not Lost and I am not one of The Others. I am enough exactly as I am.'"
And for the latest royal news, check out the Amazing Gift Meghan Markle's Family Might Get from the Queen.
Diane Clehane is a New York-based journalist and author of Imagining Diana and Diana: The Secrets of Her Style.
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