On Monday, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attended the opening ceremony for the One Young World summit in Manchester, England, after arriving in the U.K. for a series of charity-related appearances. For the event, Meghan wore a sleek monochrome red pantsuit over matching suede heels with pointed toes. The ensemble featured wide-legged pants with a slightly belled hem and scarf detail around the neck.
The Duchess of Sussex wore her hair back in a low ponytail and gold earrings and a natural makeup palette. Harry wore a navy blue suit over a white button down and a matching tie. They stood on stage throughout the introductions before taking a seat for the presentations.
The One Young World summit begins officially on Tuesday, September 6, and gathers 2,000 young leaders from 190 countries from different sectors to collaborate on projects that promote social impact. The delegates chosen to attend will receive mentorship from entrepreneurs and world leaders, of which Meghan Markle is one. Other counselors this year include Justin Trudeau, Sir Richard Branson, Paul Polman, and Jamie Oliver.
The summit first launched in 2009 and has grown every year, known as a place where future leaders in various entrepreneurial endeavors, politics, and NGOs are being developed through workshops, lectures, and networking events. Each year focuses on key topics and in 2022 those include conflict prevention, gender equality, oceans, ethical leadership and health.
The royal couple last attended in October of 2019, when Meghan was serving as Vice President of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and before she and Harry decided to step down as official working members of the royal family. She had previously worked with the summit in 2014, held in Dublin, where she spoke on the importance of women’s rights across the globe.
“You need men to effect that change because at the end of the day, I think what scares people is this idea female empowerment is somehow threatening. No it’s not. You empower women, you empower the community,” she said at the time.
This weekend’s trip is the first time the Duke and Duchess have returned to the U.K. since they visited for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.