Asked what she hopes her children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, see when they see her working, she refers to the homemade pots of jam that launched her business, As Ever.
“I hope they see the value of being brave,” she says.
Meghan pictured with her daughter Lilibet.Credit: Instagram
“They saw it when the jam was just a pot on the stove, bubbling. When you’re young, I think you are a little bit more fearless. As we get older, we lose some of that.”
Asked about fear of failure and learning from her past mistakes, the duchess says she tries to give herself the “same grace” she would her children.
“I’m a mom with kids at that age where they are constantly learning something new.
Loading
“I watch them face things that feel completely insurmountable every day. But you can remember and say, ‘I know it seems really hard right now, but trust me, that’s going to come so easily soon.’
“I can give myself the same grace as a founder. There’s no such thing as perfect. I, too, get to make mistakes.”
She adds: “There’s also not a lot of fun in trying to be perfect … so why try to do that if you want to have fun?”
Part of the interview was conducted at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which the magazine says was a “calculated choice” as it is “the see-and-be-seen spot for Hollywood dealmaking and politicking”.
Loading
Journalist Kaitlyn Greenidge writes: “During our conversation, Meghan pauses to chat with the restaurateur Michael Chow (she says his restaurant catered for a recent birthday for Prince Harry, or “H”, as she always refers to him) and has a whispered conference with a famous film titan.”
The interview resumes a week later at the New York home of one of Meghan’s friends.
“When I enter, the house manager announces, ‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’, even though we appear to be the only other two people in the house,” Greenidge notes with apparent bemusement.
Several friends, including tennis champion Serena Williams, are also roped in to provide effusive quotes for the magazine article.
“She’s just so smart, and I feel like no matter what, I can always learn from her,” says Williams of Meghan.
Former model and campaigner Kelly Zajfen adds, “Someone can show up in a time of need or grief. And oftentimes they don’t stay, or they’re only here for a short amount of time. But Meghan just always made herself available to all of us.”
The Telegraph, London
