Meghan Markle has opened up about her hopeful wish for daughter Princess Lilibet, and how she strives to make it come true.
The mother of two opened up about family life in her keynote speech at the Time100 Summit in New York City, where she answered questions from the audience about how she handles public scrutiny. Considering this, Meghan, 43, explained that she makes a “very, very conscious effort to create boundaries for herself”.
As well as being crucial for protecting her own mental health and well-being, the Duchess of Sussex believes this stance is important when working to be a good “role model” for her young children.
With this in mind, Meghan shared: “I’m conscious of not just raising a very strong and confident young woman, but also having a son, I think is it’s just as paramount of importance for young men to be raised with a confidence and sense of self that is going to empower the women around them, too.”
She added, “So I try to model that behaviour, but again, it starts with whatever is going on internally. And when I am able to, not even just tune out whatever that noise is, but to really not give it any credence, that has become so much of a part of my day-to-day life.
“And things will get brought to my attention on a need-to-know basis. Outside of that, I’m kind of late on the boat for a lot of things going on, and I’m OK with that. That’s part of what I find to bring me peace.”
Meghan and husband Prince Harry, who was also present at the summit, both endeavour to give their two children as much of a normal upbringing as possible, and guard their privacy fiercely. Archie and Lilibet are rarely photographed, but brief glimpses show they’ve both inherited their father’s famous red hair.
The Sussexes have also previously offered sweet insights into family life behind the doors of their Montecito mansion, including little Lilibet’s daily routine. In the first episode of her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, which launched earlier this month, Meghan spoke with Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd about balancing work with motherhood.
Meghan shared how three-year-old Lilibet – or Lili as she is affectionately known to loved ones – still takes naps and currently only attends preschool for half days. She revealed: “If she wakes up and wants to find me, she knows where to find me, even if my door is closed to the office.
“She’ll be sitting there on my lap during one of these meetings with a grid of all the executives… I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want to miss those moments. I don’t want to miss pick-up if I don’t have to. I don’t want to miss drop-off.”
Unlike Archie, five, Lilibet was born in Santa Barbara, California, an ocean away from Buckingham Palace. However, Harry and Meghan made sure to pay tribute to their daughter’s royal heritage with their touching choice of names.
Lilibet was, famously, the childhood pet name of Harry’s grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II. The little girl’s middle name, Diana, is a nod to the prince’s widely beloved mother, Princess Diana, who passed away in 1997 at the age of just 36.
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