Meghan Markle: Six big moments for the Duchess of Sussex

Image source, Getty Images

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has celebrated her 38th birthday.

Meghan was born Meghan Markle on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles, California.

Meghan married Prince Harry in May 2018 and it's fair to say the last year has been a bit of a whirlwind.

Here are some of her top moments since her last birthday.

Visiting Sussex for the first time as the Duchess of Sussex

October 2018 was a particularly important month for Meghan - she went to Sussex, the place she is the duchess of.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Big crowds gathered to greet the couple as they visited the county named in their royal titles

Crowds met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their first official visit to the county.

They went to Chichester, Bognor, Brighton and Peacehaven.

In Brighton and Hove the pair visited the Royal Pavilion built by King George IV - Harry's great, great, great, great uncle.

Her first official royal tour

Also in October, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex went on a 16 day royal tour of Australia, Tonga, Fiji, and New Zealand.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Meghan tried her hand at welly-wanging in New Zealand

The first stop was Australia and all eyes were on Meghan because it had just been announced that the Duchess was pregnant. During the tour, the two attended the Invictus Games in Australia, tried welly-wanging in New Zealand and spoke to local children in Tonga and Fiji.

Giving a speech on International Women's Day

In May, Meghan spoke on a panel to mark International Women's Day. Speaking about a recent documentary on feminism she had seen, she said:

"One of the things they said during pregnancy was 'I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism'."

"I loved that - boy or girl, whatever it is, we hope that's the case."

She went on to say that "men can understand that they can be feminists" and should feel comfortable about women being by their side, rather than behind them.

The birth of baby Archie

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Image caption, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex introduced their son to the world for the first time

In May 2019, Meghan gave birth to a baby boy. A few days later the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they had named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first son is seventh in line to the throne and he is the Queen's eighth great-grandchild.

Meghan then celebrated her first US Mother's Day as a parent by posting a picture of her son Archie's feet.

Meeting Beyoncé

Music and British royalty met at the Lion King premiere. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the film which stars Beyoncé as the voice of Nala. There was great excitement on social media when Meghan and Beyoncé met.

Video caption, Beyoncé, Prince Harry and Meghan hit red carpet at the Lion King premiere

Beyoncé and Jay-Z had previously shown their admiration for Meghan when they posed in front of a portrait of the Duchess of Sussex wearing a crown as they accepted a Brit award for best international group.

Editing Vogue

Image source, @SussexRoyal

In July, Meghan guest edited the famous September issue of fashion magazine, Vogue, focusing on important women who have broken barriers.

The cover features 15 women, including teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and New Zealand's PM Jacinda Ardern.

The issue included a conversation between Meghan and former US First Lady Michelle Obama.

And Prince Harry also made an appearance, interviewing renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall.