Halima Aden posed for a selfie with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during the One Young World summit in Manchester on Monday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex addressed audiences at the opening ceremony, which brought together young leaders from 190 countries.
The duchess, who is a counsellor for the organisation, was also pictured hugging Aden.
“This is what One Young World is all about!! Championing young world leaders as they embark on this journey to transform the world! Also, meeting Meghan and Prince Harry was so incredible. She is beyond inspiring,” the Somali-American model wrote alongside the image on Instagram.
Two years ago, Aden announced she was leaving the modelling industry and being increasingly selective about the brands she represents, claiming she could no longer align her career path with her faith.
“I had to leave, because you either stand for something or you will fall for everything,” Aden told The National last year.
Born in a refugee camp in Kenya, before moving to the US aged 6, Aden found fame as the world's first hijab-wearing model. As her career progressed, she found some of the styling she was subjected to did not reflect the true fundamentals of wearing the hijab.
The lines grew increasingly blurred. She explained: “I had Gucci pants as a hijab once, and jeans put on my head. It was becoming questionable as to where the hijab is."
However, one year later, Aden returned to the industry on her own terms and with brands that shared her values. For her return, she teamed up with Vita Coco as a spokeswoman for the brand’s social impact initiative, the Vita Coco Project, and became the global brand ambassador for the Turkish modest fashion e-commerce platform Modanisa.
In 2019, the model also celebrated her Somali heritage as the host of the fourth annual International Somali Awards, an event honouring the greatest achievements of the worldwide Somali community.
She has been a regular at the award ceremony and attended this year's celebration in January.
