Not afraid to speak her mind. Meghan Markle has faced plenty of challenges since marrying into the British royal family — but she hasn’t let them dim her light.
The former Suits star fell into a whirlwind romance with Prince Harry in 2016, and by November 2017, the pair were engaged. During a candid interview with the BBC shortly after their engagement made headlines, Meghan and her then-fiancé opened up about the extreme negativity they’d been subject to in the public eye.
“Of course, it’s disheartening,” Meghan said at the time. “You know, it’s a shame that that is the climate in this world … but I think at the end of the day, I’m really just proud of who I am and where I come from, and we have never put any focus on that. We’ve just focused on who we are as a couple. And so, when you take all those extra layers away and all of that noise, I think it makes it really easy to just enjoy being together and tune all the rest of that out.”
The duo wed in May 2018. Being the first Black member of the royal family was groundbreaking in and of itself, but Meghan shocked the world once more when she gave birth to son Archie, Queen Elizabeth II‘s first biracial great-grandchild, in May 2019. Five months later, Meghan admitted that her life in the spotlight added to the already difficult nature of being a new mom.
“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot … on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed,” she said during the October 2019 ITV documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, adding that “not many people have asked if I’m OK” throughout her hardships.
Eventually, the stresses of royal life became too much. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from their senior roles within the palace in January 2020, and three months later, settled down in Los Angeles with their son. In July 2020, the family of three relocated to the quieter Montecito neighborhood of Santa Barbara, California.
Scroll down to relive some of Meghan’s most honest quotes about the struggles of royal life, motherhood and more.
During their first interview as an engaged couple, Meghan and Harry sat down with the BBC to discuss their past struggles and their hopes for the future. "I think I can very safely say, as naive as it sounds now, having gone through this learning curve in the past year and a half, I did not have any understanding of just what it would be like," Meghan said of "tabloid culture" and her transition into the royal family. "I don't think either of us did. ... I think we were just hit so hard at the beginning with a lot of mistruths that I made the choice to not read anything, positive or negative. It just didn't make sense and instead we focused all of our energies just on nurturing our relationship." PPE/v d Werf/SIPA/Shutterstock
At the September 2019 "Ladies Who Launch" event in Cape Town, South Africa, the activist noted that continuing her career after giving birth was a monumental task. "Being a working mom and traveling as well with a baby, my goodness, it's a lot," she said at the time, four months after welcoming son Archie. "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 'ah-ha,' and it's so rewarding." HENK KRUGER/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
In ITV's Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which debuted in October 2019, Meghan opened up about the struggle of being a new mom in the public eye. "Any woman, especially when they're pregnant, you're really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it's a lot ... on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed," she said. Shutterstock
The October 2019 documentary gave royal fans new insight into Meghan and Harry's lives — both the good parts and the bad. As she spoke about the intense scrutiny she'd faced since joining the royal family, reporter Tom Bradby wondered how she was holding up. "Thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I'm OK," Meghan replied. "It's a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes." Shutterstock
Following her return to the U.S. in the wake of her royal exit, Meghan spoke openly about the importance of voting and fighting for positive change. "It's something that I look forward to being a part of," she said of participating in American politics in August 2020, reflecting on the restrictions of royal life. "And being a part of using my voice in a way that I haven't been able to of late. So, yeah, it's good to be home." Shutterstock
Living her life in the spotlight opens the floodgates to criticism — but Meghan always reminds herself to power through by thinking of this Georgia O'Keefe quote. "'I have already settled it for myself, so flattery and criticism go down the same drain, and I am quite free,'" the Northwestern grad shared during Fortune's Most Powerful Women conference in September 2020. Reflecting on her rocky experience with British tabloids, Meghan added, "If you look back at anything I've said, what ends up being inflammatory is people's interpretation of it. ... There will always be naysayers [but] it's easy to live with truth and authenticity, and that's how I choose to move through the world." Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
"[Motherhood] makes you more courageous," Meghan said during a candid interview with Fortune for its Most Powerful Next Gen Summit in October 2020. "It makes you so concerned for the world they are going to inherit, right? And so, the things that you're able to tolerate on your own are not the same that you are going to put your child in a position of vulnerability for. [I] go every single day, 'How can I make this better for him? How can I make this world better for Archie?' And that is a shared belief between my husband and I." The former actress also noted that she feels a responsibility to be a role model, not only for her son, but for millions around the world. "As a parent, I can enjoy all the fun and silliness and games with my son, but I wouldn't be able to feel proud of myself as a mom if I [knew] that I wasn't doing my part to make it a better place for him," she said. Shutterstock
In honor of World Mental Health Day in October 2020, Meghan and Harry appeared on the "Teenager Therapy" podcast to discuss the sometimes-cruel world of social media. "I can speak personally too," the California native said of her "almost unsurvivable" experiences with cyberbullying. "I'm told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female. ... Even though our experience is unique to us and obviously can seem very different to what people can experience on the day-to-day, it's still a human experience ― and that's universal. We all know what it feels like to have our feelings hurt, we all know what it feels like to be isolated or othered." Shutterstock
During a candid conversation with Alexis Ohanian in October 2020, Meghan got real about the challenges of being in an interracial relationship and raising a biracial child in the public eye. Ohanian, who shares daughter Olympia with wife Serena Williams, acknowledged that he feels a "responsibility" to help create a safer world for his child — and Meghan quickly agreed. "I know we have shared experiences in being in interracial marriages and raising small children who are of mixed race and how that plays into that," the duchess said of encouraging diversity in both online and offline spaces. Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
In November 2020, the philanthropist revealed in a heartbreaking New York Times op-ed that she had suffered a miscarriage four months prior. As she described how she and Harry were beginning to work through their loss, she wrote, "I realized that the only way to begin to heal is to first ask, 'Are you OK?'" In coming forward with her story, Meghan hoped that she could offer solidarity to others who have felt afraid to speak about their "unbearable" pain. "We have learned that when people ask how any of us are doing, and when they really listen to the answer, with an open heart and mind, the load of grief often becomes lighter — for all of us," she wrote. "In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing." James Veysey/Shutterstock
During an August 2022 interview with New York magazine's The Cut, Meghan broke down the reasons why she was so bothered by the rules of the Royal Rota, which covers the royal family for the U.K. press. "There’s literally a structure by which if you want to release photos of your child, as a member of the family, you first have to give them to the Royal Rota,” she explained. "Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N-word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child? You tell me how that makes sense and then I’ll play that game.” She also clapped back at critics who accused her of having impossible standards for privacy while part of the most famous family in the world. “Sorry, I have a problem with that," she said, noting that it's normal to want to pick up your child from school without it turning into a press event. "That doesn’t make me obsessed with privacy. That makes me a strong and good parent protecting my child.” Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
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