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 post Meghan in a sari: Unseen footage reveals Duchess wearing traditional dress and a bindi during secret trip to Delhi in 2017 – just weeks after news of her relationship with Prince Harry emerged appeared first on Daily Concord.