Meghan Markle opens up in interview with Ellen DeGeneres
Speaking with chat-show host Ellen DeGeneres, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex shared her excitement to spend time with her family in Montecito, California in what will be their second Thanksgiving since their controversial move to the US.
She said: “It’s our second Thanksgiving at home in California, so it will be nice.
“I love to cook. We’ll be home and just sort of relax and settle in.”
Ms DeGeneres, who also lives in Montecito, suggested she would like to join the royal couple and their children – two-year-old Archie and baby Lilibet.
She joked: “What time should we show up?”
It isn’t the first time Meghan, 40, has publicly spoken about Thanksgiving.
READ MORE: Meghan could be barred from US Presidency by 211-year-old constitutional amendment
Meghan shared what Thanksgiving will look like for her family on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Image: Getty)
In a post on The Tig, the lifestyle blog she wrote before marrying Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, she said: “Despite the contrast of my two worlds growing up, there was a powerful commonality: both my parents came from little, so they made a choice to give a lot – buying turkeys for homeless shelters at Thanksgiving, delivering meals to patients in hospice care, donating any spare change in their pocket to those asking for it, and performing quiet acts of grace – be it a hug, a smile, or a pat on the back to show ones in need that they would be alright.
“This is what I grew up seeing, so that is what I grew up being: a young adult with a social consciousness to do what I could, and to, at the very least, speak up when I knew something was wrong.”
The sitdown with Ms DeGeneres was Meghan’s first interview since welcoming Lilibet into the world last June.
The Duchess spoke out about her desire to ‘speak up’ for the causes she cares about (Image: CBS)
In the context of using her voice to advocate for change, the Duchess raised, once again, the issue of paid family leave in the US.
She said: “I think that people truly forget, or don’t even know, that in this country, it’s one of the only six countries in the entire world and the only wealthy nation in the entire world that does not mandate and have a federal paid leave programme.
“Everybody knows, especially if you have had a child and even if you haven’t, you know how hard it is and how critical it is in those first few weeks, if not months, to be together as a family.
“And the fact that we don’t offer that here is something that now, as a mom of two, I will do everything that I can to make sure that we can implement that for people.”
DON’T MISS
Prince Andrew’s royal comeback! Duke ‘plans to use Falklands War events’ to stage return [INSIGHT]
Furious Queen, Charles, William and Kate ‘to boycott BBC over Tittle tattle documentary’ [REPORT]
Kate swipes spotlight from Meghan with powerful new message [ANALYSIS]
Meghan Markle ‘wanting to get into politics’ says Eborn
Meghan used her time on air to address the issue of paid leave, which she is highly involved with (Image: Getty)
Last month, Meghan wrote a 1,030-word open letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Senate leader Chuck Schumer demanding American families are paid a proper wage when on parental leave.
Pointing out that millions of women have dropped out of the workforce to provide for their children since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, she called for a “strong paid leave program for every American that’s guaranteed, accessible and encouraged without stigma or penalty”.
The mother-of-two penned in the letter: “I’m not an elected official, and I’m not a politician. I am, like many, an engaged citizen and a parent.”
Later, in a New York Times DealBook online summit to discuss “top-down solutions” to create opportunities for women, she dubbed paid leave “a humanitarian issue”, adding: “We can all agree that people need support especially when they’ve had a child.”
Paid leave is included in US President Joe Biden‘s Build Back Better bill. However, it is opposed by Republicans and at least one key Democratic senator.
From her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, it is understood the Duchess is pleased about her decision to take a step back from the Firm.
She said of her life with Harry, 40, and their two young offspring in California: “The lifestyle, the weather’s pretty great.
“We’re just happy.”
Meghan Markle’s interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show will be broadcast on ITV2 within a week of its US release.