Meghan Markle and Hillary Clinton Had a Secret Meeting at Frogmore Cottage
Both Meghan Markle and Hillary Clinton know what it’s like to attempt to juggle the traditional demands of the role of a powerful man while still pursuing their own ambitions as women whose own ambitions predate their husband’s successes.
Clinton experienced it as a mold-breaking First Lady of the United States, while Markle is currently experiencing it as (still sort of) new face in the British royal family. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the women have not only formed something of a mutual appreciation society, but also reportedly had a secret meeting yesterday at Markle’s home, Frogmore Cottage. The tête-à-tête reportedly even climaxed in a hug.
Clinton is currently on something of a quick tour of England. Earlier this week stopped she by BBC Radio 5 Live for an interview. The subject of Markle’s treatment by the notoriously rabid U.K. tabloids came up, and it’s clear from Clinton’s reaction that she relates to the struggle. “Oh my God, I want to hug her!” Clinton said on air. “I feel as a mother I just want to put my arms around her. I want to tell her to hang in there, don’t let those bad guys get you down. Keep going, do what you think is right.”
“She has made her own way in the world,” Clinton continues. “Then she falls in love, and he falls in love with her, and everybody should be celebrating that because it is a true love story. You can just look at them and see that.”
The pair also share a history of gaining national attention for speaking up as young women long before they met their future husbands.
Clinton’s impassioned speech at her Wellesley College commencement ceremony garnered her national media attention years before she ever met Bill.
Markle received media attention as an 11-year-old after she wrote a letter to the makers of Ivory dish soap, pointing out that their advertising was sexist. A young Markle also sent a copy of her letter to Clinton, who was First Lady at the time.
So, the stars certainly aligned for a meeting between the two. According to People, the pair met at Marke’s home on Tuesday. They discussed Markle’s youthful letter, Markle’s son Archie (who was on hand for the meeting as well), and Clinton’s grandchild Jasper. Apparently, they hit it off in general.
Though there’s no confirmation, no one would be shocked to hear that they discussed how to navigate hostile media. Markle is struggling to deal with the pressures of the U.K. press, and regardless of your opinion of Clinton’s politics then or now, looking back there’s no denying that coverage of Clinton was undeniably tinged with misogyny (remember those Spy magazine covers?)
