Prince Harry and Meghan Markle join Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai for a virtual chat on girls' rights

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have joined Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai for a virtual chat on girls' rights.

In a video released on Malala's social media, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex discussed the challenges girls face in accessing education amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Duchess of Sussex thanked Malala for speaking with her and Prince Harry, saying: 'Just thank you so much for having us on such an important day. For girls all over the world, when young girls have access to education, everyone wins and succeeds. It opens the door for societal success.'

During the virtual chat, the couple - who stepped back as senior royals earlier this year - also shared their own experience of education, with Prince Harry confessing he had 'probably not been grateful' for his schooling as a youngster.

When Malala asked them about their own education, Meghan responded as saying: "In terms of education, not only did I have the ability to go to school at a young age but I also went to university."

Meanwhile, Harry revealed that he had taken his education 'for granted', adding: "It is a privilege but every single person, every single young person across the world needs an education."

He added: "To know there are 113 million girls out of education, the numbers only going to go up. It worries me and probably worried all of us, the effect of that [a lack of education for women] has not only on the family but also on society as well."

Prince Harry said: "I'm hugely grateful for the education I was lucky enough to have. At the time, I certainly, probably wasn't as grateful, but looking back on it now, I'm very, very blessed with having such an amazing opportunity."

At one stage, Malala made the couple laugh as she responded: "I think it takes boys slightly longer to understand how important education is but they get there in the end. 'You're blessed you have such a great companion Meghan."

Meanwhile, Meghan also revealed they had been having 'a lot of good family time' during the pandemic, with Prince Harry saying: "We were both there for Archie's first steps, his first run, his first fall, everything."

The Duchess added: "It's just fantastic and in so many ways we are fortunate to have this time to watch him grow. In the absence of Covid, we would be travelling and working more externally and we'd missed a lot of those moments."

The Duke said: "These are really special moments, but we have been working really, really hard."

Meghan also added that the couple was 'raising their eighteen-month-old son Archie 'in a way where everything about his nourishment is about educational substance and how you can learn and how you can grow.'

Malala, who graduated from Oxford University earlier this year, shared the video on her social media.