Prince Harry Surprises Duchess Meghan’s Gender Equality Roundtable: ‘Thank You for Letting Him Crash the Party’

Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Pool/Shutterstock

Prince Harry Surprises Duchess Meghan’s Gender Equality Roundtable: ‘Thank You for Letting Him Crash the Party’

Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at Duchess Meghan’s gender equality roundtable on Friday, October 25, at Windsor Castle, and the Suits alum cracked wise about him crashing the party. “In terms of gender equality, which is something I have championed for a long time, I think that conversation can't happen without men being a part of it,” Meghan, 38, told the youth leaders in attendance, according to the Daily Mail. “So, for this reason, it made complete sense to let him join today, so thank you for letting him crash the party.” Harry, 35, drove Meghan to the castle — a short distance from Frogmore Cottage, where they live with 5-month-old son Archie. The discussion — organized by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and One Young World — covered “how these young leaders are driving meaningful change for empowering women,” according to Buckingham Palace. The leaders “share[d] achievements and best practices that have helped empower communities to overcome complex challenges and significant obstacles,” the palace added. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s appearance at the roundtable comes days after Meghan opened up about her “really challenging” life in the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, and weeks after the couple took legal action against the British media over recent coverage of the former actress. [jwplayer fL0RU7Fr-l3ahXupL] “Especially as a woman, it’s really … it’s a lot,” Meghan told ITV News at Ten’s Tom Bradby in the documentary. “So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom and trying to be a newlywed … And also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.” Meghan is “really hoping the critics will give her a break now they’ve been made aware of how the negativity is affecting her,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, October 23. “She wants the public to know that she’s vulnerable just like everyone else. It’s been an extremely emotional few months having to deal with all the negativity whilst looking after a newborn.” Scroll down for more photos from the couple’s outing on Friday. [podcast_block]

Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Pool/Shutterstock

Prince Harry Surprises Duchess Meghan’s Gender Equality Roundtable: ‘Thank You for Letting Him Crash the Party’

Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at Duchess Meghan’s gender equality roundtable on Friday, October 25, at Windsor Castle, and the Suits alum cracked wise about him crashing the party. “In terms of gender equality, which is something I have championed for a long time, I think that conversation can't happen without men being a part of it,” Meghan, 38, told the youth leaders in attendance, according to the Daily Mail. “So, for this reason, it made complete sense to let him join today, so thank you for letting him crash the party.” Harry, 35, drove Meghan to the castle — a short distance from Frogmore Cottage, where they live with 5-month-old son Archie. The discussion — organized by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and One Young World — covered “how these young leaders are driving meaningful change for empowering women,” according to Buckingham Palace. The leaders “share[d] achievements and best practices that have helped empower communities to overcome complex challenges and significant obstacles,” the palace added. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s appearance at the roundtable comes days after Meghan opened up about her “really challenging” life in the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, and weeks after the couple took legal action against the British media over recent coverage of the former actress. [jwplayer fL0RU7Fr-l3ahXupL] “Especially as a woman, it’s really … it’s a lot,” Meghan told ITV News at Ten’s Tom Bradby in the documentary. “So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom and trying to be a newlywed … And also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.” Meghan is “really hoping the critics will give her a break now they’ve been made aware of how the negativity is affecting her,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, October 23. “She wants the public to know that she’s vulnerable just like everyone else. It’s been an extremely emotional few months having to deal with all the negativity whilst looking after a newborn.” Scroll down for more photos from the couple’s outing on Friday. [podcast_block]

Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Pool/Shutterstock

Husband and Driver

Harry chauffeured Meghan to the event in his electric Audi e-tron.

Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Pool/Shutterstock

Penciled In

Meghan wore the same red Hugo Boss pencil skirt that Queen Letizia of Spain wore in South Korea one day earlier.

Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Pool/Shutterstock

Leadership Roles

Harry is president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, with Meghan serving as vice president.

Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Pool/Shutterstock

The Perfect Medley

“I think we’re all aware that One Young World has been very important to me for several years and now being vice president of QCT, it just felt like the perfect medley,” Meghan told the other roundtable attendees.

Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Pool/Shutterstock

Working Collectively

Meghan continued: “What you’re all capable of doing independently is incredible, but then when you work collectively, our intention today is to try to create somewhat of a task force to see what we can do within our communities and then use that knowledge to apply it to whatever is happening in all these other communities.”