Angelina Jolie Had A Royal Meeting Over The Weekend And We Missed It
She and a member of the royal family attended a film festival fighting sexual violence
Photo: Getty
Angelina Jolie
While royal fans were fussing over Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's impending departure from Kensington Palace this weekend, Angelina Jolie secretly met with another member of the royal family.
The actress and UNHCR Special Envoy met with Sophie, Countess of Wessex (who's married to Prince Edward, the Queen's youngest son) at the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Film Festival – Fighting Stigma through Film reception. Although the event took place on Friday, the royal family just publicized the meeting on social media today.
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The PSVI festival raises awareness on sexual violence and encourages action towards ending the crime. "It is also providing an opportunity for young filmmakers from conflict-affected and Commonwealth countries to fight stigma," the royal family wrote on Instagram.
Jolie has previously spoken out against sex crimes during her humanitarian work with refugee communities and displaced people. In a powerful speech to the UN in 2014, she denounced sexual violence as a means to "torture and to humiliate innocent people, and often very young children."
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Likewise on Friday, she continued to speak out against the atrocity, calling it "an urgent international issue," People reports. She added that changing laws and ending stigma on sexual violence "is the work of generations."
Jolie leaving the British Film Institute after the festival on Friday.Photo: Getty
Angelina Jolie
The PSVI festival wasn't Jolie's first time dabbling in royal events. In June, she attended the 200th anniversary of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George in London, an award that honors military service in a foreign country. Jolie, an honorary dame, attended the service at St. Paul's cathedral looking like a real-life duchess in a gray dress, fascinator, and gloves.
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Photo: Getty
Angelina Jolie
She's also involved in the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, Her Majesty's global conservation initiative. For the project, she and her six children traveled to Namibia last year to open a plant nursery.
It seems the only royal happenings Jolie hasn't participated in this year are the royal weddings.
This article originally appeared on Harper's Bazaar US.