Meghan Markle has postponed the release of her Spotify podcast, Archetypes, during the mourning period for the Queen. Just weeks after her interview discussing parenthood in The Cut, the Duchess of Sussex has decided to delay the release of any more episodes, writes The Mirror.
A message on the podcast's Spotify page said: "New episodes of Archetypes will be paused during the official mourning period for Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II." So far, Meghan had spoken with veteran tennis player Serena Williams, pop star Mariah Carey and actress and producer Mindy Kaling, on the much-anticipated podcast.
The period of "royal mourning" will continue until seven days after the Queen's funeral on Monday September 19. Buckingham Palace said last week that royal mourning will be observed by members of the royal family, Royal Household staff and representatives of the Royal Household on official duties, together with troops committed to ceremonial duties.
National mourning, meanwhile, continues until the end of the day of the Queen's funeral. Meghan and Harry signed a lucrative deal with the audio streaming giant to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around £18 million), in late 2020.
In the first episode with tennis star Serena Williams, the Duchess revealed how her and Harry’s son Archie narrowly escaped a fire in his bedroom when he was meant to be sleeping, during the Sussexes' tour of South Africa in 2019 - and how she had to go out after to do another official engagement.
But until this episode, the couple had only released one show so far - a holiday special featuring their son Archie and celebrity guests.
Archetypes was launched with the aim of investigating "labels that try to hold women back" through conversations between Meghan and historians, experts and women who have experienced being typecast. The pause comes after Harry paid an emotional tribute to his late grandmother on Monday, thanking the Queen for her "sound advice" and "infectious smile".
In a statement, he also described her as a "guiding compass" through her commitment to service and duty. The statement came two days after the duke and Meghan joined the new Prince and Princess of Wales at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
It marked the first public reunion of the brothers in months as they greeted well-wishers outside Windsor. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex spent almost an hour chatting to the crowds of thousands, alongside their wives, where Meghan was greeted with a sweet hug by a teenager.
Amelka Zak, 14, branded her hug with the Duchess of Sussex "amazing" and said that she wanted to show her she was "still welcome". Speaking to CNN, Amelka said: "We were just waiting for her to come and she came near me and asked my name and how my day was, how long I was waiting.
"And I asked her if I could have a hug, and she hugged me back. It was quite an amazing moment. I'm still shaking now." The 14-year-old went on to say she wanted to offer a warm welcome to the Duchess because of "everything that's happened".
"Everyone was kind of cheering me on and I guess I felt I needed to in a way because I look up to her and it felt like the right thing to do. I just wanted to like show her that she's, like, welcome here, I guess. And wanted to hug her after everything that's happened."
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