Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Stuns in First Appearance since Pregnancy Announcement
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are continuing to advocate for projects they care about as they prepare for the birth of their second child and amid their royal exit on Friday. The couple made their first surprise appearance since announcing her pregnancy and after their official royal exit at Spotify’s Stream event.
Sitting casually on a couch, 39-year-old Meghan and 36-year-old Harry talked about creating podcasts exclusively on Spotify with their production company, Archewell Audio. Meghan looked stunning in a lemon-print Oscar de la Renta dress, while Harry wore a white button-up shirt. Meghan’s eye-catching aqua blue dress retails for $3,490.
“We made Archewell Audio so that we can make sure to elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard and hear people’s stories,” Meghan says.
Harry adds, “And the biggest part of this is to create this community of where you can share, that will encourage everybody else to then share their own vulnerabilities within that safe space.”
Meghan and Harry’s partnership with Spotify was announced back in December. Archewell Audio will produce programming aimed at uplifting and entertaining audiences around the world. Listeners can look forward to original podcasts, which will be produced and hosted by the couple, all of which will have the goal of building community through shared experiences, narratives and values.
The couple’s 1-year-old son, Archie, made his podcast debut later that month during their holiday special. In addition, the special featured Elton John, Tyler Perry, Naomi Osaka, James Corden, chef José Andrés and more, who shared their thoughts on what they learned from 2020.
ET spoke to royal expert Katie Nicholl, who talked about what we can expect from the couple after their royal exit and after they were stripped of their patronages.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made headlines after they reached out to the Genesis Women’s Shelter in Dallas, Texas, through their non-profit foundation, Archewell, and supported them financially following the devastation of winter storm Uri.
“I mean, I think it is very interesting timing that just a couple of days after they are stripped of their royal titles, we see the duke and duchess not just back at work, but back doing essentially public service,” Nicholl says. “I mean, the people of Texas are saying that the duke and duchess have done more than any governor in terms of relief and aid, and that is what they have given through their charitable foundation. This is what we are going to see Archewell do much more of.”
“And I think that really was at the heart of Meghan and Harry’s statement, which was seen over here [in the U.K.] as a stinging …, but in fact was the Sussexes way of making it very clear that despite losing those royal patronages and military titles, they intend to dedicate the rest of their lives to public service, and this was step one in doing just that,” she continued.