Meghan Markle Shared The Advice A “Very Influential” Woman Gave Her Pre-Wedding

In May 2018, millions of royal admirers around the world watched on as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walked down the aisle at Windsor Castle. The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was the most anticipated royal event of that year and saw Markle officially become a member of the British monarchy, leaving behind the life she once knew. Speaking on the Nov. 15 episode of her Archetypes podcast, the Duchess disclosed some of the pre-wedding advice she received from an “inspiring woman” just a “few days” before her royal nuptials.

During the episode — titled The Audacity of The Activist — Markle revealed: “[The message was shared] by a very, very influential and inspiring woman, who for her own privacy, I won’t share who it was with you.” She continued: “But she said to me: ‘I know that your life is changing but please don’t give up your activism. Don’t give up, because it means so much to women and girls.’”

Markle went on to say that she did continue with her activism after getting married, not only because “it matters,” but because the unnamed woman “encouraged me to do so.” She added: “The collective voice of all us telling each other that matters is perhaps the point. There’s safety in numbers, but there’s also strength in numbers.”

The Duchess was joined on the podcast by her guests actor Shohreh Aghdashloo, director ​​Ilana Glazer, historian Lisa Tetrault, and actor Jameela Jamil, who told the former senior royal that she “can’t believe” the “unfathomable amount of s***” she is faced with in the public eye.

Adding that she has “fought” the Duchess’ corner in the media “for years,” Jamil concluded by saying that she is “so outraged by the twisting of this very normal, very kind, very civilised woman.” This she later called out via an Instagram post, too.

“I’m sure maybe you can’t keep this in or whatever, but the treatment of you – and I’m so sorry you’ve had to withstand it – it has re-highlighted for us the intense unkindness and bigotry and misogyny of our media,” Jamil said on the podcast. “I think and I hope and I feel faith that the tides are changing because so many of us are fighting back.” To which Markle simply replied by thanking her guest and friend “for fighting back.”

The Good Place star also thanked Markle for reaching out, as she does privately and often, to women who are having a “very, very hard time” to offer support during their “most lonely and desperate moments.” Adding, “I also just want to thank you, in a way that you know I probably didn’t get to at the time, but during some of my hardest moments where I’m being the most maligned and harmed by the media, and also by the public, you have been such a sobering voice of unwavering support to me. And people don’t know that you frequently reach out to women who are having a very, very hard time. Privately, you reach out to us. You don’t do it publicly. You don’t come to get any glory, but you privately reach out to us in our most lonely and desperate moments. We need more of that in the world. And so I just appreciate you and thank you for that because those are some hairy moments, and I needed that guidance.”