Meghan Markle was "really touched" by a woman who was "inspired" by her 2015 speech to the United Nations (UN).
The 36-year-old American actress – who is set to marry Prince Harry in May this year – visited Edinburgh with her husband-to-be earlier this week, and whilst there she met with charity worker Alice Thompson who told her the story of how she had been influenced by Meghan’s moving speech three years ago.
Alice – who is the co-founder of homeless charity Social Bite – recalled after their meeting: "It was pretty lovely. I was so taken with her. I told her that as a woman in business who had lived in the shadow of my male business partner for several years due to my own insecurities about my own ability to compete or perform, I found her speech she made in 2015 to the UN inspirational and motivating and that it encouraged me to speak up a bit more and be a girl boss.
"She seemed really touched and a tad emotional. She said that she was really nervous to give that speech and that it meant a lot to her that it had inspired me to continue going with something like Social Bite."
The businesswoman also revealed Meghan "embraced" her in a "cuddle" when it was time for her and Harry, 33, to leave the charity’s headquarters.
She added: "At that point inside the shop she gave me a little cuddle, a little sideways squeeze. Then outside the shop I went to shake her hand and she nudged it out of the way and embraced me with a cuddle. It was definitely not out of the blue. It was a continuation of what happened inside."
Alice praised both the former ‘Suits’ actress and her fiancé as "down to earth", noting that the flame-haired royal didn’t care about formalities.
She told MailOnline: "I wouldn’t know about any of the other Royals, but they were much more down to earth than I imagined. Before we came my business partner, Josh, was trying to get all the formalities right. He was saying, ‘Okay, so it’s your Royal Highness and Miss Markle after first meeting, but what do we call him after that?’
"Personally, I’m rubbish at that stuff. At the end when they were leaving we had a laugh. I shook Harry’s hand and I said, ‘I’m so sorry, I haven’t called you Your Royal Highness once today’. He laughed and said, ‘Don’t be silly’. They are really lovely genuine people, which was really nice. It made the whole day very comfortable."
Meghan Markle ‘touched’ by charity worker
