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Meghan Markle has revealed how her three-year-old daughter Lilibet, who she shares with husband Prince Harry, has “found her voice.”
The 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex made the sweet comment about her youngest child while onstage at an Afro women and power event in Cali, Colombia, as part of her and Harry’s four-day tour of the country. While speaking at the panel, she opened up about the female role models in her life – including her mother, Doria Ragland.
“For me, I find inspiration in the strong women around me, of course, my mother being one of them,” she said. “So much of how I approach things is less about the fight and more about how we show up in a space and wash things over with love and kindness and generosity.”
Meghan then expressed how she wants to inspire and support her young daughter, who already has quite a sharp mind.
“Some of the role modeling I certainly try to do as a mother is to encourage our daughter, who at three, has found her voice,” she said with a laugh. “And we’re so proud of that.”
Meghan then described how important it is for her child to have her own voice, as the now-three-year-old continues to grow up with supportive and influential adults in her life.
“As I was saying, create the conditions in which there’s a ripple effect of young girls and young women knowing that if someone else is encouraging them to use their voice and be heard, that’s what they’re going to do,” the royal added. “And they’re going to create a different environment than so many of us grew up in, where our voices were meant to be smaller.”
The Duchess emphasized her hope for young women and girls everywhere to be heard while acknowledging how grateful she was to have that opportunity when she was younger. She also pointed out that her message is one of the goals of her and Harry’s Archewell Foundation, which they started in 2020, a few months after stepping back as senior working members of the royal family.
“I was very, very fortunate at a young age to feel as though my voice was being heard, and I think that is a luxury that a lot of young girls and women aren’t often afforded,” Meghan’s speech at the panel continued, as reported by People. “For us and the work that we do with the Archewell Foundation, certainly the work that we do as parents and that I do as a mother is ensuring that young girls feel as though their voices are being heard and also that young boys are being raised to listen and to hear those young women as well.”
Meghan has previously spoken out about her family, as she and her husband also share a five-year-old son, Archie. Meghan, during an appearance at a school in Abuja, Nigeria, in May, spoke to young students about a remarkable conversation she’d had with her daughter.
“Our daughter, Lili, she’s much, much tinier than you guys. She’s about to turn three. And a few weeks ago she looked at me and she would just see the reflection in my eyes. And she [goes], ‘Mama, I see me in you,’” Meghan recalled. “Oh, now she was talking really literally. But I hung onto those words in a very different way. And I thought, yes, I do see me in you, and you see me in you.”
Meghan and Harry began their four-day quasi-royal tour in Colombia on August 15, which included visits to three cities. When they first arrived in the country, they were welcomed by Colombia’s vice president Francia Márquez, the first Black woman to occupy the vice president’s office.
Ahead of their arrival at 9am Bogota time on August 15, Márquez said: “They will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress. In addition to these meaningful interactions, the Duke and Duchess will experience the rich heritage of Colombia.”
The tour, which ended in Cali on August 19, also saw the couple build upon their work with the Archewell Foundation. In particular, their efforts to combat the dangers young people may encounter on the internet.
Harry and Meghan also discussed these dangers when they visited several Colombian schools alongside the importance of mental health awareness.
