'I know what it's like to feel voiceless': Meghan opens up on the 2020 US election

By Kahla Preston|

After two years of refraining from discussing politics, Meghan Markle has spoken about the upcoming US presidential election in a new interview.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, has declared she will be voting in November's election because she feels strongly about using her voice.

"I know what it's like to have a voice, and also what it's like to feel voiceless," she tells Marie Claire magazine.


RELATED: Why Meghan will comment on the US elections but Harry won't​

Meghan Markle
The Duchess of Sussex says she'll be voting in the 2020 US election. (AP)

Meghan returned to her homeland earlier this year, after resigning as a senior working member of the British royal family alongside husband Prince Harry.

The couple initially moved from the UK to Canada but have since relocated to Los Angeles, where the former actress was born and raised.

Meghan tells Marie Claire her thoughts on the importance of voting are reflected in a quote from Kate Sheppard, who led the suffragist movement in New Zealand.

"[It's] one of my favourite quotes, and one that my husband and I have referred to often ... 'Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops.'"

The duchess' remarks are part of the magazine's series in which 100 influential women, including Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, share why they're voting in the 2020 election.

The Queen, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
As a senior royal, Meghan was expected to remain politically neutral in public. (AP)

Unlike Australia, voting is not mandatory in the United States.

While Meghan didn't reveal which presidential candidate she's planning to vote for, it's not hard to guess.

RELATED: Meghan 'frustrated' she was forced to stay out of politics as a royal

Prior to her relationship with Prince Harry, she was outspoken about political issues and a vocal critic of Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign.

The Suits star described the businessman as "misogynistic ... and so vocal about it" during a TV interview on The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore.

LISTEN: 9Honey's royal podcast The Windsors takes a look back at Meghan's first days in the British monarchy. (Post continues.)

"You're not just voting for a woman, if it's Hillary just because she's a woman, but certainly because Trump has made it easy to see you don't really want that kind of world," she said.

(Shockingly, that didn't go down too well with Trump, who later deemed Meghan's comments about him "nasty".)

Meghan wasn't quite so free to speak her mind after marrying into the British monarchy, however.

Senior royal family members are expected to remain 'neutral' on political issues in public, meaning chatting about politics is a no-no during royal engagements.

You may remember Meghan toed this line during a visit to Ireland in 2018, when she reportedly discussed the country's abortion debate with local politicians.

Meghan, pictured in early 2016, was a vocal Trump critic ahead of his election as US president. (Getty)

Senator Catherine Noone tweeted about her "chat" with the Duchess about a recent referendum that had approved the scrapping of Ireland's abortion ban.

"She watched with interest and was pleased to see the result," Noone wrote, adding in a second tweet: "I should say she seemed pleased—she was interested and very measured, not political at all."

RELATED: Meghan wins court appeal to keep friends' identities anonymous

When the comments hit the headlines, Noone deleted both tweets.

There is no official rule stating royals cannot vote in UK elections, but it is considered "unconstitutional" for the monarch to exercise this right.

The royal family's official website explains that "by convention", Queen Elizabeth "does not vote or stand for election".

The Queen does not vote, and senior royals reportedly follow suit. (Getty)

"As Head of State The Queen has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters," it states.

Newsweek reports senior royals "close to the Queen", including Prince William, tend to also refrain from voting.

It's a situation Meghan is likely to have found frustrating; the duchess has previously spoken of the importance of democracy.

During her 2018 visit to New Zealand, she delivered a speech to mark the country's 125th anniversary of women's suffrage.


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