Meghan Markle may no longer have official royal status but she seems determined to claim a crown of her own making – as queen of the virtual summit.
The 39-year-old is set to take part in yet another online event this week – the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen Virtual Summit – during which she will speak about ‘courageous leadership’ and share how she learned to ‘lead on a global stage’.
However, anyone hoping to watch the Duchess of Sussex‘s latest online appearance will have to fork out an impressive $1,750 for the privilege, with tickets to the summit limited to invited guests who are willing to pay the hefty registration fee.
Making a statement: Meghan Markle is set to take part in yet another virtual summit this week, when she wil join the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Next Gen event
Opinions: The 39-year-old is set to join Fortune associate editor Emma Hinchlifee on Tuesday, when the pair will discuss how the Duchess of Sussex ‘leads on the global stage’
According to the Fortune agenda, Meghan will be interviewed by the publication’s associate editor Emma Hinchliffe, who is set to speak with the former Suits star about her thoughts on leadership and ‘leading with your values’.
‘How do you lead with your values? We are joined by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, who shares how she’s learned to, in her words, chase her convictions with action,’ the blurb for the 15-minute event reads.
‘The Duchess will tell our Next Gen community how she leads on the global stage.’
The event is the latest in a long line of summit appearances made by Meghan over the past six months – including a keynote speaker role at the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit just two weeks ago.
Since stepping down from their roles as senior royals, Meghan and her husband Prince Harry, 36, have become increasingly outspoken about a range of hot-button issues, including Black Lives Matter and voter suppression.
Most recently the couple joined Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai from their $14 million Santa Barbara home for a video that was shared on the Oxford graduate’s social media accounts in celebration of International Day of the Girl.
During the recording, Harry and Meghan discussed the importance of a girl’s right to a fair education and spoke about how the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on young women’s access to education.
Meanwhile Meghan also revealed they had been having ‘a lot of good family time’ during the pandemic, with Prince Harry saying: ‘We were both there for Archie’s first steps, his first run, his first fall, everything.’
However not all of the couple’s online talks have been without controversy.
At the end of September, the couple sparked furious backlash when they spoke out about the upcoming US election in a video for Time 100 that saw harry urge people to ‘reject hate speech’, while Meghan referred to the presidential race as ‘the most important election of our lifetime’.
Although the couple did not voice their support for one candidate in particular, their words made waves on both sides of the Atlantic and were seen as anti-Donald Trump, including by the President himself.
Their decision to make any statement about the presidential election is also in direct opposition to the royal family’s policy of maintaining political neutrality.
Making the rounds: Both Harry, 36, and Meghan have made numerous appearances at online events and talks, often touching on hot-button issues like racism and voter suppression
Causing a stir: On Monday, a royal expert and author claimed that Meghan told her PR team before leaving the royal family that she wants to be the ‘most famous person on the planet’
Last week, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that Missouri Congressman Jason Smith was sending a letter to the British Ambassador to the United States asking that the Queen strip Harry and Meghan of their royal titles in response to their decision to ‘interfere’ in the election.
The congressman insisted in his letter that the Sussexes are using their royal titles to influence voters, and pointed out that the United States has expressed concerns about foreign interference in its elections.
‘As you know, the British Royal Family has long observed a policy of strict neutrality in regard to political matters. I am therefore concerned by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s recent comments regarding the United States Presidential Election, especially given international conversations surrounding foreign interference in our elections and the Duke’s status as a guest of the United States,’ he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by DailyMail.com.
Smith called the couple’s actions ‘a serious breach of the British Royal Family’s policy of political neutrality and an inappropriate act of domestic interference by one of our closest allies.’
The Queen controls Harry and Meghan’s titles but acts on the advice of the government – meaning it would be up to her to act against the couple, but that if the prime minister, Boris Johnson, were to ask her to do it, she would have to at least consider the request.
On Saturday, it was reported that Harry could face a scolding by the Queen amid concerns over his public comments about politics as royal staff prepare for him to return to the UK.
It is thought that Palace staff have been told to ready Frogmore Cottage for the imminent return of the duke – without mention of Meghan.
The Queen, 94, is likely to meet with Harry at her ‘HMS Bubble’ at Windsor after she returned in order to resume audiences and small engagements.
However one royal expert and author has claimed that Meghan was actively courting controversy prior to the couple’s departure from the Royal Family at the start of this year, suggesting that the Duchess of Sussex believed it was the only way to achieve her ambition of becoming the ‘most famous person on the planet’.
Lady Colin Campbell – author of Meghan and Harry: The Real Story – says that in the year before Megxit, the former actress had – with her’s husband’s help – already been pursuing commercial and political activities traditionally out of bounds to the royals.
According to the author, this included the Duchess of Sussex telling her PR team that her ambition was to be the best known celebrity in the world, a mission that could only be realized by being ‘controversial’.
Speaking on Graham Norton’s BBC podcast, Lady Campbell said: ‘I started writing that book because last year I knew privately that Meghan – with Harry’s connivance – was getting up to all sorts of things in America that she was completely forbidden from doing as a royal.
‘Getting involved with commercial enterprises, flying kites in terms of politics, because she ‘s very political, and also instructing her PR people that they were to make her into the most famous person on earth.
‘To be the most famous person on earth, it’s a very deliberate policy and it has to involve a tremendous amount of controversy, otherwise you’re just not that famous.’