Meghan Markle gushes over ‘incredible’ husband Prince Harry

Meghan Markle has shared some sweet remarks about her husband Prince Harry while taking the stage at the SXSW panel.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, made an appearance on the panel in honour of International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March, alongside some famous faces, including Katie Couric and Brooke Shields. During the panel, which took place in Texas, Meghan spoke candidly about the challenges of motherhood, as she shares four-year-old son, Archie, and two-year-old daughter, Lilibet, with Harry.

While she noted that motherhood is “not perfect,” she went on to praise her husband, who was sitting in the audience at the event, for being such an amazing support system and father.

“I’m fortunate that amongst the privileges I have in my life, I have an incredible partner,” she said. “My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter for me and our family. And that I don’t take for granted, that is a real blessing.”

After acknowledging that many don’t have the type of support that she does, Meghan specified why she was being so open about her relationship with Harry, who she married in 2018.

“So I think for us, it’s about putting safeguards in so women and moms especially can not feel like they’re even more vulnerable when they go online,” she said.

Earlier in the panel, the Suits alum also opened up about the scrutiny she faced online as a mother herself. She specifically recalled the immense criticism and bullying that she faced while she was pregnant with her children.

“The bulk of the bullying and the abuse that I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant, with Archie and with Lili, and with a newborn with each of them,” she said. “And you just really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful? It’s not catty, it’s cruel.”

After noting that being pregnant is such “a sacred time,” she emphasised that she “can not make sense of” how individuals spread so much hate about each other online.

She also highlighted the detrimental effect social media can have, noting that “even if it’s making dollars, it doesn’t make sense”.

“The toxicity that comes at you, yes, social media is an environment that has a lot of that,” she said. “I keep my distance from it.”

The SXSW panel isn’t Meghan’s first time speaking candidly about motherhood and social media. During a panel discussion in October, titled “The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness in a Digital Age”, she acknowledged how much she loved being a parent.

“Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life - outside, of course, being a wife to this one,” she said, before addressing how “fortunate” she was because the negative effects of social media weren’t in her children’s “immediate future”. However, the duchess did feel “frightened” at how quickly social media is “continuing to change”.

“They say being a parent, the days are long but the years are short, so it worries me,” she explained. “But I’m also given a lot of hope and energy by the progress we’ve made in the past year being able to have these incredible parents, these survivors of these experiences, share their stories and the more information gathering we’re able to do, the more we can move the needle a little bit.”