Meghan Markle reveals emotional exchange with daughter Lilibet: ‘I hung onto those words’

The Duchess of Sussex told schoolchildren in Nigeria: ‘As I look around this room, I see myself in all of you as well’

Emma Guinness
Friday 10 May 2024 15:34 BST
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle enjoy musical performance as they arrive in Nigeria

Meghan Markle has opened up about a touching conversation she recently had with Princess Lilibet on the first day of her whistlestop tour of Nigeria.

The couple arrived to a warm welcome in the country this morning (10 May) to begin a three-day tour as private citizens to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.

Their first port of call was a school in the capital of Abuja, which is being supported by the couple’s Archwell Foundation.

While there, Prince Harry, 39, gave a speech to normalise mental health issues among the schoolchildren, telling them that it is “okay not to be okay.”

Meghan, 42, then opened up about a remarkable conversation she recently had with Princess Lilibet and used it to connect with the young people.

She told them: “Our daughter, Lili, she’s much, much tinier than you guys. She’s about to turn three. And a few weeks ago she looked at me and she would just see the reflection in my eyes. And she [goes], ‘Mama, I see me in you.’

Meghan said she saw herself in all of the children at a school in Nigeria (AFP/Getty)

“Oh, now she was talking really literally. But I hung onto those words in a very different way. And I thought, yes, I do see me in you, and you see me in you.”

She then asserted: “As I look around this room, I see myself in all of you as well.”

When Harry and Meghan were not sharing their insights, they were having fun and played games and danced with the young people.

Meghan said that “singing and dancing” is Lilibet’s “favorite class” because of “all the jumping around.”

They even took the opportunity to pose for a selfie with the schoolchildren, with Prince Harry seemingly taking the opportunity to pull a silly face in the background.

The trip appeared to be great fun for everyone involved (AFP/Getty)

The Prince’s arrival in Nigeria follows a brief visit to the UK, where he also marked the anniversary of the games, but without Meghan, who chose to skip this part of the trip.

He founded the event in 2014 to give wounded, sick and injured service people a chance to showcase their sporting abilities.

The couple were invited to Nigeria by Nigeria’s Chief of Defense Staff to mark the occaision and they are set to meet with injured service people later this afternoon.

Nigerian defence spokesman Brigadier General Tukur Gusau said he hoped that this would provide them with a much-needed morale boost.

“This engagement with Invictus is giving us the opportunity for the recovery of our soldiers,” he said.

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