Harry and Meghan want to ‘drive powerful conversations’ through podcasts

Harry and Meghan signed a multi-year deal last year with audio streaming service Spotify to host and produce podcasts. Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have appeared for the first time since Buckingham Palace confirmed their departure was permanent.

The couple feature briefly in a Spotify video which also has appearances from former US president Barack Obama, veteran rock star Bruce Springsteen and pop star Justin Bieber.

Harry and Meghan signed a multi-year deal last year with audio streaming service Spotify to host and produce podcasts.

So far, one episode has aired which saw their son Archie make his broadcast debut.

The couple giggled with delight as they coached Archie to say “Happy new year” during the final seconds of the show in December, which featured Sir Elton John speaking about his hopes for “healing” in 2021.

Commentators speculated that Harry and Meghan will have to draw in large audiences if they are to justify the lucrative contract their production company Archewell Audio signed.

In the Spotify Stream On video on Monday, Meghan, who is sat on a sofa next to Harry, says: “We’re using podcasting to drive powerful conversations.”

Harry continues: “That inspire, challenge, and educate.”

Former actress Meghan, dressed in a sleeveless dress, adds: “We created Archewell Audio to make sure that we can elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard, and hear people’s stories.”

Harry then says: “And the biggest part of this is trying to create this community of where you can share. We encourage everybody else to then share their own vulnerabilities within that safe space.”

Referring to the Stream On online event, the Spotify website says: “During Stream On, we’ll explore the power of audio, the journey of creation, and the opportunities ahead for millions of creators and billions of fans around the world.

“You’ll hear from a number of speakers, from global artists to Spotifiers to world-renowned storytellers.”

Harry and Meghan released this picture to announce the news they are expecting a second child Credit: Misan Harriman

The couple will not return as working royals and the Queen has stripped them of their royal patronages and Harry of his honorary military roles.

The Sussex camp retorted with a parting shot by saying “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal”, prompting accusations they were being disrespectful to the Queen and her decades of public duty.

The appearance in the video also comes after the couple announced they are expecting a baby.

They released a black and white picture of themselves, sat under a tree, with Harry gazing at his wife and resting his hand on Meghan’s head as she lay in his lap cradling her bump.

The couple quit their roles as senior working royals in March 2020 in a quest for personal and financial freedom, and now live in an £11 million house in Montecito in California.

Sixth in line Harry and former Suits star Meghan have been busy securing the funding for their new life, signing a lucrative deal with streaming giant Netflix, rumoured to be worth more than £150 million, as well as the multimillion-pound podcast deal with Spotify.

They have also been working on their Archewell charitable foundation, but caused controversy when Harry was accused of political interference after he urged people in the US to “reject hate speech” and vote in the presidential elections.

Harry and Meghan at a Queen’s Commonwealth Trust event, an organisation they no longer formally represent Credit: Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard/PA

Earlier this month, Meghan was granted a summary judgment in relation to her privacy legal action over the Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline’s publication of a letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle.

The judge ruled that the publication of the letter was “manifestly excessive and hence unlawful”.

Meghan said in a statement that the win was “a victory for all “because we all deserve justice and truth, and we all deserve better”.

She issued a deeply personal reaction after the judgment, thanking Harry, her mother Doria Ragland and her legal team for their “unrelenting support” that followed “two long years of pursuing litigation”.

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