ROYAL NEWS
Is Meghan Markle heading to D.C.?
A US senator said she could hear ‘how sincere’ the Duchess of Sussex was about advocacy
It seems Meghan Markle could be heading to Washington, D.C.! Senator Kirsten Gillibrand revealed to The 19th that she plans on inviting the Duchess of Sussex to the nation’s capital for a bipartisan dinner. The senator from New York is hosting the dinner in the “coming month with all the women senators,” per The 19th.
According to the news outlet—which hosted a virtual summit attended by Meghan last year—Archie Harrison and Lilibet Diana’s mom recently called Kirsten, a champion for paid family leave, and expressed her desire to help. “I could hear how sincere she was about advocacy,” the senator told The 19th.
Kirsten even gave the Duchess the numbers of her Republican colleagues. The royal mom of two has already personally reached out Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Senator Susan Collin. Shelley recalled to Politico: “I’m in my car. I’m driving. It says caller ID blocked. Honestly … I thought it was Sen. Manchin. His calls come in blocked. And she goes ‘Sen. Capito?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ She said, ‘This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.”
Aside from cold calling members of Congress, Meghan has also penned an open letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi advocating for paid family leave. “I’m not an elected official, and I’m not a politician. I am, like many, an engaged citizen and a parent,” she began her letter, which was published on the Paid Leave for All website last month. “And because you and your congressional colleagues have a role in shaping family outcomes for generations to come, that’s why I’m writing to you at this deeply important time—as a mom—to advocate for paid leave.”
The Duchess stated that families should be put above politics. Meghan wrote, “I know how politically charged things can—and have—become. But this isn’t about Right or Left, it’s about right or wrong. This is about putting families above politics. And for a refreshing change, it’s something we all seem to agree on. At a point when everything feels so divisive, let this be a shared goal that unites us.”
