Meghan Markle Honors Gloria Steinem: "Rest in Peace, and Rest in Pride"
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem died peacefully at age 92, and among the voices paying tribute was Meghan Markle, who called Steinem "my friend and mentor" in an Instagram post on September 3.
Steinem, born in 1934, co-founded the Ms. Foundation and spent decades as one of the most recognizable leaders of the American women's movement. Her death prompted an outpouring of gratitude across social media, with writers and feminists sharing remembrances on Instagram, according to the BBC. The Guardian's community team invited readers to contribute their own tributes and memories.
Meghan's tribute stood out for its personal detail. She recounted that Steinem once told a woman in New York City: "It doesn't matter if she knows who I am. What matters is that she knows who SHE is." Meghan also wrote about a bracelet Steinem had given her, engraved with the words "we are linked, not ranked" — a phrase Steinem long used to describe the egalitarian spirit of feminism. Meghan said she still wears it with pride, according to Town & Country.
The two women met in 2020, when they sat together making phone calls to thank voter registration organizers. A post on Meghan and Prince Harry's official website, sussex.com, titled "Honor Those Who Came Before Us; Protect Those Who Come After Us," echoes the civic engagement that first brought them together. The post states that the Duchess believes exercising your civic voice is how we honor those who came before us and protect those who will come after us.
Their friendship deepened over the following years. In 2023, Steinem presented Meghan with a Women of Vision award from the Ms. Foundation — the organization Steinem co-founded to support women's grassroots activism.
Meghan closed her tribute with a direct address to Steinem: "Rest in peace, and rest in pride. Look at what you've done for all of us. Thank you."
For an American audience that knows Meghan primarily as the Duchess of Sussex, the tribute is a reminder that her public life has always included activism alongside royalty. She married into the British monarchy in 2018 and stepped back from senior royal duties in 2020, relocating to California with Prince Harry. Her friendship with Steinem took root in that same period — two American women with platforms, making cold calls for democracy.
What gives the tribute its weight is the lineage it draws. Steinem, born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1934, became a journalist before she became an icon, writing for publications including New York magazine and co-founding Ms. magazine in 1972. Meghan, born in Los Angeles in 1981, came to feminism through her own platform and her own generation's questions. The bracelet inscription — "we are linked, not ranked" — is the thread connecting them.
Tributes continued to flow throughout the day. Steinem died peacefully, according to media confirmations reported by Hello! and Yahoo News. She was 92.
