A tongue-in-cheek website promoting Meghan Markle for US president has been set up, and is notably filled with inspiring, but fake quotes seemingly attributed to the Duchess of Sussex as she ostensibly lays her claims to the Oval Office.
In a phony message featured on the website, the former actress-turned-royal "confirmed" she was running for the 2020 election.
"After many months of reflection and internal discussions, I have heard your calls to become President of the United States of America", the spoof post reads, continuing:
"It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few months, that I feel prepared to make this decision".
The "candidate" then goes on to promise such positive social change as bringing "equality, empowerment, and kindness to this dangerous, aggressive, and confrontational world we live in".
The hoax announcement rounds off with the motto: "Together, we will lead" and Meghan's "signature".
The bogus site, www.meghanforpresident.com appears to have been set up by professionals. It also includes glitzy photographs of Meghan meeting with community representatives and world leaders under headings and subheadings like "empowering the community" and "forging connections".
The site even offers Meghan's supporters an opportunity to "contribute", apparently financially, although the specially included button appears not to link anywhere. For those supporters wishing to volunteer for Markle's "campaign", such an option is also available, as follows from the bogus website.
This is not the first time Meghan's supposed pitch for the presidency has been brought up: last month, the 39-year-old duchess was claimed to be open to getting involved in politics if she ever gave up her royal title.
"One of the reasons she was so keen not to give up her American citizenship was so she had the option to go into politics. I think if Meghan and Harry ever gave up their titles she would seriously consider running for president", Vanity Fair's Katie Nicholl shared at the time.
Markle Eligible?
The duchess would indeed be eligible to throw her hat in the ring if she didn't have a royal title, as she's 39, while the minimum age for president is 35.
She is also a natural-born US citizen who has lived in the US for over 14 years in total, the minimum required period.
However, she would not be able to join this year's race, which will see President Donald Trump compete with Democrat Joe Biden on 3 November, due to missing registration deadlines.
Calls to 'Reject Hate Speech'
Despite quitting their senior royal roles earlier this year before moving first to Canada and then Santa Barbara, California, the couple has recently stirred controversy over their explicit stance on the upcoming election.
They candidly expressed a belief that this year's vote in the US is of paramount importance, causing a backlash from Buckingham Palace, where their words were deemed as a breach of royal protocol, which stipulates political neutrality at all times.
As Prince Harry spoke last month from their new £11-million nine-bedroom estate urging voters to "reject hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity", the comments were widely interpreted as a veiled dig at America's outspoken president, Donald Trump, and prompted Buckingham Palace to distance itself from Harry by noting that he was "not a working member of the Royal Family".
On top of this, in a TV appearance to mark Time Magazine's new compilation of the 100 most influential people, which incidentally didn't include the royal couple, Meghan described the November vote as the most important election of her lifetime.
Harry, for his part, complained that he had never been able to exercise his democratic right to vote because of a rule that, as a member of the British Royal Family, he should remain politically neutral.
Move to US
On 8 January, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were stepping down from their senior royal roles in a bid to work to lead financially and personally independent lives. The public met the move with outrage, with media reports claiming at the time that the couple had failed to notify other members of the family, including Her Majesty the Queen, about their plans.
Apart from their reported plans to run a well-being empire called Archewell, which bears a resemblance to their son's name Archie, the couple recently went public with their intention to join efforts with the American streaming giant Netflix to produce documentaries, TV series, feature films, and children's programmes, stressing they want to provide "hope and inspiration" with their projects.
