Meghan says her mom is likely one of the girls that conjures up her probably the most

The Duchess of Sussex said her mother is one of the women who inspires her the most during her ‘Afro women and power’ speech on the final day of her quasi-royal tour of Colombia.

Meghan Markle paid tribute to her mother Doria Ragland and gushed over her three-year-old daughter Lilibet at the event in the city of Cali’s theatre while Prince Harry sat in the audience.

She told the crowd her go-to tale about how she wrote to Procter & Gamble aged 11 to ask the brand to change its ‘sexist’ soap commercial – and argued it showed the importance of people using their voice.

The Duchess said: ‘[I] encourage our daughter […] at three she has found her voice and we are so proud of that.

‘For me I find inspiration in so many of the strong women around me. My mother being one of them. Life is full of surprises and can be quite complex.

‘So much of how I approach things is about less of the fight and how do we wash things over with love and kindness and generosity.

‘You see something wrong and you go and fix it. As women we are multi-taskers and fixers. We all know how much representation matters.’

Doria Ragland, 67, is the American mother of Meghan, 43, and the ex-wife of Thomas Markle.

She married Mr Markle in 1979 but they divorced in 1987 and Ms Ragland raised their daughter Meghan as a single parent. 

The mother-daughter pair are close, with Ragland still calling her daughter ‘Flower’. She attended Meghan’s wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 and also reportedly moved in with the couple and their son Archie in California in 2020. 

She worked as social worker and a yoga instructor who has worked with the geriatric community. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a nurse mother and an antique dealer father and moved to Los Angeles with her family when she was a baby.

In 2022 she became an unexpected star after she took a leading role in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix series.

The series showed intimate family photos show the grandmother to Archie and Lilibet celebrating key milestones including Archie’s first birthday. 

And in the first half of the second episode, Doria takes centre stage, saying she’s now ready for her voice to be heard on the couple’s story – and revealing how she felt when the world first learned her daughter was dating her a prince.

She tells the series she wanted to share ‘a little bit of my experience as her mom’ – including how she raised the Duchess ‘with a network of women’. 

It was the first time Doria had spoken so freely to the camera about her daughter’s relationship – showing just how close she remains to the duke and duchess.

She also reveals she instantly knew Prince Harry was ‘The One’ for her daughter from their first meeting.

Speaking straight to camera, the mother was quizzed by producers about the first time her daughter told her about her new royal romance back in 2016.

Recalling their phone conversation, Doria says Meghan – who was starring as Rachel Zane in Suits at the time – whispered: ‘Mommy, I’m going out with Prince Harry.’

Doria said: ‘I started whispering [and said] “oh my god!”

During that first call, Meghan told her mother she needed to keep her relationship a secret.

She explained: ‘From the beginning, it was very sort of… nobody could know.’

Doria then went on to share her first impressions of her son-in-law – but didn’t reveal where or when the meeting took place.

She continued: ‘He was this 6’1 handsome man with red hair, [he had] great manners. He was just really nice. They look really happy together.

‘He was The One.’

The mother and daughter also recount their experiences of the duchess’ childhood, with Meghan saying people assumed Doria was her nanny.

Doria says she felt like her daughter was ‘very mature’ and ’empathic’ – and shares how Meghan once told her she viewed her as a ‘controlling older sister’ rather than a mother.

Doria and Meghan are very close, and Doria made another cameo on daughter’s podcast in 2022, when she FaceTimed her while she was recording.

The Duchess of Sussex said the spontaneous moment made her reflect on the way in which Doria, who lives close by in Los Angeles, has supported her throughout her life.

Elsewhere in the discussion Meghan opened her intervention by speaking in Spanish and calling Colombian Vice President Marquesa  ‘my friend’, before going on to pay tribute to Harry in English.

The Duchess learned Spanish in 2002 when interning at the U.S. embassy in Argentina.

To a huge cheer Meghan 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.

‘It’s incredible, so many, many thanks, because the culture, the history, everything has been like a dream on this trip.

‘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: ‘So thank you very much to the vice president, my friend, many thanks.’

At the end of the speech Harry joined his wife on stage for a group photograph – holding hands on stage with her – and they were later due to meet ‘young people’ in the region before heading off to the festival later in the afternoon.

The Duchess wore a sleeveless white shirt with a patterned skirt, while her husband opted for another light-coloured shirt for the event.

Earlier in the day, the couple arrived at Cali’s municipal theatre just before 11am local time and were ushered to their front row seats.

Next to them was vice president Francia Marquez – the first black woman to hold the position – who is showing the pair around the city.

The Duke and Duchess clapped as the forum was introduced and the panel of six women took their seats.

As they were introduced the forum host pointed out that they had entered the theatre to a love song, and Meghan was pictured nodding and laughing.

Harry was seen passing bottles of water along the row to Meghan and other VIPs as the event kicked off.

He listened through an ear piece to a simultaneous translation and at points Meghan could be seen nodding her head as the panel spoke.

Colombia has the third largest population of African descent after Nigeria and Brazil and the couple’s host for their trip is vice president Marquez.

The Afro women in power forum will appeal to Meghan, who has referenced her Nigerian ancestry several times.

Ms Marquez and the Duchess are said to have developed a ‘close bond’ in the last few days since meeting in person, and have been pictured hugging warmly each time they meet.

Speaking in 2014 to Amnesty, Ms Marquez said Colombia’s Afro women ‘must keep going’, despite the risks they face.

She believed women have a key role to play because their ‘caring instinct’ drives them to protect not only their children, but also their territory, the environment and their communities.

‘We need to feminize politics and fill humanity with maternal love,’ she said.

‘War has always been driven by machismo, by the patriarchy and by business between men. I think these men need to stop being so aggressive in life and think about feminizing themselves.’

Meanwhile the Petronio Alvarez music festival Harry and Meghan which they will attend is the largest Afro-Colombian celebration in the country and held every August.

It opened earlier this week and ends tonight with a ‘battle of the bands’ and draws heavily on Afro-Colombian groups, with stalls selling food and dancing through the streets and the main stage is at a sports complex called Unidad Deportiva Alberto Galinda.

Since its foundation in 1997 it has evolved into a significant celebration of Afro-Colombian music and culture in Latin America.

It was aimed at uniting artists from Colombia’s Pacific coast and giving them a platform to express and celebrate their rich cultural heritage.

Ana Copete, the director of last year’s version of the festival, said at the time: ‘What this festival has done in the past 27 years is to tell Colombia and the world that we are a multi-ethnic and multicultural country.

‘We, as Afro-Colombians, have forged the identity of this country; we have built this country, hand in hand with others. And we deserve the dignity of our culture, not only as folklore but as a way of life.’

But critic Addo Obed Possu, who makes drums and other traditional instruments for the festival, was quoted in a report last year as claiming it was becoming too political.

He cited the inclusion of big acts like salsa band Grupo Niche he said had nothing to do with the musical culture, saying: ‘It takes away funds from a black musician, who comes from the deep territories of the Pacific Coast, to perform traditional music and be on the spotlight during the festival.

‘For example, with the amount of money they pay Grupo Niche, they could double the pay of each of the groups that come from the four participating regions.’