Meghan pays heartfelt tribute to friend and mentor Gloria Steinem

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has offered a heartfelt tribute to her "friend and mentor" Gloria Steinem.

The journalist and iconic activist passed away "peacefully" on Wednesday, "surrounded by some of the many who loved her" at her home in New York City. She was 92.

The Duchess of Sussex, 45, took to Instagram to pay tribute to Steinem in a lengthy post, complete with pictures including an outdoor snapshot of the two of them sitting in lawn chairs, as well as a framed photo of the late activist with the Duchess and Prince Harry's now-seven-year-old son, Prince Archie.

"Celebrating the life and legacy of my friend and mentor, Gloria Steinem, and also grateful to know that in these last few weeks and days she knew exactly how loved and admired she was," the caption began.

Meghan reflected on her many "accolades" as well as the "way in which she helped shape the world for women and all people" and how the two had "brainstormed how to help this beautiful yet complicated world to become more equitable".

Fondly remembering Steinem spending Thanksgiving with herself and Prince Harry, she described her as "even better than you would imagine".

Meghan also recalled her favourite story about Steinem, writing, "My very favorite story about GLO is when she was out one day in NY, and a woman approached her in absolute awe and said she wanted to introduce her young daughter to her (though she was embarrassed to say the young girl may not know who she was). Gloria replied: 'It doesn't matter if she knows who I am. What matters is that she knows who SHE is.'"

"Rest in peace, and rest in pride. Look at what you've done for all of us. Thank you," the caption concluded.

Tributes have poured in for the legendary feminist. Among them, actress Julianne Moore told her Instagram followers that she was "so lucky" to play Steinem in the 2020 film The Glorias.

"Everything I watched, everything I read, everything I observed about her gave me a template for how I wanted to behave," she captioned a photo from the set. "Her honesty, her tolerance, her patience, and her insistence on humanism and inclusion as she moved through the world offers us all a moral roadmap. Thank you for all you gave us, Gloria."