Meghan Markle Says Her Daughter, Lilibet, Has “Found Her Voice”

It’s been a busy few months for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. There was a trip to Nigeria in May, an ESPY Award for Harry in July, and, most recently, a trip to Colombia. There, the royal couple participated in forums on digital security, visited a school, met with military members and veterans, and got to take in Colombian culture at a music festival.

On the last day of a four-day trip, Markle spoke at an Afro Women and Power event where she had encouraging things to say about her daughter, Lilibet.

The forum — where Markle was joined onstage by Colombian Vice President Francia Marquez — celebrated Afro-Colombian women leaders in the Cali region and featured testimonials from local leaders highlighting how they thrive despite the adversity they face as Black women. Markle began her talk in Spanish to applause.

“I would like to start in Spanish because we are in your country, my husband and I,” she said, “and I can feel this embrace from Colombia, and it is incredible.”

She went on to speak — in English — on the subject of women’s empowerment.

“I was very fortunate at a very young age to feel as though my voice was being heard,” she continued. “And I think that is a luxury that a lot of young girls and women aren’t often afforded.”

Markle went on to highlight how she hopes to promote a culture encouraging women and girls to make their voices heard and for boys and men to listen to those voices.

“Part of the role modeling that I certainly try to do as a mother is to encourage our daughter — who, at 3, she has found her voice," Meghan said with a laugh.

“And we’re so proud of that because 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 different environment than so many of us grew up in.”

Lilibet, named after her great-grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth II, turned 3 earlier this summer and celebrated with family and friends at home in Montecito, California.

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle don’t release photos of their children for their birthdays (one of the perks of stepping away from the royal family is that you don’t have pressure to follow any royal customs you don’t want to), they have shared tidbits about their personalities.

Markle recently opened up about how much Lilibet loves her dance class because of all the “jumping around,” and also described both Archie and Lilibet in an interview as “beautiful, healthy, very chatty, sweet children.”

Keep chatting, Lilibet!