My 'Incredible Partner': Meghan Markle Showers Praise on Prince Harry During Speech About 'Online Bullying'

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave a speech at South by Southwest's opening day panel titled: "Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Can Lead On and Off the Screen." While discussing her experiences dealing with "online bullying," the ex-actress shouted out to Prince Harry.

"I'm fortunate in that, among the privileges I have in my life, I have an incredible partner," she shared while pointing to the Duke of Sussex in the front row. "My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and my family. That I don’t take for granted."

"That is a real blessing," the ex-working British royal added. "But a lot of people don’t have that same level of support. So I think for us, it’s about putting safeguards in so women and moms especially cannot feel like they’re even more vulnerable when they go online."

In a rare moment of candid confession, Meghan Markle lashed out at those who gave her "cruel online abuse" while she was pregnant with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The Duchess of Sussex revealed to the crowd: "Oh, it’s really interesting, as I can reflect on it. I keep my distance on it right now, just for my own well-being. But the bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing in social media and online, was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili."

She continued: "And you just think about that and really wrap your head around what people would be so hateful." The ex-actress then leaned into her microphone to state: "It's not catty, it’s cruel, why you would do that? Certainly when you’re pregnant and you have a newborn."

While in Britain during her pregnancy with Prince Archie in late 2018 and the first two quarters of 2019, the Suits star alluded to "racist press coverage" of her unborn child. She and Prince Harry also suggested that a member of the royal family inquired about Archie's prospective skin color during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Meghan also took aim at "hateful" women during her panel interview, which has surprised many royal analysts due to her strong feminist views.

"What I find the most disturbing frankly, especially as a supporter of women, is how much of the hate is women completely spewing that to other women. I cannot make sense of that," the Duchess observed.

She then "plugged her website" to praise the "important and heartbreaking work" the Archewell Foundation is doing in this regard. This insight comes amid reports suggesting that the Montecito couple's foundation is in the red" with a staggering drop in donations in 2023 when compared to 2022.

Us Weekly reported on Meghan's speech.