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 gushed about her daughter, three, in a speech about ‘Afro women and power’ talk on the final day of her tour in Colombia with Prince Harry. 

She said that Lilibet ‘has found her voice and we are so proud of that’ in the speech the Duchess also used to pay tribute to her mother. 

Meghan said: ‘For me I find inspiration in so many of the strong women around me. My mother being one of them. Life is full of surprises and can be quite complex.

‘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.

‘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.’

The Duchess also said that she encourages Lilibet to not ‘suffer in silence or even sit in silence if in those moments you want to be heard’. 

Meghan Markle said that Lilibet (pictured in 2022) ‘has found her voice and we are so proud of that’ in the speech the Duchess also used to pay tribute to her mother.

Meghan (second left) speaks as part of the panel at the Afro women and power forum in Cali

Meghan Markle on stage for the Afro women and power debate in Cali

Meghan opened her intervention at the debate speaking in Spanish and calling Ms Marquesa ‘my friend’ before going on to pay tribute to Harry as she carried on in English. 

To a huge cheer 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.’

She added: ‘So thank you very much to the vice president, my friend, many thanks.’

A Colombian journalist said:’ For Meghan to say my friend in that way is such a powerful statement and shows just how close they have become. People will take note of that.’

Meghan then continued in English to retell her childhood story about writing to Procter & Gamble. ‘I was very, very fortunate at a young age to feel as though my voice was being heard,’ she said. 

‘And I think that is a luxury that a lot of young girls and women aren’t often afforded. 

Meghan speaks at the Afro women and power event in Cali today 

Harry and Meghan greet people on arrival to the Afro women and power debate

Meghan appeared on Nick News after lobbying the manufacturing company to change a TV ad for dishwashing liquid in 1993

‘I was 11-years-old, and you may know this story, I had seen a commercial that I felt was sexist, and I wrote a letter, several letters, about it, and the commercial was changed when you’re 11-years-old, and you realise very quickly that your small voice can have a very large impact.

‘I think it creates the framework to feel empowered to use your voice, because you know you’re being listened to.’ 

The Duchess often uses the childhood story in her speeches and interviews, despite some questions being raised about its validity in recent years. 

The account was stripped out of a Vanity Fair cover story in 2017 after ‘fact checkers raised questions about its accuracy,’ a biography said. 

The anecdote was cut from the cover story ‘after consulting P&G and advertising historians,’ according to Tom Bower’s book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors.