Meghan Markle gave the keynote address at the One Young World international summit of young leaders, held Monday at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. There she assured that it was “very nice to be back in the UK”.
In just seven minutes, the Duchess of Sussex talked among other things about Prince Harry and the “transformative” impact of becoming a mother, but what was controversial about the speech?
Meghan Markle’s speech at One Young World
Meghan used her prepared and possibly millimeter-rehearsed speech to talk about how her life has changed over the years since her relationship with Prince Harry became public. She chatted about gender equality, the importance and change of becoming a mother, her pride in being a mother and her experience as a duchess.
Meghan’s staunch critics have claimed that in her speech she only talked about her. The Daily Mail has highlighted that in the seven minutes of talk she made up to 54 references to herself in a direct way, with words like “I”, “my” or “me”.Meghan, 41, told the young people about how she first got involved with the organization in 2014.
“Have any of you had that feeling of that pinch yourself moment where you just say, ‘How am I here?” she asked the crowd at The Bridgewater Hall. On that first meeting in 2014: “It’s a lot, and at that dinner we were like 20 to 30 counselors, and there was me, the Suits girl,” she said with a chuckle.
Revealing that she was “overwhelmed” to sit next to world leaders, humanitarians and activists she had long admired, the Archetypes presenter admitted that she even kept her place card from the 2014 summit in Dublin as “proof” that she was there.
The Duchess also fondly recalled attending the flagship One Young World event in Ottawa in 2016 and London in 2019.
“At that point, it’s fair to say that my life had changed quite significantly. I was now married and now a mother,” she said, as the audience applauded.
“My view of the world had expanded exponentially by seeing the global community through my son’s eyes and wondering ‘What is this world that he would come to adopt’ and ‘What can we do, what can I do to make it better?”
In her speech she did not hesitate to thank Prince Harry for his support.
“I’m thrilled that my husband is able to join me here this time, so he can see and witness firsthand my respect for this incredible organization and all that it offers, as well as accomplishes,” Meghan said with a smile. “One Young World has been an integral part of my life for so many years before I met him, so to find myself back here in the UK with him by my side makes it all feel like a full circle.”
Since its launch in 2009, the One Young World community has grown to a network of more than 13,700 ambassadors, and its projects have impacted 35.8 million people worldwide, according to the organization.