Meghan Markle's 2023 Women Of Vision Award Questioned Ahead Of Ceremony

Meghan Markle is set to receive an award for "feminist changemakers" despite having "contributed very little to society," a royal commentator has claimed.

Royal expert Kinsey Schofield, host of the "To Di For Daily" royal podcast, and TalkTV host Cristo Foufas weighed in on Markle being named one of the recipients of this year's Women of Vision Award by the Ms. Foundation, the nation's oldest women's foundation.

The Duchess of Sussex will receive the award from famed feminist Gloria Steinem, a co-founder of Ms. Foundation, Tuesday. But Foufas questioned whether Markle deserved the award, given her ties with the popular British royal family.

"This is a feminist changemaker award. These are people who have really plowed a path for women. ... Meghan marrying into a massively well-known family with a husband who is a prince... Nothing says feminism like that, does it?" Foufas said on his show.

Schofield predicted that Markle would want to be referred to by her royal title upon receiving the award despite no longer being a working royal.

"I guarantee you a million dollars she's going to demand that she's referred to as the Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, upon receiving this award. A duchess title which you can only have if you are married to a duke. The irony is that she's receiving this feminism award, demanding that she's referred to as a duchess, which is a title that you only receive by marrying a duke," the royal expert claimed.

The "R is for Revenge Dress" author went on to claim that the Sussexes used public relations and their connections to get the awards they have been given since stepping back from royal duties in 2020. International Business Times could not independently verify the information.

"Can we be honest? Can we be 100% real about how Harry and Meghan obtained these awards?" Schofield said. "If you looked at ... [the] breakdown of what they gave out charity-wise and what they received charity-wise through Archewell, they contributed very little to society. But what they are doing is these strategic partnerships through public relations, through friendships, to garner these awards to fatten their biographies."

Foufas chimed in, claiming that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's awards are part of their strategy to build their "brand."

"Every single thing they do is about their brand and building their brand, whether that's going to the coronation, whether that's accepting awards," he claimed.

Last month, Ms. Foundation for Women, a Brooklyn-based organization that "works to bring attention to the real challenges facing women, especially women of color and low-income women who are living in poverty," announced that Markle will be awarded the 2023 Women of Vision award because of her "global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls," the New York Post reported.

The organization described the former "Suits" star as a "feminist, champion of human rights and gender equity and global role model."

With Prince Harry, Markle directs their philanthropy through their Archewell Foundation, which provided 12.66 million COVID-19 vaccines with partner Global Citizen and helped resettle nearly 175,000 refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan in the United States with partner Welcome.US, according to its 2022 annual report.

The foundation also helped build a community play space in Uvalde, Texas, following the school shooting there that killed 19 children and two teachers.

In addition to Markle, other recipients of the 2023 Women of Vision Award include Wanda Irving, co-founder of Dr. Shalon's Maternal Action Project, and Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE, as well as emerging leaders abortion rights activist Olivia Julianna and LGBTQ+ advocate Rebekah Bruesehoff.

The 2023 Women of Vision Awards will be handed out at Ms. Foundation's annual gala Tuesday at New York City's Ziegfeld Ballroom as part of the organization's 50th-anniversary celebration where funds raised will go toward its equity-centered initiatives.

In March, the Duchess of Sussex was also named a digital media national winner for the 48th Annual Gracie Awards for her Spotify podcast "Archetypes," People reported.

The Gracies are organized by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation and celebrate exemplary programming and individual achievement created by, for and about women across all media in news and entertainment.