Royals aren’t allowed to vote but that hasn’t stopped the Duchess of Sussex from making her mark in the US elections.
She is, after all, no longer a working member of The Firm, leaving her free to pretty much do as she pleases.
Meghan is believed to have cast her vote early by mail-in ballot.
“The duchess was an American long before she married into the royal family,” a source told celebrity news site Page Six. “She wouldn’t miss voting in this election, no matter where she was living.”
Meghan and Harry sparked controversy recently when, in an appearance for Time magazine’s Time100 initiative to celebrate some of the world’s most influential people, they encouraged viewers to vote.
Members of the royal family aren’t supposed to engage in politics in any way. But again, the Sussexes are free to do as they please and engage in any issue they like.
"Part of being an active member of society is to take part in the democratic process," a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told Insider. "So encouraging people to get involved in politics is something that’s important to them."
In August, Los Angeles-born Meghan joined the likes of former US First Lady Michelle Obama and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an interview with Marie Claire to stress the importance of this year’s US elections.
"I know what it's like to have a voice, and also what it's like to feel voiceless," she told the publication. "I also know that so many men and women have put their lives on the line for us to be heard. And that opportunity, that fundamental right, is in our ability to exercise our right to vote and to make all of our voices heard."
Although Meghan and Harry were criticised in some quarters for weighing into politics, the Sussexes aren’t the first royals to encourage people to vote.
"The queen herself, for example, encouraged people to use their right to vote when there was a referendum in Scotland [in 2014] and when there was an election in Wales [in 2003]," the Sussexes’ spokesperson says.
Meghan has called this election in her homeland “the most important election in our lifetime” – and it seems her voice on politics is here to stay.
“Her recent comments came at a very important time in the election cycle,” the spokesperson says. “And what she has to say won’t end after the US election.”
SOURCES: PAGESIX.COM ; INSIDER.COM ; MARIECLAIRE.COM ; THETIMES.CO.UK ; THEDAILYMAIL.CO.UK
