Is Meghan Markle already preparing a bid to be America’s first woman President?

Is Meghan Markle already preparing a bid to be America’s first woman President? Duchess of Sussex will ‘use furore over Oprah interview to launch political career as she networks among Democrats’, claims senior Labour figure with strong links to Washington

  • One senior Labour figure claimed she was networking among senior Democrats
  • Networking said to be with view to building a campaign and fundraising teams
  • In last US election, Harry and Meghan launched a thinly veiled attack at Trump
  • If she made it to the White House, Meghan would be first female US President 

Meghan Markle will use the furore over her interview with Oprah to launch a political career which could take her all the way to the White House, if rumours circulating around Westminster last week turn out to be accurate.

One senior Labour figure – a veteran of Tony Blair‘s Downing Street administration with strong links to Washington – claimed to The Mail on Sunday that Ms Markle, 39, was networking among senior Democrats with a view to building a campaign and fundraising teams for a tilt at the US Presidency.

Last night, a source close to the Duchess of Sussex declined to comment, but the couple have made little secret of their political beliefs.

 

One senior Labour figure claimed that Meghan Markle (pictured last year), 39, was networking among senior Democrats with a view to building a campaign and fundraising teams for a tilt at the US Presidency

During the US election last year they levelled a thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump by urging voters to ‘reject hate speech’, which a spokesperson for the couple described as ‘a call for decency’. Trump himself declared that he was ‘not a fan’ of Meghan, 39.

A source said: ‘The Blairite, internationalist and Democratic party networks are buzzing with talk about Meghan’s political ambitions and potential backers.’ 

Last year, a friend of the Duchess told Vanity Fair magazine that one of the reasons she did not give up her American citizenship when she married into the Royal Family was to allow her to keep open the option of entering Washington politics.

US constitutional experts responded that she would have to renounce her title if she wanted to hold public office in the States, because it would cut across the US oath of allegiance. 

Buckingham Palace tried to distance the Royal Family from the remarks made during the US election by issuing a statement saying that ‘the Duke is not a working member of the Royal Family’ and describing his comments as ‘made in a personal capacity’.

The source added that the presumption was that the Duchess was eyeing 2024, when President Joe Biden will be 82 and deciding whether he wants to run for a second term.

During the US election last year the couple levelled a thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump by urging voters to 'reject hate speech'

During the US election last year the couple levelled a thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump by urging voters to ‘reject hate speech’

 

If she made it to the White House, Meghan would be the first female US President ¿ succeeding where Hillary Clinton narrowly failed four years ago

If she made it to the White House, Meghan would be the first female US President – succeeding where Hillary Clinton narrowly failed four years ago

If she made it to the White House, Meghan would be the first female US President – succeeding where Hillary Clinton narrowly failed four years ago – and the second non-white occupant of the Oval Office after Barack Obama.

She would also be following in the footsteps of President Ronald Reagan, who was a Hollywood actor for four decades before switching to politics. During the 2020 campaign, the Duchess addressed the When All Women Vote Couch Party, the organisation co-founded by Michelle Obama to encourage participation in elections.

Meghan’s friends have previously encouraged speculation about her political ambitions – describing her rise from modest beginnings as ‘the embodiment of the American dream’.

Looks like they won’t be short of cash to fund it

The Duke of Sussex – who told Oprah Winfrey that his family ‘literally cut me off financially’ – is set to inherit millions more from the Queen Mother when he turns 40, The Mail on Sunday understands. 

He can expect a sizeable payment in four years when it is believed he will receive a tranche of money put in a trust fund by the Queen when she inherited the Queen Mother’s estimated £70 million fortune. 

Opulent: The Sussexes paid £11 million for their Californian home

Opulent: The Sussexes paid £11 million for their Californian home

He and Prince William received an initial payment from the estate when they turned 21. The brothers are thought also to have inherited about £12 million each from their mother, Diana.

During the Oprah interview, Harry added that: ‘We’re certainly not complaining. Our life is great now. We’ve got a beautiful house.’

That ‘beautiful house’ is a nine-bedroom mansion in well-heeled Montecito bought for £10 million. One local estate agent said it is now worth three times what the couple paid. 

According to an analysis by The Times, the couple are estimated to have a net worth of around £96 million.