Meghan Markle Is All Smiles At First Appearance Since Stepping Back As Senior Royal

After dropping a shocking announcement heard, quite literally, around the world, Meghan Markle made her first public appearance for a wonderful cause. The Duchess of Sussex, who announced last week that she and Prince Harry would be transitioning out of their senior roles in the royal family, made a surprise visit at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre in Vancouver. Between her casual white sweater and relaxed smile on her face, Markle looks to be settling in just fine with her new role.

It's only been six days since Markle and Prince Harry announced their plans to step back from their senior roles within the royal family and work towards becoming financially independent, news that came as a surprise to people on all sides of the pond. Since then, Markle has been in Canada with their son Archie. Prince Harry is expected to join them soon, as the family now plans to split their time between Canada and the United Kingdom.

In the wake of this news, it looks as if Markle is eager to get back to doing what she loves. On Tuesday, she made a surprise appearance at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre in Vancouver, which serves as a safe space for women and children, providing them with meals, counseling, and advocacy programs. Markle stopped by the center for some tea and to discuss issues affecting women in their community, according to the center's Facebook page. In the photo taken from her visit, Markle is smiling, standing with the staff members.

Although they have decided to take a step back from their senior royal roles, the Sussexes are not stepping back from their charitable duties. The couple explained on their new website that they are working to create "a charitable entity" that will help advance the solutions for pressing matters and bring attention to local and global community action when it comes to the causes they care about. For Prince Harry, this includes groups that promote environmental and societal well-being, while Markle will focus on women's empowerment and gender equality.

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are honored to support these communities and others that enable groups and individuals to benefit from healthy natural environments, strong social support systems, access to basic human needs, and a spirit of tolerance and resilience," their website reads.

Markle's surprise visit at a women's center appears to be just a small peek into how the Sussexes will continue their charitable work while carving out their new "progressive" roles as members of the royal family. So far, so good.