A royal first! Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have made history hiring an all-female staff. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been appointing new members of staff to make up their dream team since splitting from Prince William and Kate Middleton's household and the royal foundation to start their own earlier this year. The girl power move should come as no surprise, since the Suits alum is a proud, outspoken feminist.
“Women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there, and in some cases, where this is not available, well then, you know what, they need to create their own table,” the former American actress said in 2015 at a UN Women’s event. “It isn’t enough to simply talk about equality, one must believe in it and it isn’t enough to simply believe in it.” Meghan has revealed in the past that her husband shares the same views as her, calling the Duke "a feminist too."
Get to know the royal couple's senior female staff below...
Karen Blackett, Director of Sussex Royal Foundation
The media executive was appointed as the first trustee of the Sussex Royal Foundation in August. She is chairwoman of the media agency MediaCom UK and country manager of the marketing and communications firm WPP. In 2015, Karen was named to the Powerlist of the 100 most influential people of African or African Caribbean heritage in the UK. Writing in The Guardian in 2014, she revealed: "I am a single mother to a five-year-old boy and I want my son to truly know that he can be whatever he chooses to be, without any barriers related to his skin colour."
Fiona Mcilwham, Private Secretary
Harry and Meghan’s new right-hand woman was formerly the British Ambassador to Albania. She also previously worked as the director for Western Balkans and Enlargement at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom. Fiona describes herself on Twitter as a “diplomat” and “wannabe supermum.”