Meghan Markle’s speech about ‘Afro women and power in full’: Duchess opens up about Lilibet, her mother and how she came to learn Spanish on final day of Colombia tour with Harry

Meghan Markle has opened up about her daughter Lilibet, her mother and how she came to learn Spanish on the final day of her Colombia tour with Prince Harry. 

The Duchess of Sussex gave a speech at the ‘Afro women and power’ event in the city of Cali’s theatre, which was surrounded with a security ring of steel including dozens of armed police and soldiers.

Meghan, who wore a sleeveless white shirt with a patterned skirt to the event, started her speech in Spanish, talking about how much she enjoyed her time in Colombia and thanking locals for the warm welcome she and Harry have received.  

She also spoke about the lessons she learned in her life and about who inspires her – specifically mentioning her mother, before suggesting ways women could be helped in finding their voices. 

In a sweet nod to her daughter Lilibet, three, Meghan said that Lilibet had ‘found her voice’ and how proud she and Harry were of that.

Here, MailOnline can reveal Meghan’s full speech at the ‘Afro women and power’ talk, which includes her answers to three questions about life lessons, inspirations and how to inflict change…

Meghan Markle (left) has opened up about her daughter Lilibet, her mother and how she came to learn Spanish on the final day of her Colombia tour with Prince Harry

Meghan speaks at the Afro women and power event in Cali on Sunday

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

Meghan and Harry lift their hands up as they attend the Afro Women and Power event

People were queuing outside the venue in Cali where Meghan gave a speech about female empowerment

On lessons in her life, Meghan Markle said in Spanish: ‘I’d like to start in Spanish because we are in your country, my husband and I, and because I feel the embrace in Colombia. It’s incredible. 

‘So thank you, thank you very much, because the culture, the history, everything has been like a dream on this trip. 

‘And I’m sorry that my Spanish isn’t perfect, because I learned it in Argentina 20 years ago, but I’m trying [it] here because I can feel this community and this feeling is the best in the world.

‘So thank you very much to the vice president, my friend, thank you very much.’ 

She continued in English: ‘I would say, from my standpoint, that I was very fortunate that from a very young age to feel as though my voice was being heard. And I think that is a luxury that a lot of young girls and women aren’t often afforded. 

‘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. It doesn’t ever feel good to use your voice and no one hears you. That’s not ideal.

‘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.

‘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.

Meghan speaks at the Afro women and power forum on the last day of her Columbia tour with Harry 

Prince Harry joined his wife Meghan on stage for a group photograph after her speech 

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex seen at the Afro-Descendant Women and Power: Voice of Equity at the Teatro Municipal on August 18, 2024 in Cali, Colombia

Yerney Pinillo, Colombia Vice President Francia Marquez, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Afro-Descendant Women and Power event

Hundreds gathered outside the heavily-guarded theatre before Meghan gave her speech while Harry sat in the audience

‘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.

‘So we just recently launched a programme called The Parents Network, which is for parents who have lost children or have encountered the worst possible challenges and level of grief as a result of online harms, and allowing those mothers, those parents, to be heard, is very key to the work that we’re doing.

‘We also have something called The Welcome Project where we are working with women, specifically, who have been displaced.

‘And really giving them projects and work that are comparable to the work that I have done in the UK with something called the Hub Community Kitchen which was also women and community hearing each other, supporting each other.

‘You know, you might be cooking together, you might be doing a craft together, but what are you doing at the same time [is that] you’re working on your mental health, you’re working on your emotional healing, you’re working towards supporting each other with micro finance and business building and partnership.

‘So these are all the ways in which I see the spirit of community and of us supporting each other as women play themselves out in so many different facets of our lives.’

After being asked about what inspires her, the Duchess said: ‘For me, I think I find inspiration in so many of the strong women that are around me. My mother being one of them. 

‘I think life is full of surprises and can be quite complex. And we (as Meghan turned to the Colombian vice president) have talked about over the past few days you finding your inspiration and this fighting spirit and for me, we talked about the power of words as well. 

‘So much of how I approach things is through the lens of [it’s] less about the fight, that’s not interesting to me, and more about how do we show up in this space and wash things over with love and kindness and generosity.

‘And we talked about this the other day and of course that is part of that same spirit that you have in you. That you see something wrong and you go to fix it. Maybe that’s just a very female thing. Whether it’s a fan or something else. 

‘That’s what we do. As women we are multi-taskers and we are fixers. And so when I try to look at the conditions in which we’ll make women most comfortable in the space, that’s multifaceted. 

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

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

Meghan and Harry laugh as they sit in the audience at the Afro Women and Power event

‘And that includes finding ways to create political space, where women’s voices can be heard. 

‘In business, where women can have a seat at the table and be in positions of leadership, having examples as you do with your vice president. 

‘We all know how much representation matters. We all know that if you see someone who looks like you, who talks like you, who comes from a community like yours, that you can believe it’s possible to also be in a similar position of power so you’re not underestimating yourself, you’re not underestimating your worth, you’re not underestimating your future. 

‘Instead, you’re leaning into the possibility that every single thing can happen because you have conditions surrounding you and examples in front of you that indicate that you, too, can help to change the world.

‘And I think in the small ways that women are doing that each day and the larger ways that we are doing that as a community, those are the elements that continue to inspire me to use my voice. 

‘Because I also recognise how small it feels when you don’t. It doesn’t feel great to suffer in silence or even just sit in silence if in those moments you want to be heard or if you have something to say. 

‘So I think part of the role-modeling that I certainly try to do as a mother is to encourage our daughter – at three she has found her voice and we are so proud of that, because that is how we, as I was saying, 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. 

‘They are going to create a very different environment than so many of us grew up in, where our voices were meant to be smaller and now, in raising them, we’re changing the conditions and the environment where everyone has space to be the best version of themselves.’

Making her final remarks to the panel, Meghan Markle said as Prince Harry listened from a seat in the audience:  ‘I think when we really look at how we can continue to inspire and create change, all of the examples I was listing earlier from our standpoint, certainly through the Archewell Foundation, are key elements in doing that. 

Meghan Markle spoke to the panel and audience about her life lessons and who inspires her

Meghan Markle greets attendees during the ‘Afro women and power’ forum, at the Municipal Theatre in Cali, Colombia, on August 18

Meghan wore a white blouse and a patterned skirt as she spoke at the Afro women and power event

‘And I can start at the very grassroots level, I do believe that also starts at home, modelling that behaviour very young and seeing it work its way through.

‘From my standpoint, how I will continue to express this, both through our foundation and through being able to move through the world, I suppose, is just looking at this as my chapter of joy. 

‘And the more that you are able to look at your life and really, truly, recognise that if you’re going to be grateful for your life, you have to be grateful for all aspects of it. 

‘The parts that were opportunities of growth and may have felt very difficult as well as the parts that feel inspiring, joyful and full. 

‘I think part of the role-modelling doesn’t necessarily need to be a large plan, it just needs to be an intention and my intentionality is to enjoy this chapter and to be able to move through every piece of that as best as I can, modelling that if we are in the spirit of gratitude and of generosity, how we are able to connect with each other as women and how we are able to move through the world in a much freer way, I think is part of how we continue to create the conditions that I was speaking about earlier. 

‘And you may have noticed, my husband and I were talking about it this morning, I just really relaxed on this trip – that’s probably because it’s Colombia and you all know how to have fun. 

‘There is something so liberating about being able to be yourself and be comfortable in your skin and be surrounded in a space that is excited to see you exactly the way that you are.

‘I think that is part of the chapter for me, of joy, that will hopefully continue to inspire and allow me to keep doing the work that we love to do, which is to just be of service and to see other people live their lives through that same joyful spirit.’