Meghan Markle’s charity ‘very excited’ to welcome her back amid UK return

As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex settle into life back in the UK ahead of the new school term next week, questions have been raised about what Meghan will be doing.

The former Suits star, 45, is reportedly making a “big return” to acting while in the UK and made headlines last week after reports linked her to series three of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix show, The Gentlemen.

The streaming giant has since denied rumours of her joining the show, but speculation around Meghan’s UK career remains high.

One organisation thrilled to see the Duchess’ return is a charity dear to her heart, Smart Works,  which the mother-of-two has remained a patron since 2019.

Smart Works is a UK charity that helps unemployed women gain the confidence, clothes, and skills they need to secure a job, and Meghan has continued to support the organisation from the US while away from the UK. 

A representative from the Charity told HELLO! Smart Works “are very excited to welcome the Duchess and her family back to the UK.” 

Smart Works is thought to be the only UK charity Meghan is still a patron of. In 2021, she relinquished her role as patron of the National Theatre, which was subsequently awarded to Queen Camilla in 2022. Meghan was also patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities and Vice President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust; both were relinquished in 2021 after her departure from the UK and the royal family in 2020.

Meghan parts ways with UK organisation

Smart Works wasn’t the only charity Meghan worked closely with during her time in the UK. The As Ever creator was also heavily involved with animal welfare charity Mayhew.

The organisation works to “improve life for dogs, cats and the people in our community – at our home in London and internationally,” according to its official website. It does this by providing free veterinary care, temporary crisis care, and community outreach to keep pets and their owners together.

© AFP via Getty Images

Introduced to Mayhew in 2019 by animal behaviourist Oli Juste, Meghan served as its Royal Patron until April 2022, promoting its rescue and community work. Upon stepping down, her memorial donation for the late Juste funded Mayhew’s “Oli Juste Wing” for vulnerable animals.

Asked about whether Meghan would be making a return to working with the charity, a spokesperson told HELLO! Mayhew “hasn’t reconnected” with the Duchess since her return to the UK.

Meghan breaks silence following UK move

Prince Harry and Meghan’s arrival in the UK with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, has been kept largely private, with no photographs of the family of four being taken of their big arrival. 

However, Meghan broke her silence since landing in the UK, sharing a moving message and an unseen photograph of her son on Thursday, following the news that feminist activist Gloria Steinham had died.

The sweet photo showed Archie standing in grey trousers and a white T-shirt, with a strategic white star over his face to conceal his exact identity. 

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Meghan wrote in a lengthy statement on Instagram that Gloria spent Thanksgiving dinner with the Sussexes, and loved Archie and Lilibet “with her whole heart.”

“Privately, she was even better than you would imagine – spending Thanksgiving with our family, introducing me to one of my best friends (forever the champion of female friendship), loving our children with her whole heart, counselling me during hard times, and giving extraordinary advice and perspective with a cup of tea and an unrivalled cheekiness and wit,” Meghan wrote.

“But my very favourite story about GLO is when she was out one day in NY, and a woman approached her in absolute awe and said she wanted to introduce her young daughter to her (though she was embarrassed to say the young girl may not know who she was).

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“Gloria replied: ‘It doesn’t matter if she knows who I am. What matters is that she knows who SHE is’.

“Rest in peace, and rest in pride. Look at what you’ve done for all of us. Thank you.”