Meghan Markle podcast - live: Duchess credits Archie’s nanny for saving him from nursery fire

Meghan Markle’s podcast series Archetypes has launched on Spotify.

On Tuesday (23 August), the first episode of the Duchess of Sussex’s long-awaited podcast was released. The podcast has been made by Spotify and the Sussexes’ production company. Archewell Audio

The first episode of Archetypes features an interview between Markle and Serena Williams, who recently announced that she was retiring from tennis.

You can read Isobel Lewis’ full report here.

Fans react as Meghan Markle drops first episode of Archetypes podcast

Following the release of Meghan’s new podcast series on 23 August, fans rushed to social media to praise the duchess for her honest debut episode.

“Love this conversation with Meghan Markle and Serena Williams,” tweeted one fan. “Hell yes women should be ambitious — and praised for it.”

“When Meghan said as young girls we are usually so fearless and then we grow more insecure as we grow up because we get aware of the archetypes thrown at us, I really felt that,” said someone else.

“I’m loving the relaxed, articulate and insightful episode of Archetypes with Meghan and Serena Williams,” another fan wrote. “Good job!”

Meghan Markle released the podcast Archetypes on Spotify in collaboration with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s audio production company, Archewell Audio.

Meredith Clark has more social media reactions from fans here.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry reportedly signed a $25m deal with Spotify

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a deal with the streaming giant in December 2020 that will see the couple creating exclusive content with their newly formed Archewell Audio production company.

“What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another without distraction,” the couple said in a statement at the time.

“With the challenges of 2020, there has never been a more important time to do so, because when we hear each other, and hear each other’s stories, we are reminded of how interconnected we all are.”

Following the news of the multi-year deal, Spotify’s chief content and advertising business officer Dawn Ostroff released a statement: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may live in California but the power of their voices rests in their status as citizens of the world.”

“That they are embracing the extraordinary capacity of podcasts on Spotify while also seeking to elevate underrepresented voices is a testament to their appreciation for the potential of audio storytelling.”

Read the full story from Chelsea Ritschel here.

Meghan Markle teases first episode of Archetypes podcast back in March.

In a preview clip released on Spotify last March, the duchess began by acknowledging some of the stereotypes and labels that are used to define women.

“This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us,” she said.

“But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up and defining our lives? I’m Meghan, and this is Archetypes, the podcast where we dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.”

On social media, the preview clip was met with support from fans, who praised the duchess’s choice of topic.

Chelsea Ritschel has the full report here.

Serena Williams tells Meghan Markle she delayed motherhood for as long as she could due to tennis career

Serena Williams revealed during the first episode of Meghan’s new podcast series Archetypes that she postponed growing her family for as long as possible, in order to continue her tennis career.

The recently retired tennis champion told her longtime friend that she wasn’t afforded the luxury of time that her male peers had when it came to starting a family.

“I really want to expand my family, and you know I’ve been putting it off for so long, and as a woman there’s only so long you can put that off and other people out there, other men out there, can continue to play,” Williams said.

Williams, who announced her retirement in a personal essay forVogue earlier this month, said she will never fully “retire” from tennis.

“I will never retire from something I absolutely love,” she said.

Saman Javad has the full story here.

Meghan Markle reveals that the media once confused her with tennis pro, Serena Williams.

In the first episode of her Spotify podcast Archetypes, the Duchess of Sussex joked that a report had falsely claimed that she was from Williams’ hometown of Compton, California.

“This morning, I was saying to Harry: ‘Do you remember when they said, ‘Harry’s girl is straight outta Compton?’ I was like, are they talking about Serena?” Meghan said.

“I’m like, I’m not from Compton, I’ve never lived in Compton, my mum’s never lived in Compton but by the way what’s wrong with Compton? My girl Serena’s from there.”

“I can’t claim Compton,” Meghan added. The duchess explained that she did grow up in Los Angeles, just not in Compton.

The false report had circulated when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in 2017.

Olivia Petter has the full story.

Four major revelations from the first episode of Meghan Markle’s podcast, Archetypes

The Duchess of Sussex shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her life with Prince Harry and their two children — Archie, three, and Lilibet, one — during the first episode of her Spotify podcast series.

Meghan admitted to close friend and tennis star Serena Williams that she was “under a lot of stress” during her pregnancies. Meghan announced her first pregnancy in October 2018 and gave birth to son Archie in May 2019, when she and Prince Harry were still senior members of the royal family.

In June 2021, the couple welcomed their second child, daughter Lilibet, just 18 months after they had stepped down from their royal duties.

The duchess also revealed that she didn’t realise ambition was a negative word until she began dating her now husband. She explained that meeting Prince Harry affected her understanding of ambition.

“I don’t remember ever personally feeling the negative connotation behind the word ambitious until I started dating my now husband,” she said.

“And um, apparently ambition is, uh… a terrible, terrible thing, for a woman that is – according to some.”

Meredith Clark has more shocking revelations from the debut podcast episode here.

“There is an element of, in this country, [people] who don’t actually like foreigners. Even though the royal family is German,” Greer said on Piers Morgan Uncensored, which was hosted by Jeremy Kyle.

The Duchess of Sussex re-told the story of how she was interviewed on TV as an 11-year-old schoolgirl on Nickelodeon in 1993 for writing a letter to Procter & Gamble over the language of their advert for Ivory dish soap.

Here is how The Independent told that story back in 2018.

The royal family isn’t working for anyone — even the royals.

Clemence Michallon has more.