Meghan Markle gave a rare insight into her life with husband Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, after their recent trip to Nigeria.
“We’re just doing great,” Meghan, 42, told People in an interview published on Tuesday, May 14, about her life in California with Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 2. “And happy to be watching our family grow up and evolve. Of course, I’m happy. We’re really happy.”
Meghan’s update comes on the heels of her and Harry’s “meaningful” three-day trip to Africa, visiting at the invitation of Nigeria’s chief of defense staff, General Christopher Musa. Much of their trip highlighted the Invictus Games. (Nigeria joined the Community of Nations in 2022 and became the first African country to join the Invictus movement.)
“These trips are about us being able to go out and go and focus on the things that mean so much to us. And being able to be on the ground, to us, is what it’s all about,” the Duke of Sussex, 39, told the outlet, with Markle agreeing, “It’s really meaningful. Just being able to connect to people … that’s what makes it special.”
The duke and duchess visited Nigeria Unconquered, an Invictus-affiliated charity, and a military hospital in Kaduna. “That experience of knowing what life, post-injury, is like gives people so much hope. And hope, hope, hope is a huge part of this,” Harry said.
This trip was even more impactful for Meghan after discovering she is 43 percent Nigerian. The former actress noted she was excited to learn about her “heritage” that she will be “able to share with my children,” adding, “That’s such a special thing as a mother to know you can do.”
The couple spent part of the trip focusing on mental health while addressing students at Lightway Academy. Meghan shared poignant words from her 2-year-old daughter, Lilibet, who said, “Mama, I see me in you.” Meghan couldn’t help thinking of her toddler’s statement as she told the group, “Looking around this room, I see myself in all of you as well.”
“I always reflect back on myself as a young girl and the type of inspiration that I wanted to see in other women. I hope in some small way I can be a part of that for a lot of these young girls especially,” Meghan told People. “I saw myself in them. I see the potential in all of these young girls — and, by the way, in these young boys, as well.”
Meghan charity work with young people is inspired by her own kids. “It’s what we see in our own children — to give them that promise and excitement for their futures,” she said.
Meghan and Harry did a tour of Africa in 2019 while they were working members of the royal family. The following year, they stepped back as senior royals before separating themselves from Harry’s family completely in an attempt to find financial independence. They relocated to California, where they currently reside with their children.
While they are no longer working royals, Harry has continued his work with the Invictus Games. He commemorated the 10th anniversary of the event earlier this month in London, although no royal family members attended.