She’s best friends with Suits star Meghan Markle and Priyanka Chopra was full of praise for Prince Harry’s fiancée in a new interview.
The 35-year-old told Harper’s Bazaar Arabia: ‘It’s natural for people to be like, “Oh that’s Prince Harry’s girlfriend, but she’s a lot more as well”.’
Priyanka believes that her friend will modernise the royal institution, saying: ‘I don’t think anybody else would be able to do it the way she will. She’s just right for it.’
‘She’s more than just Prince Harry’s girlfriend’: Priyanka Chopra praised best friend Meghan Markle for modernising the monarchy in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
The 35-year-old said: ‘It’s natural for people to be like, “Oh that’s Prince Harry’s girlfriend, but she’s a lot more as well”’ as she hinted she will be part of the bridal party
‘She’s an icon, truly, that girls can look up to, that women can look up to. She’s normal, she’s sweet, she’s nice, she thinks about the world, wants to change it and this was even before any of this happened.’
‘So I do think Meghan being a part of the royal family is a big step in the direction of so many things; of women, of feminism, of diversity, of race, of the monarchy versus everyone else. It’s a beautiful step in the right direction.’
Priyanka also hinted that she has already been asked to join the bridal party for the couple’s May 19 wedding, saying. ‘If you see me there, you’ll know.’
Praise: Priyanka believes that her friend will modernise the royal institution, saying: ‘I don’t think anybody else would be able to do it the way she will. She’s just right for it’
Priyanka, who posed for the magazine and was shot by David Slijper, also spoke freely about her own romantic life – she is recently out of a relationship and ready to reveal what it will take to win her heart.
She said: ‘I’m going to be serious about this because I’m single right now after a really long time, so I’m going to give you a really real answer.
‘I like to be given attention, not like creeper-worthy attention, that would freak me out. But I like to be pursued and wooed.
A special someone? Priyanka also spoke freely about her own romantic life – she is recently out of a relationship and ready to reveal what it will take to win her heart
She admitted: ‘I like to be given attention, not like creeper-worthy attention, that would freak me out. But I like to be pursued and wooed’
‘And if he’s not cerebral, if he’s not smart and cannot engage me, then it cannot happen. That’s the biggest, most important thing for me. I’m very mushy, I love romance.’
Seeing her friend Meghan become engaged and prepare to walk down the aisle, does Priyanka harbour the same aspiration?
She said: ‘Marriage and kids are a big goal for me. I’m a big believer in the institution of marriage and in family, and in kids, I want to have a lot of them, if God allows.
Adding: ‘And if he’s not cerebral, if he’s not smart and cannot engage me, then it cannot happen. That’s the biggest, most important thing for me. I’m very mushy, I love romance’
‘The only problem is, I don’t know who I’ll do it with. I feel like I’m fortunate to live in the 21st century, where science helps women in a big way to not feel those pressures, so I don’t.
‘My family doesn’t feel those pressures either. I would rather spend my life with the right person than feel pressured and make a mistake.’
Priyanka, whom Forbes named the 8th highest paid TV actress in 2017, is also outspoken about the issue of feminism. She said: ‘Why is there a word called feminism? Why is there no manism? Because men have never needed it.
More to see: Read the full interview in the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
‘Because for hundreds and hundreds of years, women have been told what we should dress like, what jobs are good for us, what we can do, what a good girl is.
‘Feminism is women standing up for themselves and saying “Give me the freedom to make my own choices without judging me.” It is not superiority.
‘It is not hating or berating men. It is just saying, ‘Let me make my decisions without shaming me or trolling me. Give me those opportunities that men have enjoyed for such a long time”.’
Priyanka has estimated annual earnings of $10 million – and is not afraid to challenge inequality in pay.
She said: ‘The pay disparity is a big conversation definitely and it doesn’t just happen in the movie business, where it’s tremendous, where the boys of course get paid, like, crazy more than the girls do.’
Read the full interview in the February issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia