Meghan Markle Talks About the Joys and Challenges of Parenting
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Meghan Markle wears many hats. She’s a former Duchess, actress, activist, podcast host and mom to two children: Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1. The multi-hyphenate 41-year-old has dived headfirst into her role as parent, navigating all the incredible parts (she’s called being a mom “magic”!) and the tumultuous ones, including trying to privately raising her kids in the glare of the public spotlight — especially lately, with Queen Elizabeth’s death turning all eyes to the British monarchy and everyone associated with it.
Being a mom has been on Markle’s wish list for a long time now. In 2014, while working as an actress on the show Suits, she told The Brew that her dreams for the future included having a while brood of children. “I dream of being a mom with wee ones running around my house,” she said, adding that her other future hopes included: “to one day have a cooking show, to continue working on social issues at a global level, to run a marathon, to see this glorious world, and to stay grounded, grateful and openhearted.'”
It looks like Markle is well on her way to accomplishing all those goals. And she’s got her husband Prince Harry by her side, taking on the big journey of parenthood together. “He’s the best dad,” Markle was overheard saying during a 2019 group mindfulness activity in South Africa, per PEOPLE. In turn, Harry declared: “No, she’s the best mom.”
Here, we take a look back on everything Markle has said about the ups, downs, and unique twists and turns of being a mama.
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On raising children in the spotlight
“Look, any woman, especially when they are pregnant, you’re really vulnerable and so that was made really challenging,” she explained in an ITV documentary. “And then when you have a newborn — you know … especially as a woman, it’s a lot. So you add [media attention] on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed.”
The early days of motherhood
“It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world, so I’m really happy,” Markle told ABC News.
Finding that work/life balance with a newborn
“We’re only five months in right now,” Markle said in 2021, per The Daily Mail. “Being a working mom and traveling as well with a baby, my goodness it’s a lot, but it’s all so exciting. There are days when it’s a lot to juggle but then you meet someone and you have an impact on them and you say ‘aha,’ and it’s so rewarding.”
The importance of raising her daughter (and all young women!) right
“My husband and I are thrilled to soon be welcoming a daughter. It’s a feeling of joy we share with millions of other families around the world,” she said at VAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World special. “When we think of her, we think of all the young women and girls around the globe who must be given the ability and the support to lead us forward. Their future leadership depends on the decisions we make and the actions we take now to set them up, and set all of us up, for a successful, equitable and compassionate tomorrow.”
Her experience with miscarriage — and breaking down stigmas
“Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few,” Markle wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times. “Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”
Her best role yet — parenting!
“I’ve been a waitress, an actress, a princess, a Duchess… and the most important title I’ll ever have is mom,” Markle told Oprah in 2021.
Advice every parent needs to hear
“We just need to be kinder to ourselves,” Markle declared during an interview promoting International Day of the Girl. “If we treated ourselves the way we treated our best friend, can you imagine how much better off we would be?”
Teaching Archie his p’s and q’s
“We always tell him: ‘Manners make the man. Manners, manners, manners, manners, manners,’ ” she revealed to The Cut.
