The 37-year-old travelled to Delhi and Mumbai shortly after her romance with Prince Harry went public as part of her work with the charity World Vision.

She was keen to highlight issues of gender equality and girls’ limited access to education in the country.

At the time of her trip, news of the royal’s romance with Prince Harry had only just emerged and reports suggested that the trip had been cancelled due to security concerns, as media interest in the former Suits star grew.

The trip, however, did go ahead, but images were never released and Meghan didn’t post any photos to her Instagram account, despite sharing snaps from previous charity trips to Rwanda. 

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Meghan Markle doned a sari and embraced traditional Indian culture in never-before-seen footage of a charity trip made by the Duchess in 2017

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The Duchess looked stunning in a bright green and blue sari as she sat and talked with local women

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The 37-year-old travelled to Delhi and Mumbai shortly after her romance with Prince Harry went public as part of her work with the charity World Vision

Today’s release of the footage, which dates back more than two years, provided an opportunity to highlight her previous charity work while she takes a break from royal duties ahead of the birth of her first child.

During the trip Meghan visited schools and helped to paint a mural and plant a flower in the gardens. 

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She also sported a traditional tilaka, painted on her forehead by one of the local girls.

Speaking to the camera while on a visit to the school, Meghan said: ‘What we found is that the enrolment at this school went up three times once the latrines were built so that girls had access to clean hygiene and bathroom facilities while they’re at school.’ 

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Since her marriage to Prince Harry in May last year, Meghan’s focus as a new member of the Royal Family has been very focussed on girls and women’s issues and the right of access to education for all

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Speaking to the camera while on a visit to the school, Meghan said: ‘What we found is that the enrolment at this school went up three times once the latrines were built so that girls had access to clean hygiene and bathroom facilities while they’re at school’

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During the trip Meghan visited schools and helped paint a mural and plant a flower in the gardens

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The duchess chatted and laughed with the local school girls as she watered the bloom in the gardens

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The duchess receives a traditional tilaka, painted on her forehead by one of the local girls

Meghan, pictured having flower petals scattered over her, said some girls are forced to drop out of school because they don’t have ‘bathrooms available to care for themselves’

Meghan said some girls are forced to drop out of school because they don’t have ‘bathrooms available to care for themselves’.

Just half of the secondary schools in India, the second most populated country in the world, have toilets, while more than 110 million teenage girls are at risk of dropping out of school. 

During her trip, the former Suits actress took part in high level meetings with various NGOs, including an audience with Shamina Shafiq, a former member of the National Commission for Women. 

She was also introduced to the Myna Mahila Foundation, which works with women and girls who live in Mumbai’s urban slums. 

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The Queen of Daytime TV said that the American princess ‘is not only everything that we perceive of her as being – graceful and dynamic in holding that position – but she just has a wonderful, warm, giving, loving heart.’

Host Gayle King, who is also a new friend of Markle and attended her baby shower in New York City last month, jumped in to add: ‘She’s very kind. She doesn’t seem to buy into [her bad press] though.’

Oprah then revealed that Markle does not read any of her press, before going on to speak about working with Prince Harry on a new docuseries for Apple about mental health. 

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High praise: Meghan Markle is ‘graceful and dynamic,’ said Oprah Winfrey on CBS This Morning (above), and has a ‘wonderful, warm, giving, loving heart’ 

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Royal romance: The Queen of daytime TV also spoke about a new mental health docuseries she and Prince Harry, pictured with Meghan in March, are making for Apple

‘She actually does not read anything, which I find, you know remarkable,’ said Oprah.

‘I think that’s remarkable in spite of all that’s going on, she doesn’t read anything.’ 

Oprah said that she has been spending a great deal of time in London recently as she works with Prince Harry on their new series. 

Speaking about how it came together, she said: ‘I asked the question what do you think are the most important issues facing the world right now, and he said there are two. He said climate change and mental wellness, mental fitness and mental health.’ 

‘As you know, he’s spoken about his own issues and what he went through after his mother died and how being able to talk about it has benefited him,” Oprah said. 

‘So it’s a passion of his and, at the end of the conversation, I said, “Oh, I’m going to be doing this thing with Apple. It’s a big concern of mine too and I want to try to erase the stigma.” 

‘And he said at the end of the conversation, “If there’s anything I can do to help…”‘ 

That is when Oprah said she pitched the idea of Harry coming on to help build the series, and the TV titan said he has been incredibly involved in the project ever since. 

‘He’s co-creating and executive producing,’ she said. ‘We’ve had several meetings, secret meetings in London. I’ve flown there with the crew, sitting in sessions, talking about the directions we’re going to take.’ 

‘Our hope is it will have an impact on reducing the stigma and allow people to know that they’re not alone and allowing people to speak up for it and identify with it.’ 

The Duke of Sussex was the one to break the news of the collaboration on Wednesday.

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Pass: Oprah (above at the royal wedding) revealed that Markle does not read her press

‘I am incredibly proud to be working alongside Oprah on this vital series which we have been developing together for several months,’ stated Prince Harry.

‘I truly believe that good mental health – mental fitness – is the key to powerful leadership, productive communities and a purpose-driven self.

‘It is a huge responsibility to get this right as we bring you the facts, the science and the awareness of a subject that is so relevant during these times.

‘Our hope is that this series will be positive, enlightening and inclusive – sharing global stories of unparalleled human spirit fighting back from the darkest places, and the opportunity for us to understand ourselves and those around us better.’

There are reportedly plans for Harry to ‘appear on camera’, though it hasn’t been decided whether he will be interviewed by the chat show host. 

This is not Prince Harry’s first foray into raising awareness for mental health, having previously launched Heads Together in 2017, a mental health initiative spearheaded by The Royal Foundation, which worked on alongside his brother Prince William and sister-in-law Kate Middleton. 

That same year her spoke about his own struggles with mental health on the Mad World podcast.

‘I sort of buried my head in the sand for many, many years. I can safely say that losing my mom at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life, but also my work as well,’ revealed Harry.

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Difficult day: He has been open about his own struggles with mental health in the past after losing his mother at a young age (Prince Harry above with his father and brother at Diana’s funeral)

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The post Oprah Winfrey praises her ‘graceful, warm and loving’ friend Meghan Markle and says the pregnant royal does not read ANY of her press, as it is revealed the media tycoon has partnered with Prince Harry to produce a mental health docuseries appeared first on Daily Concord.