Princess Lilibet’s first day of preschool already carried the emotions that come with watching a child reach a new milestone. But for Meghan Markle, the morning also opened an unexpected door to her own childhood.

While dropping off 5-year-old Lilibet for pre-K, the Duchess of Sussex was approached by another mother. As they spoke, Meghan suddenly realized they had known each other years earlier: the two women had belonged to the same Girl Scout troop.

The coincidence brought Meghan back to her childhood in Los Angeles, when she participated as both a Brownie and Junior Girl Scout. Her mother, Doria Ragland, was deeply involved as well, serving as Meghan’s troop leader. Meghan described encountering her former troopmate again as a nostalgic and particularly sweet surprise.

The full-circle moment arrived as Girl Scouts were already on Meghan’s mind.

She and Prince Harry served as executive producers of Cookie Queens through Archewell Productions. Directed by Alysa Nahmias, the coming-of-age documentary follows four Girl Scouts through cookie season, focusing not only on selling cookies but also on the confidence, pressure, resilience and leadership that develop along the way. The film became Archewell Productions’ first theatrical release when it opened in theaters on Aug. 7.

For Meghan, now a mother to Lilibet and 7-year-old Prince Archie, participating in the project revived memories of her own Girl Scout years while giving those experiences new meaning.

She emphasized the value of showing girls learning entrepreneurship, financial literacy and the discipline required to work toward their goals. Meghan sees those young participants not simply as children taking part in a familiar American tradition, but as potential future leaders whose early experiences can help prepare them for adulthood.

Motherhood has made that message even more personal.

When asked whether the documentary affected her differently now that she is raising a daughter herself, Meghan’s answer was immediate: “100 percent.”

That reaction fits with something she has previously expressed about Lilibet—her hope that her daughter can grow up seeing firsthand what it means to pursue meaningful work while also being a mother. Meghan has spoken about wanting the things she creates and advocates for to become part of what Lilibet observes and, perhaps eventually, carries forward herself.

That is what made the preschool encounter unexpectedly meaningful.

On a morning centered on Lilibet beginning a new chapter, Meghan came face-to-face with someone connected to one of her own earliest experiences of friendship, learning and independence.

Years after standing beside other girls in a Scout troop led by her mother, Meghan was now standing outside a preschool as a mother herself.

For one brief moment at drop-off, her daughter’s beginning and her own childhood seemed to meet in exactly the same place.