Meghan Markle Dines With Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai at Claridge’s

Meghan Markle has been seen dining with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai at Claridge’s, marking her first reported sighting in London since she and Prince Harry moved back to the UK.

The 45-year-old Duchess of Sussex and the 29-year-old activist were spotted having dinner at the luxury Mayfair hotel yesterday.

Meghan and Malala first worked together in 2020, taking part in a virtual discussion for International Day of the Girl focused on the importance of educating girls.

Originally from Pakistan and now based in Birmingham, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban at the age of 14 after speaking out in support of girls’ education.

She later received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her campaign for girls’ rights, becoming the youngest-ever recipient of the award.

The dinner was Meghan’s first public appearance in London since she and Harry returned to Britain with their two children, seven-year-old Archie and five-year-old Lilibet, in August.

Footage recorded by a Claridge’s diner and shared on social media shows Meghan and Malala seated at a corner table in the restaurant. The Duchess faces into the room, while the activist sits opposite her.

The diner captioned the video: ‘POV: Claridge’s decided to seat Meghan Markle and Malala in front of you.’

Meghan appeared elegant in a white turtleneck jumper, while Malala wore her tan-coloured jacket throughout the meal.

Their 2020 conversation took place during the Covid pandemic, with Harry also joining the virtual discussion about the barriers facing young women seeking an education.

During the call, Meghan said: ‘When young girls have access to education, everyone wins, and everyone succeeds. It just opens the door for societal success at the highest level.

‘What I had realised very early on was that when women have a seat at the table, conversations in terms of policy change, conversations in terms of legislation and the dynamics of the community are all shifted.

‘And when you have to see how you get a woman to embrace her voice, you have to start with where she is as a young girl.’

Harry said he had once taken his own access to education for granted. ‘We do take it for granted, and it is a privilege, but every single person, every single child, every single young person needs an education,’ he said.

‘To know there’s over 130 million girls out of education right now, before the pandemic, and the numbers are only going to go up, it worries me, and it probably worries all of us, the effect that is going to have not just on the individual, but on the family, and community, for the country and the world at large.

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‘I’m hugely grateful for the education I was lucky enough to have; at the time I certainly probably wasn’t as grateful, but looking back at it now, I’m very, very blessed with having such amazing options.’

Following their conversation, Malala said of the Duchess: ‘Meghan and I are on the same page: we both believe that when girls have access to education, everyone wins.’ 

The Sussexes unexpectedly moved back to the UK over the summer with their children, just in time for the start of the new school year. 

Harry and Meghan were previously photographed holding hands as they headed inside the Falkland Arms pub in the Cotswolds on October 2, marking their first public outing since their move from Montecito in California. 

Meghan has continued with her As Ever brand, announcing she is creating a festive range for her lifestyle business, As Ever, last week, when she opened pre-orders for a £112 chocolate advent calendar that is only available to buy in the US.

The calendar – ‘inspired by her Montecito home and garden’ – features a festive illustration of the £11million mansion she and Harry called home for six years.

A press release declared ‘every detail was considered with care, including countdown numbers hand-painted in Meghan’s own penmanship using edible gold lustre.’ 

Flavours include strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and orange marmalade, plus what is described as a ‘special chocolate finished with Meghan’s own flower sprinkles’.

However, one British vicar who politely criticised the product has been forced to lockdown his X account after being branded a ‘demon’ and a ‘disgrace to the cloth’ by supporters – known colloquially as the Sussex Squad.

The row began when Anglican priest and London university chaplain Reverend Daniel French suggested that people could instead buy a £6 Christian advent calendar that is almost 20 times cheaper and contains Fairtrade chocolate.

The alternative he recommended also raises money for a leprosy charity and comes with a ‘little booklet on the meaning of Christmas’, he told his followers.

But Rev French’s post sparked a backlash from members of the Sussex Squad, who branded him ‘satan spawn’ and ‘evil’, while claiming he had an ‘ugly heart for a so-called Christian’.

His Protestant colleague Father Chris Phillips – whose parish is in Benhilton, south-west London – backed the priest on X, prompting a fresh wave of angry responses, to which he replied that he had ‘encountered the Sussex Squad on here’, adding: ‘Wow.’

His defenders have said he has been ‘terrorised’ by ‘deranged trolls’ ever since, forcing him to lockdown his account. Trolls claimed he was a ‘coward’ for doing so.

Meghan’s advent calendar announcement came only days after Buckingham Palace shared their own advent calendars, which were almost £100 cheaper, with prices starting at £25.

Other products in Meghan’s ‘Holiday Collection’ include ‘botanical confection’ chocolates developed by Los Angeles brand Compartes as part of an ‘ongoing collaboration’ and ‘The Keepsake Double-Deck Parlour Card Set’ with the As Ever logo.

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