Former United States First Lady, Michelle Obama, who is currently on a book tour for her new memoir Becoming, has offered some words of wisdom for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
The mother-of-two and author spoke to British magazine Good Housekeeping about adjusting to the pressures of the spotlight – and the advice she had for Meghan was unsurprisingly very profound.
“Like me, Meghan probably never dreamt that she’d have a life like this, and the pressure you feel – from yourself and from others – can sometimes feel like a lot,” Michelle explained.
“So my biggest piece of advice would be to take some time and don’t be in a hurry to do anything. I spent the first few months in the White House mainly worrying about my daughters, making sure they were off to a good start at school and making new friends before I launched into any more ambitious work. I think it’s okay – it’s good, even – to do that.”
Given the Duchess is pregnant with her first child, we can’t imagine she is raring to throw herself into any large, new projects. Having said that, Meghan’s ambitious and hardworking nature may see her try to attend formal engagements all the way up until she gives birth.
But we’d like to see her take a page out of Michelle’s book and take it easy as she adjusts to the royal spotlight and motherhood – after her exhausting royal tour of New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific, she definitely deserves a break.
WATCH: 6 of the best moments from Harry and Meghan’s royal tour of New Zealand. Story continues…
But Michelle’s advice didn’t stop there, she explained that when Meghan is ready – which likely won’t be for a while as Meghan will probably follow in Duchess Catherine’s footsteps and take a good amount of maternity leave – she can use her platform to make a positive change in the world.
“What I’d say is that there’s so much opportunity to do good with a platform like that – and I think Meghan can maximise her impact for others, as well her own happiness, if she’s doing something that resonates with her personally,” Michelle said.
Meghan’s charitable efforts since joining the royal family definitely reflect the her interests.
Her first solo charitable project was a cookbook called Together: Our Community Cookbook, and given Meghan is a known foodie and used to share recipes on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, this project was right up her alley. The Duchess co-created the book with women from the Grenfell Tower community to raise funds for victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Meghan is also a long-time supporter of gender equality and spoke numerous times on her royal tour about the topic, supporting her cause. The royal even mentioned New Zealand suffragist Kate Sheppard when she spoke at Government House!
So Duchess Meghan is certainly following in Michelle’s footsteps in that regard, we hope she listens to the rest of Obama’s words of wisdom – Meghan could certainly use a break before welcoming her child in April!
