Meghan Markle makes surprise visit to London school for International Women's Day

Meghan Markle made a surprise visit to a school in London on Friday to mark International Women's Day. She joined the school assembly to speak to 700 students about the importance of gender equality. But, the Duchess of Sussex was caught unawares when a 16-year-old school boy gave her a cheeky kiss.

"She really is beautiful, innit," said the teenager to his classmates. Meghan Markle surprised students with her appearance at the assembly of the Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham, East London. She addressed the boys and asked them to "value, appreciate and protect" the women in their lives ahead of International Women's Day, adding to "set the example for some men who are not seeing it that same way."

The Duchess of Sussex was caught laughing after the head boy Aker Okoye, 16, kissed her, Hello reports.She hosted the special assembly at the school and spoke to 700 students about the importance of empowering women.

The mother-of-one was greeted by co-ed students from 6th grade to senior year, who had lined her path to the main building. They were all cheering for the royal with excitement.

The school is located in Dagenham area and was of significance to the duchess, who picked the district after learning about its landmark sewing machinists strike in 1968. It was the time when female workers at the Ford Motor Plant staged a walkout over unfair pay.

This resulted in women trades unions demonstration in London's Trafalgar Square and, ultimately, the passing of Britain's Equal Pay Act in 1970. The movement paved the way for future generations of female workers in the country and also ties in with the #EachforEqual campaign theme of this year's International Women's Day.

"Coming to your school made a lot of sense for me because of this social justice and the impact that it's rooted in," she told adding it was "incredibly profound."

"As you can see with Geraldine and the other women who had the strength to really stand up for something that they knew needed to be done—is the best example of no matter how small you might feel, how low you may feel on the ladder or the totem pole, no matter what colour you are, no matter what gender you are—you have a voice, and you certainly have the right to speak up for what is right," Meghan said referring to Geraldine Dear, 66, who was one of the 13 "rebels" that started the strike at Ford.

Meghan toured classrooms and met students working on a number of IWD projects. She spoke about her love for Maya Angelou as she heard about the research they had been doing on female poets.