During a visit to Macarthur Girls High School in Sydney on October 19, as part of the Royal Tour, Meghan told how her upbringing at an all-girls school and her first job “taking out the trash” had made her the person she is today.
The royal couple spoke to teenagers about equality, and the duchess said she felt “emotional” hearing their passionate views.
“You guys all remind me so much of myself when I was growing up,” she told the 14-year-old students. “I went to an all-girls school which was incredibly diverse as well.
“I think being around such empowered young women, it becomes something that you all just grasp onto to understand your world.
“It’s made you confident, well-spoken. You have an intention set to really do something to change the world, and you have to keep it up.
“It makes me so emotional. You’re doing really, really good work and I’m so happy that we’re here. We give you our full support.”
Meghan herself grew up in a challenging environment.
Her parents divorced when she was just six years old and she spent a lot of time living with her dad Thomas Markle who was lighting director.
“Every day after school for 10 years, I was on the set of Married ... with Children, which is a really funny and perverse place for a little girl in a Catholic school uniform to grow up,” Meghan told Esquire.
“There were a lot of times my dad would say, ‘Meg, why don’t you go and help with the craft services room over there? This is just a little off-colour for your 11-year-old eyes.’”
Her mother Doria Ragland who was a social worker at the time, also took her to the slums in Jamaica and Mexico when she was just 10 years old.
