TORONTO -- Smiling broadly in a vibrant purple gown, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, made her first appearance Tuesday since the airing of an emotional TV documentary Sunday.
At the opening ceremonies for the "One Young World" Summit in London, she was introduced as “a global champion for the rights of women and girls” and applauded and cheered onto the stage. The 38-year-old was twice a “global counsellor” for the summit prior to becoming a royal.
The appearance comes two days after ITV’s “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey” aired in which the couple were interviewed about the challenges of public life under the scrutiny of the tabloids. Clips from the special went viral online ahead of the broadcast and have reportedly led members of the Royal Family to express concern for the couple. On Monday, a palace source told the BBC that Harry’s brother Prince William is “worried” about the couple who are thought to be “in a fragile place.”
In one clip from the ITV documentary, which has been viewed more than 29 million times on Twitter, Meghan acknowledged that motherhood in the public eye has been a “struggle.”
“It’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,” she said in the interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby. "Thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK.”
The documentary aired a few weeks after the couple launched a series of lawsuits against British tabloids claiming various breaches of privacy, including phone hacking and the publication of a private letter. Privacy has been on ongoing concern for Harry in particular, who has openly sought a more normal life for his family, often raising his mother’s death in 1997 as a formative experience. In the new ITV documentary, he addressed Diana’s death again, saying that every camera flash takes him “straight back” to that time.
