Meghan Markle Just Gained a Bit More Respect In the Public Eye — Here’s Why

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been married for almost a year, but it definitely hasn’t been an easy year. Meghan, the newbie in the royal family, has been the subject of vast criticism and rumors ever since she married into the family. When it comes to popularity, the British public tends to favor Kate Middleton over Meghan Markle. But a recent Instagram caption just surprised people with something that few knew about the duchess.

Meghan and Harry started dating in 2016

The royal couple met through a mutual friend, and after one date, they knew they liked each other. Things moved fairly quickly once they hit it off. The two dated for about a year and a half before Harry proposed in November 2017. After they announced their engagement, they planned a wedding within six months and were married in May 2018. Only about two months later, the couple got pregnant, and in October 2018, they announced they’d welcome their first child in spring 2019. But once Meghan married into the family, the negative comments about her instantly picked up.

Meghan had done philanthropic work with Harry before the two were married

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently got their own Instagram account, and some fans were thrilled. The purpose of the account is to allow the public to follow Meghan and Harry through all of their royal engagements, charity work, and family time. The Instagram set a world record by hitting one million followers in less than six hours. On one recent post, the royal family highlighted the work both Harry and Meghan had done on behalf of mental health back in 2017, before Harry and Meghan were married.

View this post on Instagram

The Duke of Sussex attends the ‘Our Planet’ premiere at the Natural History Museum with The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge, lending their joint support for the protection of our environment. As president of @africanparksnetwork, The Duke of Sussex continues to advocate for the communities and wildlife that coexist in some of the most vulnerable environments around the world. Be it human wildlife conflict or natural disasters, these communities (park rangers, school children, families) are on the frontline of conservation and we must do more to help them as we also work to safeguard the animals and landscapes that are in critical danger. A few recent photos that look back on: Prince Harry’s long time commitment to this cause as well as a glimpse into the work he and The Duchess of Sussex did in 2017. Their Royal Highnesses travelled to Botswana to assist Dr. Mike Chase of Elephants Without Borders in equipping a bull elephant with a satellite collar. Approximately 100 elephants are poached/killed every day for their ivory tusks. Using satellite technology allows conservationists to track their critical migratory patterns and to protect them and the local communities from human wildlife conflict. The elephant pictured was sedated for just 10 minutes before he was up and back with his herd. Tracking his movements has allowed conservationists to better protect him and other elephants and ensure heightened protection for these beautiful creatures moving forward. Credit: Image 1 PA

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Apr 4, 2019 at 12:33pm PDT

Fans of the royal family were shocked — and pleased — to learn Meghan had dedicated time to philanthropy before her marriage

When users read the caption, they couldn’t believe Meghan had joined in on the philanthropic work before officially marrying the prince. Meghan has always been vocal about helping others, including protesting for gender equality, and, in this case, advocating for communities and wildlife around the world. The caption of the Instagram photo reads that Meghan and harry did this work in 2017, which shows that Meghan was already getting involved with helping others prior to being an official royal family member — and the public loved to see it.

“Wow, so Meghan was already doing this work with Harry before they were even engaged. So impressed by this couple!” one user commented; it received nearly 900 likes.

“I’m so here for this information we didn’t know! Meghan already doing work with him pre-engagement… We appreciate this so much!” another comment read.

Meghan is still new to the family, but hopefully opinions will change the longer she and Harry are married

Ever since Meghan and Harry wed, plenty of the public turned a blind eye to her in favor of Kate. However, Meghan is still new to the family, and she may still need a bit of time to prove herself. People clearly were unaware that Meghan had been doing work with Harry prior to their engagement, which helped people see a new side of her. In time, once the public sees a bit more of her and sees her parenting with Harry, she will likely grow on people even more.

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