Even before she had HRH status, Meghan Markle had been dropping gems in her speeches, her old blog The Tig, and interviews. Now that she's a part of the royal family, most of her words of wisdom come in the form of official speeches rather than casual sit-down conversations, but hey, we'll take what we can get. When Meghan was an actress living her pre-Harry life, she was outspoken about her activism and fight for women's equality. And even though she can't be quite as frank now that she's a duchess, Meghan is still finding royal-approved ways to be inspiring and uplifting for the causes she believes in. If there's one thing we know for sure, it's that this duchess has quite a way with words.
She's spoken about everything from feminism, to fashion, to navigating her new life with Prince Harry, and boy, does she do it with such elegance and poise. We don't know if Meghan grew up knowing she was going to be making a lot of speeches one day, but she definitely seems like a complete natural at it. No matter the occasion, the Duchess of Sussex always has something appropriate and inspiring to say, and we only wish she would be given more opportunities to use her voice.Ā
All in due time! She does have a newborn to take care of now, and we can only imagine what kinds of insights about parenting she'll be revealing in the near future. While she's only been an official royal for just over a year, Meghan has already been doing her best to share her wisdom and encourage. So, in honor of all of the wonderful things Meghan has said (both pre- and post-Harry), here are 20 quotes from the duchess that continue to inspire all of us.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
On the Importance of Education
Speaking to some students and faculty members atĀ University of the South Pacific in Fiji, the duchess said, āIt was through scholarships, financial aid programs, and work-study where my earnings from a job on campus went directly towards my tuition — that I was able to attend university. And, without question, it was worth every effort.ā
On Education for Girls
During the same speech, she said, "When girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves, but also for those around them."
On Female Empowerment
At a charity forumĀ with Prince Harry and the Cambridges, Meghan stated boldly, "What's interesting is that I hear a lot of people saying, when talking about girlsā empowerment and women as well, youāll often hear people saying, āYouāre helping them find their voices,' I fundamentally disagree with that. Women donāt need to find their voice. They need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen."
On Dealing With the Hate
During the interview Meghan and Harry gave after the engagement announcement, the soon-to-be duchess commented on some of the negative attention she had been receiving. She said, "It's a shame that that is the climate in this world, to focus that much on that, to be discriminatory in that sense. I think, you know, at the end of the day, I'm really just proud of who I am and where I've come from and we have never put any focus on that. We've just focused on who we are as a couple."
On Feminism
Meghan told Create & Cultivate, "You are a feminist exactly the way you are. You can be a woman who wants to look good and still stand up for the equality of women. There's no uniform for feminism</a>; You are a feminist exactly the way you are."
On Staying True to Herself With Prince Harry
In her Vanity Fair interview in 2017, the soon-to-be duchess said, "Nothing about me changed. I'm still the same person that I am, and I've never defined myself by my relationship."
On Women's Suffrage
During their tour of New Zealand, Meghan gave a speech about women's suffrage and said,Ā "Because, yes, women's suffrage is about feminism, but feminism is about fairness."
On the Impact of Suffrage
Because one quote from this speech is simply not enough, Meghan also had this to say about the lasting impact and greater meaning of the right to vote:Ā āSuffrage is not simply about the right to vote but also about what that represents: the basic and fundamental human right of being able to participate in the choices for your future and that of your community, the involvement and voice that allows you to be a part of the very world that you are a part of.ā
On Her Growing Family
When Meghan, Harry, and Baby Sussex made their first public appearance as a family of three, the duchess said, āItās magic. Itās pretty amazing. I have the best two guys in the world, so Iām really happy.ā OK, now that's just too cute.
On the Value of Saying 'No'
In an interview with InStyle, Meghan said, "Iāve also learned that saying 'no'Ā is just as valuable as saying 'yes.'Ā Itās something that, I think, comes with age and really having a sense of your self-worth. And then you make choices based on that."
On Her Celebrity Status
Meghan isn't one to use her celeb status for personal gain, that's for sure! She once said to Elle, "With fame comes opportunity, but it also includes responsibility — to advocate and share, to focus less on glass slippers and more on pushing through glass ceilings. And, if Iām lucky enough, to inspire."
On Meeting Prince Harry
Meghan is quite famously known for saying this when speaking about her first date with Prince Harry: "I didn't know much about him. And so the only thing that I had asked [my friend] when she said she wanted to set us up was, I had one question, I said: 'Well, is he nice?' Cause if he wasn't kind it just didn't seem like it would make sense."
On Finding Passions
During a keynote speech for Create & Cultivate's 2016 conference, Meghan had this to say about finding your own passion,Ā āDonāt give it five minutes if youāre not going to give it five years.ā
On London's Diversity
In a speech celebrating her community cookbook, Meghan said, "I had just recently moved to London and I felt so immediately embraced by the women of the kitchen. Your warmth and your kindness, and also to be in this city and see in this one small room how multicultural it was … I felt, on a personal level, so proud to live in a city that can have so much diversity. That there are 12 countries represented in this one small room, is pretty outstanding."
Her Empowering UN Speech
Back in 2015, Meghan gave a passionate speech about women's equality in front of the Unite Nations. The entire speech is worth reading, but this one tidbit is particularly inspiring: "It is just imperative: women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there, and in some cases, where this is not available, well then, you know what, they need to create their own table."
On the Importance of Food
Meghan wrote the foreword for her community cookbook, and in it she said, "I have a lifelong interest in the story of food — where it comes from, why we embrace it, and how it brings us together: the universal connection to community through the breaking of bread."
On Her Feminist Baby
When asked about how her bump was treating her, Meghan had the absolute perfect response. The duchess said,Ā "Very well! It's funny, I've actually been joking in the past few weeks … I had seen this documentary on Netflix about feminism and one of the things they said during pregnancy is, 'I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism.'"
On Treating Yourself
Meghan told InStyle,Ā "Take things with a grain of salt and find balance within your life. On your lunch break, leave to go and get some fresh air. You donāt need to make your life your job."
On Just How Wrong 'Jerry McGuire' Was
Meghan really held nothing back with Town & Country when she spoke about how important it is to know that you are enough. The soon-to-be duchess said, "… that the now iconic saying fromĀ Jerry Maguire, 'You complete me,' frankly, isn't true. You are complete with or without a partner. You are enough just as you are."
On Creating Your Own Identity
Meghan wrote a column for Elle magazine (because yes, she's just that amazing) about her struggle with her identity. As we all know, the duchess is biracial, and she had her own personal journey about coming to terms with this. In her column, she wrote, "You push for colour-blind casting, you draw your own box. You introduce yourself as who you are, not what colour your parents happen to be."
