Meghan, Duchess of Sussex facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Meghan
Duchess of Sussex (more)
Meghan in 2024
Born	Rachel Meghan Markle (1981-08-04) August 4, 1981 (age 43) Los Angeles, California, US
Spouse	Trevor Engelson ​ ​ (m. 2011; div. 2014)​ Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex ​ (m. 2018)​
Issue	Prince Archie of Sussex Princess Lilibet of Sussex
House	Windsor (by marriage)
Father	Thomas Markle Sr.
Mother	Doria Ragland
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2001–2017 (actress)
Works	Filmography writings
Signature

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex ( born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and a former actress. She is married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. The couple stepped down as working royals in 2020 and they are now residing in the US.

Early life and education

Rachel Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, at West Park Hospital in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, to Doria Ragland (born 1956), a social worker and former makeup artist, and Thomas Markle Sr. (born 1944), an Emmy Award winning television lighting director and director of photography.

Her parents separated when she was two years old and divorced four years later. She has a close relationship with her mother. Thomas Markle Sr. worked as a director of photography and lighting for General Hospital and Married... with Children, and Meghan occasionally visited the set of Married... with Children as a child. She has been estranged from her father and paternal half-siblings, Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jr.

Markle grew up in View Park–Windsor Hills, Los Angeles, and attended Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse. Both her parents contributed to raising her until the age of 9, after which her father was left in charge of caring for her as her mother pursued a career.

Markle was raised as a Protestant but graduated from L.A.'s Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girl Catholic school. Markle took part in plays and musicals at the school, where her father helped with lighting.

In 1999, she was admitted to Northwestern University (NU) in Evanston, Illinois, where she joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After her junior year, she secured an internship as a junior press officer at the American embassy in Buenos Aires, with the help of her uncle Michael Markle, and considered a political career. However, she did not score high enough in the Foreign Service Officer Test to proceed further with the US State Department and returned to NU.

She also attended a study abroad program in Madrid. In 2003, Markle earned her bachelor's degree with a double major in theater and international studies from Northwestern's School of Communication.

Acting career

Markle with Suits co-star Patrick J. Adams at Paley Center for Media, 2013

Her acting career began at Northwestern University. Her first on-screen appearance was a small role as a nurse in an episode of the daytime soap opera General Hospital, a show for which her father served as a lighting director. Markle had small guest roles on the television shows Century City (2004), The War at Home (2006) and CSI: NY (2006).

Markle also did several contract acting and modeling jobs. Between 2006 and 2007, she worked as a "briefcase girl" on 34 episodes of the US version of the game show Deal or No Deal. She appeared in Fox's series Fringe as Junior Agent Amy Jessup in the first two episodes of its second season.

Markle appeared in small roles in the films Get Him to the Greek, Remember Me (produced by her then-partner Trevor Engelson) and The Candidate in 2010 and the film Horrible Bosses in 2011. She was paid $187,000 for her role in Remember Me and $171,429 for her role in the short film The Candidate. In July 2011, she joined the cast of the USA Network show Suits through to late 2017 and the seventh season. Her character, Rachel Zane, began as a paralegal and eventually became an attorney. While working on Suits, she lived for nine months each year in Toronto. Fortune magazine estimated that she was paid $50,000 per episode, amounting to an equivalent annual salary of $450,000.

She also developed a social media presence, which included The Tig (2014–2017), a lifestyle blog. During The Tig period, Meghan became involved in charity work focused primarily on women's issues and social justice.

Markle and Prince Harry on Christmas Day 2017

Personal life

Markle was married to American film producer Trevor Engelson from 2011 until their divorce in 2014.

Marrige to Prince Harry

Carriage procession through streets of Windsor, May 2018

Meghan retired from acting upon her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018 and became known as the Duchess of Sussex.

In preparation for the wedding, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, baptized Markle and confirmed her in the Church of England on March 6, 2018. The marriage ceremony was held on May 19 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. Her wedding dress was designed by Clare Waight Keller.

Meghan gave birth to a son, Archie, on May 6, 2019. She gave birth to a daughter, Lilibet, on June 4, 2021. The Duke and Duchess own a Labrador named Pula and two Beagles named Guy and Mamma Mia. Meghan previously owned a Labrador-German Shepherd cross named Bogart.

Stepping back

In January 2020, Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals and later settled in California. The Palace confirmed that the Duke and Duchess were to cease to undertake royal duties as representatives of the Queen and would therefore no longer receive the relevant financial support. The couple would retain their HRH styles but not use them.

Political views

Markle was politically vocal before marrying Prince Harry. At age 9, she and her friends reportedly campaigned against the Gulf War. Decades later, she backed Hillary Clinton during the 2016 United States presidential election and publicly denounced the opponent and eventual winner, Donald Trump.

In February 2022, she voiced her support for the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson. In June 2022, she publicly supported Moms Demand Action, an organization which campaigns for safer gun laws in the US.

Further career and investments

In October 2020, they launched Archewell Inc., an American public organization that focuses on non-profit activities and creative media ventures. In the following years, she released a picture book for children, The Bench, and launched a podcast, Archetypes.

In October 2021, Meghan and Harry announced their partnership with Ethic, a sustainable investment firm based in New York City, which also manages the couple's investments.

Meghan and Harry filmed an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was broadcast in March 2021, and a Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which was released in December 2022.

In March 2024, Meghan launched the lifestyle and cooking brand American Riviera Orchard. In April 2024, it was announced that Archewell Productions is working with Netflix to produce two new shows – on lifestyle and on polo – for the streaming platform.

Charity work and advocacy

Markle addressing the audience during a USO show at Naval Station Rota, Spain, December 2014

Meghan Markle supports several charities and non-profit organizations. One of the charities she supports is World Vision Canada, where she serves as a Global Ambassador. World Vision is a humanitarian organization that works to improve the lives of children and families in need around the world. Markle traveled to Rwanda in February 2016 for World Vision Canada's clean water campaign.

Another charity that Markle supports is Archewell, a non-profit organization that she founded with her husband, Prince Harry. Archewell aims to drive change through non-profit work and creative activations. The organization has raised millions of dollars and donated to causes such as vaccine equity, supporting women-owned small businesses, and aiding with Afghan and Ukrainian refugee relief centers and resettlement.

Markle is also concerned about mental health, racism and women's rights.

Public image

Markle (third from left) at New York Fashion Week in 2013

In 2018, Time selected Meghan as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and placed her on its shortlist for Person of the Year. Her name appeared again on the listicle in 2021 and she and her husband were featured on one of the magazine's seven worldwide covers.

In 2019, the magazine named Meghan and Prince Harry among the 25 Most Influential People on the Internet. She was also chosen as one of the 25 most influential women in the United Kingdom by British Vogue magazine in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Her influence was also recognized in both the 2019 and 2020 editions of Powerlist, the 100 most influential Britons of African and Afro-Caribbean descent.

In 2022, she was named as one of the 50 Women Changing the World over the past year by Worth magazine. In the same year, Variety named her as a stellar honoree for its Power of Women issue, and Financial Times included her on its list of "25 most influential women of 2022". In December 2022, Meghan was found to be the second most disliked member of the British royal family by statistics and polling company YouGov, behind her husband's uncle Prince Andrew.

In March 2023, The Independent included her on its "Influence List 2023". Meghan and Harry's exit from the royal family was satirized in a 2023 episode of South Park.

Privacy and the media

Markle has been vocal about the negative impact of media intrusion on her mental health and has taken legal action against media outlets for invasion of privacy.

Oprah interview

The television special Oprah with Meghan and Harry was broadcast on CBS on March 7, 2021. Meghan spoke about her personal and royal life and public pressure. She complained of a lack of protection for her and her son while being part of the royal institution. Meghan also metioned that she faced racism when becoming part of the British royal family. There was a wide and polarized reaction to the interview.

Interesting facts about Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

• She identifies as mixed race.
• At age 11, she and her classmates wrote to Procter & Gamble to gender-neutralize a dishwashing soap commercial on national television.
• During her teenage years, she worked at a local frozen yogurt shop and later as a waitress and babysitter. She also volunteered at a soup kitchen in Skid Row, Los Angeles.
• Along with Catherine, Princess of Wales, Meghan is considered to be a royal style icon. In 2018, Tatler included Meghan with other senior royal women on its list of Britain's best dressed people.

Titles, styles and arms

Meghan became a princess of the United Kingdom upon her marriage to Prince Harry, entitled to the style of Royal Highness. After her marriage, she was styled "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex". She also holds the titles of Countess of Dumbarton and Baroness Kilkeel. She is the first person to hold the title "Duchess of Sussex".

Following the Duke and Duchess's decision to step back from royal duties in 2020, the couple agreed not to use the style of Royal Highness in practice, but they are still referred to as "His/Her Royal Highness" in legal settings.

During Meghan's trip to Nigeria in May 2024, Igwe Alfred Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha, and Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo, gave her the chieftaincy titles Ada Mazi (transl. 'the daughter of the Igbo ancestral palace') and Adetokunbo (transl. 'royalty from across the seas').

Arms of the Duchess of Sussex

Notes The Duchess bears the arms of her husband impaled with her own. Thomas Woodcock, Garter King of Arms, the senior officer of the College of Arms, helped the Duchess with the design, which was approved by the Queen. Adopted May 25, 2018 Coronet Coronet of a child of the sovereign. Escutcheon Quarterly 1st and 4th Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langed Azure (England), 2nd Or a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counterflory (Scotland), 3rd Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (Ireland), the whole differenced by a label of three points Argent, each point charged with an escallop Gules (Prince Harry); Impaled with a shield Azure a feather bendwise Argent quilled Or between two bendlets Or all between two like feathers Argent quilled Or (Markle). Supporters On the dexter side the lion used as a supporter by the Duke of Sussex and to the sinister a songbird Argent wings spread, unguled Or and gorged with the coronet of the Duke of Sussex. Compartment Below the shield, a mount of grass with golden poppies and wintersweet in flower. Symbolism The blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the sunshine of the Duchess's home state. The three quills represent communication and the power of words. Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California's state flower and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace. The songbird with wings elevated as if flying and an open beak represents the power of communication.

Filmography

Television

Film

See also

In Spanish: Meghan Markle para niños