Hear Meghan Markle's Poignant First Big Speech as a Royal at the 'Together: Our Community Cookbook' Launch

Working on this project for the past nine months has been a tremendous labor of love. I had just recently moved to London, and I felt so immediately embraced by the women in the kitchen: Their warmth, their kindness, and also to be able to be in this city and to see in this one small room how multicultural it was. On a personal level, I felt so proud to live in a city that can have so much diversity. It’s 12 countries represented in this one group of women! It’s pretty outstanding. There’s so many people to thank. Of course, Penguin Random House, your support and belief in this from the very beginning has been just incredible. And Al-Manaar for the support and seeing this through for us, our team at Kensington Palace and the Royal Foundation. On a personal note, I’m especially grateful to them because this is my first project, so I appreciate your support in the vision I had for this and seeing it come into fruition. And then everyone behind the scenes, I mean it truly took a village to see this through!

It’s just everyone embraced this so deeply because it’s been a passionate project for all of us and for very good reason. I said in the foreword that this is more than a cookbook. And what I mean by that is the power of food is more than just the meal itself. It is the story behind it. And when you get to know the story of the recipe, you get to know the person behind it. And that’s what we’re talking about in terms of coming together, to really engage and talk and to be able to celebrate what connects us rather than what divides us. That I believe is the ethos of Together. So to the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen, thank you so much for allowing me to be part of this adventure with you. I’m so privileged to know you. I’m so excited to see the projects you’re going to continue to do in your own community and the community at large and also how you’re going to inspire people globally by sharing your stories and your recipes. It’s so impactful. You can see just in a few days alone, and the book’s not even out yet what you’ve been able to do. That’s a testament to what this means to people and I’m so proud of you. So on that note, I know some of you started eating as you should, I’d be the last one to want the food to get cold, so please, enjoy a beautiful lunch. Another round of applause for the women of Hubb Community Kitchen. Cheers!