During her lightning visit to Colombia with her husband Prince Harry, Meghan Markle kept their children Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, in mind. As when she wore a gold chain with “Archie” and “Lilibet” engraved on them during a stop at the local drum school Escuela Tambores de Cabildo. Or when she visited kindergarteners in the School La Giralda in Santa Fe, where she told one of the children, in Spanish, “You’re the same age as my son Archie!” And on Sunday, she gave a rare glimpse into raising her daughter that is truly inspiring.
Markle spoke about the strong influences in her life at an Afro Women and Power event in Cali, Colombia on August 18. “I find inspiration in so many of the strong women around me, of course, my mother[Doria Ragland]is one of them,” she said, per PEOPLE.
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“So much of how I approach things is through the lens of less about the struggle — that’s not interesting to me — and more about how do we show up in a space and flood things with love and kindness and generosity,” she continued. What a beautiful way to look at things!
Markle later spoke about the importance of women’s representation in power, adding: “Part of the role modeling that I certainly try to do as a mother is encourage our daughter — who at 3 years old has found her voice,” Markle said. “And we’re so proud of that because it creates, as I said, the conditions where there’s a domino effect of young girls and young women knowing that if someone else encourages them to use their voice and be heard, that’s what they’re going to do.”
In fact, the ripple effect has already begun. Markle spoke candidly about how she was encouraged to find her voice at a young age, something she’s now done with her daughter. “I feel fortunate that I felt like my voice was heard at a young age, and that’s a luxury that a lot of young girls and women don’t often have the opportunity to have,” the Archewell Foundation co-founder said. “For us and the work that we do with Archewell and the work that we do as parents and I do as a mother is making sure that young girls feel like their voices are heard and that young boys are raised to learn how to listen to girls as well. The role of men in this is critical — and my husband is an example of that.”
During a visit to a school in Abuja, Nigeria, in May, Markle told some schoolchildren a story about her daughter. “A couple weeks ago, she looked at me and all she saw was the reflection in my eyes. And she (said), ‘Mama, I see myself in you,’” Markle recalled. “Oh, now she was really speaking literally. But I held on to those words in a very different way. And I was like, yeah, I see myself in you, and you see me in you.”
She looked around the classroom and added, “When I look around this classroom, I see myself in all of you.” What a sweet moment!
Before you go, read everything we know about Princess Lilibet and the alleged controversy around her name.
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