Meghan Markle gushes about her daughter, three, in speech about ‘Afro women and power’ during Colombian tour with Prince Harry, admitting ‘Lilibet has found her voice and we are so proud’
Meghan Markle has raved about her three-year-old daughter in a speech ‘Afro Women and Power’ Conversation on the Last Day of Her Tour in Colombia with Prince Harry.
She said Lilibet “has found her voice and we are so proud of that” in the speech, which the duchess also used to pay tribute to her mother.
Meghan said: ‘I find inspiration in so many strong women around me, my mother being one of them. Life is full of surprises and can be quite complex.
‘I approach things as much as possible with less fighting and with love, kindness and generosity.
“You see something wrong and you go and fix it. As women, we are multitaskers and fixers. We all know how important representation is.”
The Duchess also said she encourages Lilibet “not to suffer in silence or even to sit in silence if you want to be heard at that moment.”
Meghan speaks as part of the panel at the Afro-Women and Power Forum in Cali
Meghan (second from left) speaks as part of the panel at the Afro Women and Power Forum in Cali
Meghan Markle takes stage for Afro-Women and Power Debate in Cali
Meghan opened her speech during the debate in Spanish, calling Ms Marquesa “my friend”, before paying tribute to Harry as she continued her speech in English.
Amid loud cheers, she said, “I would like to start in Spanish because my husband and I are in your country and I feel the embrace from Colombia.”
‘It’s incredible, thank you very much, because the culture, the history, everything was like a dream during this trip.
“I’m sorry if my Spanish is not perfect because I learned it 20 years ago in Argentina, but I do my best here because here I can feel the best community and the best feeling in the world.”
She added: “So thank you very much to the vice president, my friend, thank you very much.”
A Colombian journalist said: ‘For Meghan to call me my friend in that way is a powerful statement and shows how close they have become. People will notice that.’
Meghan then went on to tell her story of growing up, writing for Procter & Gamble, in English. “I was very, very lucky at a young age to feel like my voice was being heard,” she said.
‘And I think that’s a luxury that a lot of young girls and women can’t afford.
Meghan speaks at the Afro-Women and Power event in Cali today
Harry and Meghan greet people as they arrive at the Afro-Women and Power Debate
Meghan appeared on Nick News after lobbying the manufacturer to change a TV ad for dishwashing liquid in 1993
‘I was 11 years old and you may know this story. I saw an ad that I thought was sexist and I wrote a letter about it, several letters, and the ad was changed. When you’re 11 years old, you quickly realize that your little voice can have a very big impact.
“I think it creates a framework where you feel empowered and able to make your voice heard because you know you are being heard.”
The Duchess often uses the story from her childhood in her speeches and interviews, despite questions being raised about its validity in recent years.
The account was removed from a Vanity Fair cover story in 2017 after “fact-checkers questioned its accuracy,” according to a biography.
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.”