Meghan Markle Is Making History With This Totally Unexpected Award Nomination

A month into officially being a royal and she's already making history. Meghan Markle is the first royal nominated for a Teen Choice Award, which audiences learned when the 2018 Teen Choice nominees were revealed last Friday, June 22. Markle was nominated for Choice Style Icon. This means every teenager on earth better vote to see if she'll actually attend to accept the honor (should she win). Seriously, even a three-second video message would suffice. A snippet of her breathing or blinking would suffice. But will it actually happen?

Voting has officially begun on the Teen Choice site, where Markle is casually referred to on a first-name basis as "Meghan, Duchess of Sussex." Her fellow nominees (those of which are referred to by their full or stage names) are Blake Lively, Chadwick Boseman, Harry Styles, Migos, and Zendaya.

Markle's been viewed as fashion royalty even before she tied the knot with Prince Harry on May 19. She's definitely got some stiff competition, but she also has a shot of taking this home. Which should have you wondering: Would she take it home? Where would she even put her super cool surfboard award? Would it throw off the decor passed down by her royal in-laws?

Although Markle's become quite the style icon (most notably with her unique, custom Givenchy wedding dress), she wasn't always super in tune with fashion. In an interview with Glamour last year (well before she married Prince Harry), the Los Angeles native explained her style evolution. "I think it's really changed because my sensibility had always been relaxed California girl style, and on any given day I was in jeans, cut-offs, and flip-flops," she said. Her role on Suits played a big part in her keenness for style. "The fashion on Suits is gorgeous, so it also became my education of designers and really knowing what fits my body well."

While fans have examined every one of Markle's outfits with a microscope (there's currently a story floating around about why she wears shoes that are too big for her), she's also so much more than clothes. Given everything she stands for, the Teen Choice Awards and her potential win could really be a good opportunity for her to directly speak to the future generation and give them a message about things that are important to her.

After all, Markle has been an outspoken activist, especially for women, since she was a young girl herself. In a Nickelodeon video obtained by CNN, an 11-year-old Markle fought against a sexist ad for cleaning supplies. The ad insinuated that only women do cleaning around the house. With the help of Markle's involvement, the company altered its branding language.

Markle has kept this fight going, and more recently expressed her commitment to advocate for gender equality, which was explained on the British monarchy's website. Her bio on the official site highlights her charity work and credentials as a feminist and activist. It includes her quote, "I'm proud to be a woman and feminist," from a speech she gave at the UN forum on International Women's Day in 2015.

According to The Independent, Markle made choices during her own wedding day that reinforced her stance as a feminist. For example, she reportedly chose to walk unaccompanied part of the way down the aisle, and she gave a speech thanking the royal family for welcoming her (neither of which are tradition). She also spoke out about Donald Trump during the presidential election, and backed his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

In short, Markle has a lot to offer the youth of America, fashion and beyond, and maybe she'll seize the opportunity to share some of her ideals with them at the Teen Choice Awards now that she's an official nominee.