Meghan Markle gushed about her mom and three-year-old daughter Lilibet as she spoke in Spanish to attendees at the Municipal Theater in Cali, Colombia on the final day of her tour with Prince Harry
Harry and Meghan in Colombia (
Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Meghan Markle made rare comments about her daughter Lilibet as she gave a speech at a heavily guarded theatre in Colombia, accompanied by Prince Harry.
The Duchess of Sussex is delivered a speech in Spanish on female empowerment on the final day of their tour. She looked stunning in a sleeveless white shirt and jeweled skirt as she greeted attendees at the Municipal Theater in Cali during the Afro women and power forum. A proud Harry watched as Meghan shook hands with members of the audience.
During the passionate speech, the former Suits star re-shared a previous tale about writing to Procter & Gamble at 11 to ask the brand to change its sexist soap commercial. She also paid a gushing tribute to her mom and daughter Lilibet, three.
Harry and Meghan greet attendees on arrival to the Afro women and power forum, at the Municipal Theater in Cali, Colombia (
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
She told the crowd: “[I] encourage our daughter […] at three she has found her voice and we are so proud of that. 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.”
Meghan also apologized for any broken Spanish she spoke, saying how she “learned it 20 years ago in Argentina”. However, she admitted: “I’m trying here because I can feel this community and this feeling which is the best in the world.”
She reverted back to English midway through her speech to open up on the tough times women face when it comes to their voices being heard. While she admitted she had been “very fortunate” to feel as though she was being heard at a young age, she said it’s “not ideal” to use your voice and believe no one hears you.
“Does it ever feel good to use your voice and no one hears you. That’s not ideal,” she confided. “So for us and the work that we do with our Archewell Foundation, certainly the work that we do as parents, as I do as a mother, is ensuring that young girls feel as though their voices are being heard, and also that young boys are being raised to listen and to hear those young women as well.
Meghan spoke to the attendees in Spanish
“And the same goes for adult women and men. This isn’t something that can be solely responsible and in the hands of just women. Yes, we work incredibly well together as a team, but as my husband, is great testament to the role of men in this of empowering women, of allowing them to know that their voices are heard, starting at a young age all the way through adulthood, is key.”
Touching back on her foundation, Meghan continued: “So at the Archewell Foundation, we are very, very dedicated to creating a sense of community, but also one in which women are heard and that their ideas are really felt and implemented in the programming that we do.”
Explaining the reasoning behind their new program called the Parents Network, Meghan said it is “for parents who have lost children or have encountered the worst possible challenges and level of grief as a result of online harms”.
She said it would allow people to be heard and called it “key” to the work they are doing.
Meghan excitedly shook hands with some of those in the audience (
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As with all their previous engagements in Colombia, security was tight around the theatre, with heavily armed soldiers, explosive officers, and police officers, including one with a dog, standing guard.
Later, the Royal couple is expected to attend the Petronio Alvarez Festival, a celebration of Afro-Colombian music. This will be the final event of their four-day trip to the South American country.
This follows the Sussexes’ visit to the port city of Cartagena yesterday, where they visited a local drum school that preserves traditional African drumming. At the school, Harry and Meghan received a small handcrafted wooden boat from a student, a tribute to the beautiful coastal town and its beaches.
They then participated in a drum lesson led by the students, followed by a performance that brought both the vice president and Meghan to their feet.
Following their visit, the couple received a warm reception in “a little corner of Africa” a symbol of anti-colonial resistance. They visited the historic north Colombian village of San Basilio de Palenque, founded by escaped slaves in the 17th century and recognized as the Americas’ first ‘free town’ for Africans.
Amid heavy security, Harry, who has acknowledged the Royal family’s profit from slavery, and Meghan, of Nigerian heritage, were welcomed.
The couple’s security in Colombia includes an officer armed with a Kevlar shield to deter potential shooters. This local security detail member is often seen jumping out of a vehicle ahead of the couple, holding the folding shield at nearly all events they attend.
This ballistic briefcase, as it’s known, is also used to protect the country’s vice president, who is hosting the visit and has been the target of several assassination attempts. Last year, her protection team discovered 7kg of explosives buried in a rural road leading to her home in the southwestern province of Cauca.
Just two months ago, her father and six-year-old nephew narrowly escaped after gunmen fired at their car, leaving it riddled with bullets. Security websites describe the ballistic briefcase as a discreet close protection and rapid-deployment safety device.
The heightened security around the party in Colombia, a country with travel advisory warnings from the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, is likely to cause a stir. Meanwhile, the Duke has insisted that it’s ‘dangerous’ for Meghan to return to the UK.
Harry suffered a setback in February when he lost a High Court challenge against the Home Office over a decision to alter his personal security level during UK visits. However, he has been granted permission to appeal.