Rachel Meghan Markle is 40 years young.
I call her by her birth name not to erase her title as Princess, Duchess and Prince Harry’s wife, but to give her the credit she deserves as a person, and who she was before she ever entered the Royal Family.
Rachel Meghan Markle began her journey to greatness long ago.
The 11-year-old girl who saw a sexist advert by Proctor and Gamble and decided to do something about it set the tone for everything that was going to follow. Meghan knew who she was as a young girl and never waivered. She knew she was destined for great things and never let anyone convince her otherwise.
In the decades following, she would become a successful actress, calligrapher, humanitarian, spokesperson, clothing designer and editor of a successful blog named The Tig.
This type of rise to prominence doesn’t happen overnight. It is a slow and steady jog to glory.
It takes hard work, determination, intelligence, grace and a calm head on your shoulders.
At 40, Meghan is at her prime. Family, friends, career and business affairs are all in place. I love this for her, especially after all that she’s been through, but, I also love it for all women. So often, women are made to feel like we’re failures for not having everything together by 30.
I do believe that women can have it all, BUT – and this is a big BUT, you can’t have it all at the same time, AND you can’t have it all without a proper support system.
It took Meghan 40 years to get it all; a committed partner who was willing to risk it all in the name of love, and family and friends who stood by her side when the most despicable hate campaign in modern celebrity history was waged against her.
What the British press and The Firm did to Meghan was unforgivable, it should never happen to anyone, and it almost broke her, but, inevitably, I believe it made her stronger. I believe that it was in her darkest moment Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, remembered that Rachel Meghan Markle was a fucking badass before she ever stepped foot into The Monarchy, and stepped fully into her power. The result, a woman who is now the most talked about on the planet.
The power – it was written in the stars for Doria’s flower.
To celebrate her 40th birthday, Meghan did what she does best – she gave back to others. Meghan launched the 40×40 project with some comedic help from comedian Melissa McCarthy, 39 of her other friends and associated charities. Each will mentor women reentering the work force after the disruption of covid.
On the Archwell blog Meghan said of the project:
In reflecting on my 40th birthday and the many things I am grateful for, I’m struck that TIME IS AMONG OUR GREATEST AND MOST ESSENTIAL GIFTS: Time with our loved ones, time doing the things we love, time spent learning, laughing, growing, and the sacred time we have on this earth. Amongst the most valuable gifts of time is also time spent in service to others, knowing that it can contribute to incredible change. To that last point, and with my 40th lap around the sun in mind, it made me wonder: what would happen if we all committed 40 minutes to helping someone else or to mentoring someone in need? And then what would happen if we asked our friends to do the same?
The list of people involved is a who’s who of the best of the best….
I demand to know who is getting that 40 minutes with Beyonce!
You have to wonder what was happening at Kensington Palace when this went live. Has anybody checked on Carole Middleton? There is no competing with this, and any attempts to replicate it would be hypocritical. Remember, Meghan was too Hollywood, too celebrity, and too for American for the Royals. Can the Royals try to engage in similar tactics now without looking like desperate copycats?
Royals cannot compete with celebrity, this is a fact, no matter how pompous and toffed nosed they try to be about it, they cannot escape this reality.
If you ever needed confirmation that the smear campaign has not worked – that Shutter Island is the only place still falling for the lies about Meghan – 40×40 is it. There is no way all of these elite stars would rally for Meghan’s project if they gave a damn what The Royal Family or British Press think.
This week has seen a flurry or articles claiming that famous people are picking sides between The Sussex’s and The Cambridges. Really? The choice if anyone is making it, is obvious. The Cambridges might be able to pull in a few photo ops by handing out OBE’s or other such trinkets, but authentic friendships and close collaborators, I doubt it.
You can’t compete where you don’t compare.
It never had to be like this, but I believe we have reached the point of no return. Harry and Meghan are on the way up, the other Royals should do the right thing and apologise to Meghan. Save face before it really is to late and no one wants anything to do with them.
Three cheers for Rachel Meghan Markle – Princess Henry Of Wales, The Duchess Of Sussex.