Royal Fans Will Love This Old Video Of Meghan Markle Being A Total Sweetheart

The British tabloids have had lots to say about Meghan Markle over the past few years, not much of which has been especially positive. There have been plenty of unpleasant insinuations about her personality and her motives since she married Prince Harry, but an old video of Meghan Markle from 2016 has resurfaced, serving as a lovely reminder of who she was pre-royal era. A sweet, thoughtful, kind human who wanted to connect with people. And now that she's stepping back from her senior royal role, perhaps she'll have the chance to be that woman again more often.

Back in 2016, Markle was an actress with a recurring role on the hit series Suits and a philanthropist advocating for women's rights with the United Nations. She was a fan of social media, apparently, not just because she curated a successful lifestyle and wellness site called The Tig, but also because of the way it helped her to connect with people she might not have otherwise met. Like Emily Sorrels, for instance, a young woman inspired to do aid work in Costa Rica who Markle came to know via Twitter.

In a video that has recently resurfaced on Twitter, the two met in real life when Sorrels was in the audience for an AOL panel Markle took part in, and their exchange was just delightful.

In the video, Markle says that she's a fan of social media because it's "a great way for me to connect with people," and then points to Sorrels, saying she had met her via Twitter and was excited to meet her in real life. She went on to congratulate Sorrels for heading off to Costa Rica to do some aid work because Markle's work with the United Nations had inspired her. Perhaps sweetest of all, Markle left the stage to give Sorrels a hug and a letter, as the baffled Markle fan cried.

In the days since this video has resurfaced, Sorrels herself took to Twitter to say that she believes Markle is the "most inspiring human I've ever met." Despite what some members of the press might have people believe. "Through her social media & blog she taught me to be a more confident and passionate version of myself," Sorrells wrote on Twitter. "The hate against her is garbage."

In the years since this video, Markle's life has gone through extraordinary change. She married Prince Harry in 2018, gave birth to her son Archie in 2019, and at the outset of 2020 the couple announced they would be stepping back from their senior royal roles in an effort to "carve out a progressive new role within this institution."

I like to think all of those steps are bringing Meghan Markle back to the woman she was in this video. Connected to people, engaged and curious, and above all working towards a better future. On her own terms.