Meghan Markle shared one of her favorite stories last night during her “Afro Women and Power Talk” on the final day of her almost-royal tour to Colombia.
The 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex was eager to share one of her most beloved anecdotes with you: she described how in 1993 she convinced manufacturing giant Procter & Gamble to change a “sexist” ad by writing a letter when she was just 11 years old.
It is one of Meghan’s most famous stories, which she has previously described as the beginning of her life path in which she spoke out against ‘inequality’.
The Duchess often uses the story from her childhood in her speeches and interviews, although doubts are sometimes raised about its validity.
When Meghan referenced the letter she wrote to P&G as an 11-year-old on her 2017 cover of Vanity Fair, it was reportedly removed after the letter failed the magazine’s fact-checking.
Meghan Markle referenced her infamous Procter & Gamble story in her ‘Afro women and power talk’ last night
Meghan said last night: ‘I was very fortunate that I felt like my voice was being heard at a young age.
‘And I think that’s a luxury that a lot of young girls and women can’t afford.
‘I was 11 years old and you may know this story. I saw an advertisement that I found sexist. I wrote a letter about it, several letters, and the advertisement was changed.
‘When you’re 11 years old, you quickly realize that you can have a big impact with your little voice.
“I think it creates a framework where you feel empowered and able to make your voice heard because you know you are being heard.”
At age 11, Meghan wrote a letter to Procter & Gamble to object to the sexism in an ad for dish soap that included the line, “Mothers across America are fighting greasy pots and pans.”
She asked them to change the ad to “people all over America” and the company then adjusted the wording.
In 1993, she appeared in an interview with Nick News, in which she said she was “furious” about P&G’s Ivory Clear commercial.
Meghan appeared in a 1993 interview with Nick News and said she was “furious” about P&G’s Ivory Clear commercial
The duchess said she also addressed a copy to Hillary Clinton, but her claim that she received a reply has raised questions
She added: ‘When they heard this, the boys in my class started saying, “Yes, that’s where women belong – in the kitchen.”
“I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking that mommy does everything,” Markle told Nick News in 1993.
‘If you see something on television or anywhere else that you don’t like or that offends you, write a letter and send it to the right people. That way you can really make a difference, not just for yourself, but for so many other people.’
The young Meghan also sent the letter to famed civil rights attorney Gloria Allred, then-first lady Hillary Clinton and Nick News host Linda Ellerbee.
After Ellerbee received the letter, she went out with a camera crew from her show to meet Markle.
Meghan said she received encouraging letters back from all three, including Clinton, and that she “loved” her speech at the UN in 2015.
But the account was removed from a Vanity Fair cover story in 2017 after “fact-checkers raised doubts about its accuracy,” a 2022 biography claimed, citing no evidence that Meghan had received a response from Clinton.
According to Tom Bowers’ book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, the anecdote was cut from the cover story “after consultation with P&G and advertising historians.”
In an extract from the book printed in The Times, he added: ‘They also could not find evidence, as Meghan claimed, that she had received a response from [Hilary] Clinton.
Meghan speaks as part of the panel at the Afro-Women and Power Forum in Cali
Prince Harry on stage with his wife Meghan for a group photo after her speech
Meghan appeared on Nick News after lobbying the manufacturer to change a TV ad for dishwashing liquid in 1993
‘Unknown to Kashner, Thomas Markle knew that Clinton and P&G had not responded to Meghan. The success of her ‘campaign’ was a fictional one, dreamed up by an adoring father.
It’s also unclear whether Meghan’s letter prompted P&G to change the ad.
Still, it’s a story Meghan loves to tell. In fact, it was the first topic of her Archetypes podcast with Spotify, where she spent four minutes reminiscing before discussing her guest Serena Williams.
Reflecting on the 2018 letter, she said, “Honestly, when I was 11, I didn’t even know what sexism meant.”
She continued: ‘I just knew something was coming into my head that told me it wasn’t right.
“And by using that as my moral compass and continuing to do so from the age of 11, I was able to change this commercial.”
She added: ‘It really set the course for me to say, if there was something wrong, if there was a lack of justice, and there was inequality, then someone had to do something. And why not me?’
In March of this year, Meghan told the story again during a celebrity panel at SXSAW to mark International Women’s Day.
Meghan relived the conversation as she told the audience: “Your voice is not small, it just needs to be heard.”
In 1993, Meghan appeared on Nick News, a children’s educational program that aired on the popular cable network Nickelodeon.
In a video previously discovered by Inside Edition, Markle is seen on the show as she and her classmates watch a TV commercial for Ivory dish soap.
The 11-year-old told camera crews directly: ‘I don’t think it’s right for children to grow up thinking that only mommy does everything.
‘It’s always like mommy does this and mommy does that.’
She concluded at the time: ‘If you see something on television or anywhere else that you don’t like or that offends you, write letters and send them to the right people.
‘You can really make a difference, not just for yourself, but for many other people.’
In 2015, the incident was commemorated during a speech at the United Nations, again on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
“I remember being shocked and angry, but also very hurt,” Markle said in the speech.
“It just wasn’t right and something had to be done.”
2015: Markle recalled the incident during a speech at the United Nations – again to mark International Women’s Day
2019: Meghan discussed the exchange again during a panel discussion hosted by King’s College London for its annual celebration of women
She said at the time that her father, Thomas Markle, had inspired her to bring about change.
“He encouraged me to write letters, and I did — to the most powerful people I could think of,” Meghan said.
And in 2019, she discussed the exchange again during a panel discussion, alongside musician Annie Lennox and former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, hosted by King’s College London as part of its annual celebration of women.
Meghan, who was pregnant with son Archie at the time, said: ‘To be honest, when I was 11, I didn’t even know what sexism meant. I just knew that something came into my head that told me it was wrong, and I knew it was wrong.
“And by using that as my moral compass and continuing to do so from the age of 11, I was able to change this commercial.”
She added: ‘It really set the course for me to say, if there was something wrong, if there was a lack of justice, and there was inequality, then someone had to do something. And why not me?’
Despite the disagreement between P&G and the young Meghan, the rift appeared to be resolved in 2021 when Meghan and Harry’s Archewell Foundation joined forces with the American consumer goods giant.