A resurfaced video of Meghan Markle’s eighth-grade graduation shows the then 14-year-old delivering a touching speech about the valuable lessons she learned as a middle school student.
The Duchess of Sussex, now 37, who grew up on Los Angeles, attended both middle school and high school at Immaculate Heart, a private Catholic school for girls located in the city’s Los Feliz neighborhood.
Meghan graduated from the eighth grade on June 8, 1995, and footage from the ceremony shows the teen wearing a white cap and gown while smiling among her peers.
Graduate: A resurfaced video shows Meghan Markle giving a speech at her eight-grade graduation
Born for philanthropy: The then 14-year-old talked about the environment and her ‘moral responsibilities’ in the speech
The video begins with the future royal and her middle school classmates holding flowers while walking down the church’s aisle in single file.
In another clip, Meghan is flashing a bright smile as she waits to receive her diploma. After her name is called, she accepts her diploma and gives the faculty member who handed it to her a hug.
When Meghan takes the stage, she addresses her family, faculty and friends with confidence at the start of her speech.
‘Today we are here to celebrate our graduation and to share our appreciation for our brief time at Immaculate Heart Middle School,’ she says.
‘Two years ago we came here as young girls — a bit frightened and overwhelmed and filled with wandering anticipation about our new school and what our future would bring.
Education: Meghan (front) graduated from Immaculate Heart Middle School in Los Angeles on June 8, 1995
Ceremony: The video begins with Meghan and her classmates holding flowers while walking down the church aisle in single file
‘Today we are proud and more confident young women on our way to high school.’
Meghan continues her remarks by taking note of all the things she and her peers should be thankful for, including the privilege of attending Immaculate Heart Middle School.
‘Today we acknowledge the women of the community and other people who keep Immaculate Heart going and growing,’ she says. ‘We are proud to be part of this great nation and it will always be in our hearts and prayers.
‘We have grown in many ways over these last two years — physically, academically, emotionally, and spiritually.
‘The academics were a challenge, but we learned to meet the challenge and steadily we prepared.’
Happy: The future royal flashed a bright smile before heading to her seat
Poised: Meghan was the picture of confidence when she took to the podium for her speech
Meghan explains that they ‘observed our fragile environment and developed a sense of personal responsibility to our Earth’ in science class and ‘learned about the experience of taking compassion for those who suffer from the AIDS virus.’
Raising awareness and showing compassion for those with HIV/AIDS was a cause that was near and dear to her future mother-in-law, the late Princess Diana of Whales.
In 1987, eight years before Meghan’s middle school graduation, Princess Diana made front-page news after she was photographed shaking hands with HIV-positive patients.
The gesture publicly dispelled the notion that the virus was passed from person to person by touch while showing the royal’s deep compassion for the sick.
In her speech, Meghan also touches upon the values she learned in the religion classes she took at the Catholic school.
Lessons: In her speech, Meghan said she and her classmates ‘observed our fragile environment and developed a sense of personal responsibility to our Earth’ in science class
‘We also learned to be organized and responsible individuals with an awareness of our moral responsibilities to our school and our community,’ she added
Although she attended Catholic school, her parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland raised her Episcopalian, and she later married a Jewish man. Meghan and her first husband, Trevor Engelson, divorced in 2013.
She never publicly identified herself as a member of one church or religion specifically until she became a member of the royal family.
Before her wedding to Prince Harry earlier this year, Meghan was baptized and confirmed in the Church of England.
Inspiring: Meghan also talked about having compassion for those suffering from AIDS. Her future mother-in-law, Princess Diana, publicly met with those diagnosed with the disease to raise awareness for it
However, in her speech, she credits her schooling for her spirituality.
‘Faith, hope, and respect for God and others, topics discussed during religion, helped us develop spirituality in our lives,’ she says.
In her graduation speech, Meghan explains how the ‘numerous pop quizzes’ she took in English class taught her to be ‘organized and properly prepared.’
She also recalls using water colors to paint nature scenes in art class and working up a sweat in PE.
Meghan, who is now known for her feminist believes, references African-American abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth, as well as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas, when speaking of the ‘courage and determination’ displayed by individuals in American history.
‘We also learned to be organized and responsible individuals with an awareness of our moral responsibilities to our school and our community,’ she says, ‘which we demonstrated when we adopted first and second graders from Immaculate Conception and Inner City School.’
As a student at Immaculate Heart, Meghan says she went on an eighth grade retreat, where she and her classmates ‘learned to better understand ourselves and our friends.’
‘We had culture days to share, celebrate, and demonstrate our ethnic and cultural differences,’ she says. ‘We learned about each other and made many new friends.
‘We also had disagreements and altered relationship, but we created many new lasting bonds,’ she adds. ‘Both the painful and happy times we shared here at Immaculate Heart will always be deeply valued.
Look: Meghan wore her dark hair down and donned a white cap and gown during the ceremony
Success: The crowd gave Meghan a round of applause after she finished her speech
Next stop: After she graduated from middle school, Meghan went on to attend Immaculate Heart High School
‘Now, as we enter high school, we go with the values instilled at Immaculate Heart Middle School.’
While speaking about entering high school, Meghan sheepishly raises her eyes after mixing up her words, but she doesn’t let the mistake break her concentration for long.
‘We will graduate from college, I mean, excuse me … We will graduate from high school in 1999 and begin college in the next century taking many different paths,’ she continues.
‘Some of us will go into politics, finance, entertainment, education and many other fields. But no matter what field we choose, we will always carry the spirit of Immaculate Heart with us.
‘And always and forever as women of great heart, dedicate ourselves to making it a better world.’
Royal work: On Thursday, Meghan delivered a speech about the women affected by the Grenfell Tower fires in London, while launching a cookbook to raise money for them
Heartwarming: The Duchess of Sussex was seen embracing two of the women involved in the Hubb Community Kitchen at the event at Kensington Palace today
Celebration: Meghan, seen with mother Doria and Prince Harry, wore a coat from Canadian brand Smythe and a skirt by friend Misha Nonoo at the launch event for the cookbook
Meghan has gone on to become one of the schools most famous alumni, and the school extended its best wishes to her following the news of her engagement to Prince Harry.
This week, the Duchess of Sussex has launched a charity cookbook supporting families affected by the devastating Grenfell Tower fire.
The 37-year-old said she was ‘so proud’ to live in the British capital as she delivered a three-minute speech — without any notes — at the launch event at Kensington Palace on Thursday.
She described how the charity cookbook was a ‘labor of love’ and a ‘passion project’ that she had been working on with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen for the past nine months.
The Together: Our Community Cookbook, which is now available in stores, is Meghan’s first solo project as a member of the royal family.