News Desk |
Meghan Markle has finally announced her first charity project as the Duchess of Sussex. The 37-year-old quickly became one of the most recognized faces in the world when she married Prince Harry of the British Royal Family. Even before her days as a Princess, the then-actor had been an activist too. Now, the Duchess is using her platform to release a charity cookbook helping families affected by the Grenfell fire.
The book titled “Together: Our Community Cookbook” showcases the recipes of the women who lived in and were affected by the Grenfell fire. The tower- which had been made in 1974 and was renovated a year before the incident- became besieged by a fire that took 72 lives including a stillborn baby.
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The book came about when Markle became a frequent visitor to the Hubb Community Kitchen, a place where a group of women from the tower came together to make food for friends, neighbors, and family. This kitchen is situated in Al-Manaar mosque that serves as a community center for displaced residents of Grenfell. Hubb is the Arabic word for “love”; Hub kitchen was only operational two days a week due to the lack of funds, for which Markle proposed making a cookbook as a fund-raiser.
The Kensington Palace’s Instagram page (the official means of communication with the Royals) included a small video about the Hubb.
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“The Duchess of Sussex is supporting a new charity cookbook, which celebrates the power of cooking to bring people together… The proceeds from the book will support the Hubb Community Kitchen, enabling it to stay open and to thrive.”
A statement by Kensington Palace also accompanied the official announcement: “Through this charitable endeavor the proceeds will allow the kitchen to thrive and keep the global spirit of community alive”
Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: a tale of love at first…
Markle got her career started from guest roles in shows like General Hospital, Century City, The War At Home and CSI: NY. She then served as a “briefcase girl” on the popular game show Deal or No Deal. However, her breakout role proved to be in the USA Network series Suits, where she played intrepid paralegal Rachel Zane. Her work earned her a huge fan following overseas. The actress also became known for her friendships with well-known stars like Serena Williams and Priyanka Chopra.
Even with her acting career and active social life, The Duchess continued to be an activist and fight for causes close to her heart. As a counselor for ‘One Young World’, she was able to speak about issues such as gender equality and modern day slavery. Markle also traveled to Rwanda for the Clean Water Campaign in 2016 and to Afghanistan and Spain as part of the United Service Organizations Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Holiday Tour two years prior.
The Duchess has also been to India twice in regards to women’s issues and even penned an op-ed for Times about the stigmatization faced by women in India. Her work on women’s equality and female empowerment also propelled her to work as an advocate with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The former actress was also named by Time as one of the 100 Most Influential People in The World this year.