Motherhood hasn’t been all that Meghan Markle thought it would be.
On Tuesday, during an episode of her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast, the Duchess of Sussex spoke with Cassandra Thurswell, the founder of hair and beauty brand Kitsch, about becoming a mother to her two children with Prince Harry, and the expectations she had for herself.
“I will say, for myself, especially when they are baby babies and before I was a mom, I’ve always wanted to be a mom,” Meghan said. “I was like, ‘Oh gosh I’m going to give a speech with a baby on my hip.’ I had a whole vision.”
Despite her vision, other factors got in the way, preventing her plan from fully manifesting. In 2019, she and Harry welcomed their now six-year-old son, Prince Archie. One year later, the couple left the royal family and moved to California before Meghan gave birth to Princess Lilibet in 2021.
“Granted, I had a lot of external things happening by the time I had both pregnancies and both babies,” Meghan continued. “But it was not the way I envisioned it.”
Over the years, the As Ever founder has largely kept her children out of the public eye. However, she still has one priority when it comes to raising them. “For me, it’s so important my kids see me as a working mom,” Meghan said.
The discussion about her children comes one day after Meghan shared unseen family photos on Instagram in honor of her and Harry’s seventh wedding anniversary. She shared a picture of a notice board with a collection of snapshots from the couple’s private photo album.
The collage featured several never-seen-before pictures alongside handwritten notes outlining when and where each picture was taken, marking milestones throughout their relationship, which began in 2016.
“Seven years of marriage. A lifetime of stories,” the post was captioned.
“Thanks to all of you (whether by our side, or from afar) who have loved and supported us throughout our love story — we appreciate you. Happy anniversary!”
The earliest collection of photos showed the couple at the beginning of their relationship. One snap showed the pair taking a selfie in London while another saw them elephant-watching in Botswana for their second date.
Also on the board are pictures taken throughout the duchess’ pregnancy with their eldest child, Archie, as snapshots showed her baby bump and an ultrasound scan image.
