Meghan Markle ‘inspired’ by Michelle Obama in royal engagements

MEGHAN MARKLE appears to be taking inspiration from former first lady Michelle Obama, and has echoed many of her decisions through her royal engagements and passions.Most notably, Meghan’s final solo royal engagement involved a visit to an east London school to mark International Women’s Day where the Duchess of Sussex discuss female empowerment and equality.The event is notably similar to appearances made by Michelle Obama at a school in Islington in 2009 and 2018 respectively.Both women have shared a passion for women’s education and issues of equality including pay and the

MeToo movement, using their platforms to promote positive action.Another similarity the women share is campaigning on physical and mental health, something Meghan and the former first lady have both placed at the forefront of their respective work agendas.Mrs Obama used her position as First Lady to raise awareness of childhood obesity and to promote healthy eating.The public health campaign, Let’s Move!, was spearheaded by Mrs Obama to decrease childhood obesity in America to 5 percent by 2030 and promote mental and physical wellbeing.In a similar vein, Meghan has supported her husband Prince Harry in his endeavours to raise awareness of mental health.Heads Together and the Invictus Games have both addressed mental and physical health, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex keen to shed light on these matters.It has been reported Prince Harry and Meghan will use their time after stepping down from the Royal Family to work with UK and US veterans who are homeless, or have faced mental health issues.And the multi-part documentary the Sussexes are set to produce alongside Oprah Winfrey for Apple TV also provides a link to the work of the First Lady.Mrs Obama, alongside her husband Barack Obama, established their own production company after leaving the White House, which secured a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix.American Factory, its first film, clinched its first Oscar last month in a widespread success for the organisation.It is thought Prince Harry and Meghan could follow in these footsteps, becoming equally as successful.Style is also important to the pair, with both women wearing pieces that have sparked much conversation around the world.Both women have worn pieces from smaller designers, and brands which support their personal ethos.On International Women’s Day, the Duchess of Sussex selected pieces from three British women designers: Rejina Pyo, Jennifer Chamandi and Me + Em.Mrs Obama has also been known to follow this process when dressing, and has close relationships with designers Jason Wu and Meredith Koop.The former first lady and the Duchess of Sussex have become firm friends, recently collaborating on the best-selling British Vogue edition, Forces for Change, guest edited by Meghan.The Duchess of Sussex wrote on her desire to commission Mrs Obama for a contribution to the edition as she admired her “gravitas”.Meghan wrote: “My first thought was that it needed to be someone kind, inspirational, motivating, funny, with gravitas and as much depth as levity.“My second thought: it needed to be Michelle Obama.”.The Duchess of Sussex interviewed Mrs Obama, and the pair discussed motherhood and humanitarian work.Mrs Obama also praised the

 Duchess of Sussex in an Instagram post shared on her account last year.She captioned a photograph of Meghan meeting with local leaders on her South Africa tour: “Thank you to my friend, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, a thoughtful leader who is breaking the mold and making our world better for it.“Whether meeting with our Obama Foundation leaders, or helping girls around the world seek the education they deserve, she is an inspiration to so many.”.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are thought to have a close relationship with Mr and Mrs Obama.Prince Harry guest edited BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in 2017, dubbed ‘When Harry Met Barry!’, where the former president of the United States was his interviewee.Mr Obama also made an appearance at the Invictus Games that year.And Meghan and Mrs Obama have met in London a few times, once over a lunch of chicken tacos.