Meghan Markle Opened Up About Her Biggest Dreams For Her Kids

Meghan Markle’s kids might still be young, but that isn’t stopping her from dreaming big for her kids. The Duchess of Sussex has been opening up on her podcast about her hopes for her kids and how she dreams that they will be able to do exactly what they want when they’re older.

In a recent interview with Variety, Markle, 41, was asked about how she’d react if her kids — one-year-old Lilibet Diana and three-year-old Archie Harrison — showed interest in being in entertainment. Markle says she would embrace her kids’ aspirations. However, she did add that she recognizes her children, whom she shares with husband Prince Harry, come from a legacy that requires certain expectations — obviously a reference to the royal family.

“When you become a parent, you genuinely want your kids to find the things that bring them complete joy,” she said. “They’re our kids, obviously, and they’re part of a legacy and a tradition and a family that will have other expectations.”

She also clarified that she’s not naive to the fact that if her kids do end up with successful careers — be it in entertainment or something else — they will likely be judged for where they came from or how they got their start. However, that’s not going to stop her from making sure her kids work hard while they find their footing and are kind to people along the way despite their unique upbringing.

“... I want them to be able to carve out their own path. If it’s the entertainment industry, great. And also, good luck. There are so many people that will talk about what opened the door for my children. But it still takes talent and a lot of grit. We’re creating multidimensional, interesting, kind, creative people. That’s who our kids are,” she explained.

She elaborated on her dreams for her kids, especially her daughter, during a recent episode of her podcast, Archetypes. While chatting with guests Paris Hilton and Iliza Shlesinger, Markle talked about her time on television. Meghan said she hopes her daughters will one day be known for her great intelligence and authenticity, rather than anything associated strictly with her outside appearance.

“Curious to hear your thoughts on this idea of, when I hear the word ‘bimbo,’ I have a very negative connotation to it. I don't see that as an aspirational thing for women,” Meghan told her guest. “I want our daughters to aspire to be…”

“Slightly higher,” fellow girl mom, Shlesinger, 39, replied.

“Yeah. I want my Lili to want to be educated, and want to be smart, and to pride herself on those things,” Markle added.

Markle told Variety that her interview with Shelesinger and Hilton was one she was most nervous for. “I was embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve had a judgment about her that’s based on everything I’ve seen, and I don’t like to come from a place of judgment. But I also didn’t grow up pretty,” she said.

When pressed on the idea that Markle, a former Deal or No Deal model and tv actress, wasn’t “pretty.”

“I grew up as the smart one,” she told the outlet.

On her podcast, she elaborated on this further. Around ages “10, 11” Markle never felt like a pretty girl and clung to the idea that she was the "smart one."

“That is all you have to hold on to. So, in any other moment, no one cared if I came to the party,” she explained to her podcast guests. "I had a crush on this boy named Chris!" she revealed, adding with a laugh that “I couldn't get Chris to look in my direction! You know?”

She explained that these kinds of thoughts growing up can shape who you are as an adult, changing and conforming to be more “desirable” as a woman — a connection she does not want for her daughter.

“Those are the things that sort of inform how you go, ‘Okay, well, if I could be prettier, or if I could be funnier,’ but again, that's that angling, constantly, as a woman, to try to be something that is desirable,” Meghan explained.

Meghan and Harry partnered with Spotify and their production company Archewell Audio in 2020. Meghan’s podcast, Archetypes, intends to "investigate the labels that try to hold women back.”

Listen to the entire podcast here.