Duchess Meghan has more freedom to speak ''from the heart'' on topics such as racial injustice and gender, since she is no longer a senior royal.

The 38-year-old royal - who stepped down from her royal role earlier this year, along with her husband Prince Harry, and moved to Los Angeles - is carving out a new career as a public speaker and Meghan can now give ''punchier'' speeches as she is not constrained by royal protocol.

Speaking on the 'Heirpod' podcast, Omid Scobie, author of 'Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan, and the Making of a Modern Royal Family', said: ''[The Girl Up Leadership Summit speech] was Meghan really being able to talk without the constraints of some of the things you might have to bear in mind when writing a speech as a working member of the royal family.

''I understand she spent a long time preparing for this speech. Usually we see members of the royal family reading from very tight scripts when they go up onto a stage, I understand Meghan had bullet points.

''She was perhaps a little punchier than we've seen in the past. She spoke more from the heart than from a script.''

And Scobie revealed that Meghan's recent speech for the Girl Up Leadership Summit was a sign of what fans can expect of her in the future.

He explained: ''I had an interesting conversation with Team Sussex after this happened. They said this speech really spoke to many of the issues she will continue to focus on passionately moving forward, gender equity, racial injustice, youth empowerment...

''This worked as a really great preview for the Duchess of Sussex and some of her future speaking engagements.''

Meghan and Harry, 35, have joined the Harry Walker Agency and will be available to give talks on social issues such as racial justice, gender equality, the environment and mental health, according to the LA Times.