The 42-year-old royal – who also shares 5-year-old son Prince Archie with her husband Harry, Duke of Sussex – opened up about motherhood in a speech duringthe couple’s tour of Colombia, revealing she’s been encouraging her little girl to share her opinions and not “sit in silence”.
During an appearance at the Afro Women and Power Forum in the in the city of Cali, Meghan said: “For us and the work that we do with our Archewell Foundation, certainly the work that we do as parents, and I do as a mother, is ensuring that young girls feel as though their voices are being heard ...
“Part of the role modelling that I certainly try to do as a mother is to encourage our daughter, who at 3, has found her voice, and we’re so proud of that.
“That is how we, 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 and they’re going to create a very different environment than so many of us grew up in where our voices were meant to be smaller.”
Meghan appeared at the event alongside her husband and started her speech in Spanish after learning the language during a stint working in Argentina.
Lilibet, pictured on her first birthday. Photo / Misan Harriman
She said: “I would like to begin in Spanish because we are in your country, my husband and I, and I can feel this embrace from Colombia.
“It’s incredible, so many, many thanks, because the culture, the history, everything has been like a dream on this trip.
“Sorry if my Spanish is not perfect because I learned it 20 years ago in Argentina, but I’m trying here because I can feel this community and this feeling which is the best in the world.”
Meghan then switched back to English to continue her talk, during which she paid tribute to her husband and her mother, Doria Ragland.
The event came on the final day of the couple’s tour of Colombia which also included a visit to a school and a meeting with athletes who will be representing the country at Harry’s Invictus Games.
