Meghan Markle dons a sari and embraces traditional Indian culture in never-before-seen footage of a charity trip made by the Duchess back in January 2017.
The 37-year-old travelled to Delhi and Mumbai shortly after her romance with Prince Harry went public as part of her work with the charity World Vision.
She was keen to highlight issues of gender equality and girls’ limited access to education in the country.
At the time of her trip, news of the royal’s romance with Prince Harry had only just emerged and reports suggested that the trip had been cancelled due to security concerns, as media interest in the former Suits star grew.
The trip, however, did go ahead, but images were never released and Meghan didn’t post any photos to her Instagram account, despite sharing snaps from previous charity trips to Rwanda.
Meghan Markle doned a sari and embraced traditional Indian culture in never-before-seen footage of a charity trip made by the Duchess in 2017
The Duchess looked stunning in a bright green and blue sari as she sat and talked with local women
The 37-year-old travelled to Delhi and Mumbai shortly after her romance with Prince Harry went public as part of her work with the charity World Vision
Today’s release of the footage, which dates back more than two years, provided an opportunity to highlight her previous charity work while she takes a break from royal duties ahead of the birth of her first child.
During the trip Meghan visited schools and helped to paint a mural and plant a flower in the gardens.
She also sported a traditional tilaka, painted on her forehead by one of the local girls.
Speaking to the camera while on a visit to the school, Meghan said: ‘What we found is that the enrolment at this school went up three times once the latrines were built so that girls had access to clean hygiene and bathroom facilities while they’re at school.’
Since her marriage to Prince Harry in May last year, Meghan’s focus as a new member of the Royal Family has been very focussed on girls and women’s issues and the right of access to education for all
Speaking to the camera while on a visit to the school, Meghan said: ‘What we found is that the enrolment at this school went up three times once the latrines were built so that girls had access to clean hygiene and bathroom facilities while they’re at school’
During the trip Meghan visited schools and helped paint a mural and plant a flower in the gardens
The duchess chatted and laughed with the local school girls as she watered the bloom in the gardens
The duchess receives a traditional tilaka, painted on her forehead by one of the local girls
Meghan, pictured having flower petals scattered over her, said some girls are forced to drop out of school because they don’t have ‘bathrooms available to care for themselves’
Meghan said some girls are forced to drop out of school because they don’t have ‘bathrooms available to care for themselves’.
Just half of the secondary schools in India, the second most populated country in the world, have toilets, while more than 110 million teenage girls are at risk of dropping out of school.
During her trip, the former Suits actress took part in high level meetings with various NGOs, including an audience with Shamina Shafiq, a former member of the National Commission for Women.
She was also introduced to the Myna Mahila Foundation, which works with women and girls who live in Mumbai’s urban slums.
Timeline of a Royal Romance…
Meghan shared this cryptic clue about her and Harry’s romance in October 2016
July 2016: The pair meet in London through friends and become an item
October 30 2016: News breaks that Prince Harry is dating star of US legal drama Suits, Meghan Markle
November 8 2016: Protective Harry attacks the media over its ‘abuse and harassment’ of his girlfriend
December 13 2016: Harry and Meghan are spotted buying a Christmas tree together in Battersea Park
January 6 2017: Harry whisks Meghan off on a romantic break to see the Northern Lights in Norway
January 22 2017: Meghan completes charity visit to India
February 2 2017: Spotted holding hands on a date night in London
March 4 2017: Attend the wedding of one of Harry’s best friends Tom Inskip in Jamaica
April 7 2017: Meghan announces she is ending her lifestyle blog thetig.com
May 7 2017: Photographed kissing in public for the first time at Cowarth Park polo club in Ascot, Berkshire
May 20 2017: Meghan joins Harry at Pippa Middleton’s wedding reception
September 5 2017: Meghan speaks about Harry in Vanity Fair interview
September 24 2017: Meghan makes her first appearance at an official engagement attended by Harry when she attends the Invictus Games
October 19 2017: Harry took Meghan to meet his grandmother the Queen
November 27 2017: Clarence House announces their engagement
The organisation strives to provide them with employment and basic sanitary products, challenging the cultural taboos about menstrual hygiene.
The charity foundation was one of the seven nominated by Meghan and Harry to receive donations at the time of their wedding last year.
At the time of her trip to Delhi and Mumbai, which followed a previous humanitarian trip to Rwanda, rumours were rife about Meghan’s relationship with Prince Harry.
Another Instagram post saw Meghan sporting a blue and white beaded bracelet – identical to one spotted on the wrist of Prince Harry at the same time
The former actress had shared cryptic clues on her Instagram page, including an image of two spooning bananas with the caption ‘sleep tight xx’ – posted on the same day the news of their romance broke.
Another post saw Meghan sporting a blue and white beaded bracelet – identical to one spotted on the wrist of Prince Harry at the same time.
Since her marriage to Prince Harry in May last year, Meghan’s focus as a new member of the Royal Family has been very focussed on girls and women’s issues and the right of access to education for all.
She championed this on a recent trip to Morocco and delivered an impassioned speech on education while visiting the University of the South Pacific in Suva last year.
Getting her hands dirty: Meghan helps to paint a mural on the wall at a school where the charity has installed new facilities for its pupils
The Duchess grins and clips enthusiastically as local women put on a musical performance in her honour
Details of Meghan’s humanitarian visit to Delhi and Mumbai in January 2017 were kept underwraps until now, due to her blossoming romance with Prince Harry