Meghan Markle Is Encouraging Daughter Princess Lilibet to Find Her Voice and "Be Heard"

"At three she has found her voice and we are so proud of that."

Meghan Markle speaks at the "Afro Women and Power" Forum in Cali, Colombia, on August 18, 2024.
(Image credit: RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty Images)

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry completed a four day tour of Colombia on Sunday. The Sussexes had an extremely busy time visiting Colombia, where they engaged in some salsa dancing and received a very memorable gift. The couple also met with the country's Invictus Games team, and had fun while playing drums during a school visit. On their final day, Meghan spoke at the Afro-Descendant Women and Power: Voices of Equity summit, which highlighted the work of Afro-Colombian female leaders. And most importantly, she discussed her daughter, Princess Lilibet.

Opening up to the audience, Meghan said of Lilibet (via the Daily Mail), "At three she has found her voice and we are so proud of that, because that is how we create the conditions in which there is 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 are going to do."

The Duchess of Sussex revealed that she had been influenced by many people, including her mother, Doria Ragland. "For me I find inspiration in so many of the strong women around me," Meghan said. "My mother being one of them. Life is full of surprises and can be quite complex."

Meghan Markle in Colombia

"For me I find inspiration in so many of the strong women around me," Meghan said.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Meghan also opened up about her motivations, saying, "So much of how I approach things is about less of the fight and how do we wash things over with love and kindness and generosity." She continued, "You see something wrong and you go and fix it. As women we are multi-taskers and fixers. We all know how much representation matters."

Earlier in the trip, during their visit to Bogotá, Meghan and Prince Harry took part in a summit about the internet. The Sussexes were part of a panel titled "The Path Towards a Responsible Digital Future," where they spoke alongside Colombia's Vice President Francia Márquez and co-founder and CEO of Rappler and Nobel Peace Laureate Maria Ressa. During the event, Meghan spoke about the importance of modeling positive behavior for children, especially on the internet. "It doesn't matter where you live," she explained. "It doesn't matter who you are. Either you personally or someone you know is a victim to what's happening online. And that's something we can actively work on every day to remedy."

Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.