When speaking at a women’s empowerment event in California, Meghan Markle was heckled by an audience member who demanded she recognize transgender rights.
The Duchess of Sussex, who turns 43 today spoke at the Afro Women and Power Conference on Sunday – her last day in Colombia with Prince Harry.
Markle had finished speaking in English and was about to translate her remarks into Spanish when someone shouted a question on transgender rights from the crowd. The footage of the interference has since been shared online.
To which Márquez, 42, calmly responded in Spanish to the heckler: “I’m talking about women in general. We’ve got a program for trans women as well.”
Nevertheless, Markle carried on and thanked the audience in Spanish for their support of Colombia halfway through her address.
In Spanish she said: “I would like to begin in Spanish because we are in your country, my husband and I, and I can feel this embrace from Colombia. Sorry if my Spanish is not perfect because I learned it 20 years ago in Argentina, but I’m trying here because I can feel this community and this feeling which is the best in the world,” she added.
The Duchess also opened up about her mother Doria Ragland and young daughter, Princess Lilibet in encouraging them to use their voices. “I find inspiration in the strong women around me of course my mother being one of them. So much of how I approach things is less about the fight, and more about how do we show up in a space and wash things over with love and kindness and generosity.”
“Those are the elements that inspire me — I know how it feels when you don’t utilize your voice when you need to be heard or have something to say,” Markle continued. “I encourage our daughter to do so — who at 3 has absolutely found her voice, and we are so proud of that.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent four days in Colombia, where they visited a school on the outskirts of Bogotá to watch students perform traditional music from across their country. In a video shared by Harper’s Bazaar, Harry looked on as the children danced around him. During an event at the Centro Nacional de las Artes Delia Zapata Olivella Markle even got in on the action, dancing up a storm herself.
The coinciding cultural trip, for example, also was the official announcement of Colombia participating in Prince Harry’s Invictus Games — a UK-based event created by His Royal Highness to support wounded, injured or sick military service members from around the world.
