It is tradition that members of the British royal family remain apolitical, but Meghan Markle may have transgressed that rule by commenting on Ireland’s recent referendum legalizing abortion while on tour in Ireland.
Irish writer Una Mullally tweeted Tuesday night that she’d spoken with the newest member of the royal family and that Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, had been pleased Ireland passed its May referendum to legalize abortion. The two spoke at a garden party at the British ambassador’s residency in Dublin on Tuesday, following Prince Harry and Markle’s arrival in Ireland in their first foreign tour as a married couple. (RELATED: Meghan Markle Opens Up About Married Life With Prince Harry)
Great to chat with Meghan Markle, Duchess Of Sussex, about Repeal and the importance of her feminist activism. So important to have people in her position championing women’s rights. Total sounder! pic.twitter.com/Vjdquo45CP
— Una Mullally (@UnaMullally) July 10, 2018
Catherine Noone, a senator for Ireland’s Fine Gael party, also said she and the duchess had spoken, The Daily Beast reported. Fine Gael is currently the governing and largest party in Ireland.
“The Duchess and I had a chat about the recent referendum result—she watched with interest and was pleased to see the result,” Noone originally tweeted before deleting the statement. She later tweeted that she’d deleted the tweet because it was misleading.
I deleted it because it was unintentionally misleading – the Duchess was not in any way political.
— Sen Catherine Noone (@senatornoone) July 10, 2018
“I clarified – it was a very benign chat, she expressed no political opinion. She was interested and charming,” Noone also tweeted. Noone chaired the parliamentary committee on abortion and worked closely with the “Yes” campaign to repeal Ireland’s Eighth Amendment banning abortion.
Royals are prohibited from expressing political opinions, and while some rules have been relaxed, the English monarchy still takes this rule seriously.
#RoyalVisitIreland has started #PrinceHarry and #MeghanMarkle have touched down at Dublin airport. Harry giving a wave #DukeandDuchessofSussex pic.twitter.com/qHTrlUa3Id
— Carolyn Durand (@CarolynDurand) July 10, 2018
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