The Duchess gets "punchier"

Meghan Markle Finally Free To Speak "From The Heart" In Post-Royal Speeches, Expert Says

Meghan Markle has made headlines with her recent speeches on race and gender equality — topics that are in themselves uncommon territory for the British Royal Family. But experts have observed key transitions in these speeches that indicate she's moved on from the "constraints" of being a royal. Read on to learn why she's said to be speaking "from the heart" for a change.

Meghan Markle is embracing a more personal style in her post-royal speaking work. Not only has she begun to directly address social issues, but she's also broken away from the "constraints" of royal speaking style, according to her biographer.

Royal expert Omid Scobie described these shifts during a new appearance on The Heirpod podcast. The name may be familiar to royal fans, as Scobie is the author of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's forthcoming tell-all biography, Finding Freedom. Here's what the author with an inside perspective has observed in Meghan's speeches.

Meghan Markle is freed from royal speech "constraints"

For starters, Meghan, with Prince Harry, has stepped into unfamiliar territory for the Royal Family by speaking out on racial injustice and gender inequalities. But, of course, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have done so at a distance from royalty, only beginning this type of speaking work in the months that have followed their March 2020 royal exit.

Since stepping down as senior royals, the couple has refocused their attention to the causes closest to their hearts. For the Duchess, this included her July 14 speech delivered at the 2020 Girl Up Leadership Summit. Of this speech, Scobie told The Heirpod: "This was Meghan really being able to talk without the constraints of some of the things you might have to bear in mind when writing a speech as a working member of the royal family."

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On the podcast, Scobie went on to emphasize Meghan's delivery — which noticeably broke away from the "scripted" style often followed by royals. "I understand she spent a long time preparing for this speech," he said. "Usually we see members of the royal family reading from very tight scripts when they go up onto a stage, I understand Meghan had bullet points."

The journalist and royal expert added that the Duchess was "perhaps a little punchier than we've seen in the past." During the nine-minute video speech, "she spoke more from the heart than from a script," Scobie added.

Harry and Meghan are now clients of the Harry Walker Agency, which arranges their paid speaking engagements. Scobie, whose Sussex biography Finding Freedom is due out this August, revealed that we should expect more passionate and socially-conscious oratory from Meghan. "This worked a really great preview for the Duchess of Sussex and some of her future speaking engagements," he said. Click here to revisit Meghan's gender equality speech at the Girl Up summit.