Critics are taking aim at Meghan Markle’s recent meeting with Malala Yousafzai in London after the Duchess shared a photo of their lunch together on Instagram. The pair have known each other for a few years, having first met during a virtual discussion on October 11, 2020, to mark the International Day of the Girl, a cause the duchess is known to be quite passionate about. The two women spoke about the systemic barriers that prevent millions of girls from accessing education during that Zoom discussion. Meghan revealed the reason she was spotted dining at the ultra-posh Claridge’s Hotel in London last week, but critics have still shared their takes.

Meghan said in an Instagram post that the two were involved in a new partnership, where 100% of net proceeds from As Ever jams and teas will support the Malala Fund and its vital work to ensure that every girl has access to free, safe, quality education on the International Day of the Girl, which took place on October 11.

Malala is a Pakistani female education activist and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. She has become an international symbol of resistance against Taliban restrictions on schooling following an assassination attempt against her at the age of just 11 for her stance.

Some critics have seen Meghan’s meeting with Malala as an attempt at gaining publicity. Royal commentator Caroline Aston shared her take during a discussion with TalkTV’s Charlie Rowley.

“It all seemed to me a tad staged,” she said of the “seemingly random” photographs of the meeting. She continued: ” We all know the oxygen of publicity is the one thing driving the Sussex machine.

“I just wish they would go back to America, have a family Christmas, and decide where they’re going, because I think they’re probably getting an absolute whirlpool of PR advice from their expensive team. And yet, somehow, a lot of it comes over as just very inauthentic, and to be honest, rather fake.”

She kept her hair in her signature low bun and appeared to be fresh-faced. Her look was reported to be worth around £19,000 ($25,000).