Meghan Markle's time as a working member of the Royal Family and the cruel nickname she was apparently given by palace staff was discussed by the former Suits actress in the episode of her Archewell podcast with Spotify.
As we reported earlier today the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s deal with the firm has ended after just one series of Meghan's podcast. Following a "mutual agreement" between the royals and the streaming giant, a joint statement from Archewell Audio and Spotify was released.
Meghan hosted only one series as part of the deal, thought to be worth around £18 million and Archetype ran for 12 episodes from August 2022, chatting to celebrities, historians and experts about the history of stereotypes levelled against women.
The Mirror reports the Spotify show is said to have been dropped by the streaming service because it "didn't produce enough content to warrant a full payout of the deal" Meghan and Prince Harry agreed to.
Some media commentators have suggested another reason the podcast was axed was because Spotify bosses felt their output was being "diluted" by similar contracts with the likes of Netfllix.
At the end of Meghan's last show, she appeared to address the cruel nickname given to her when she was a royal - "Duchess Difficult" - as well as other "labels that try to hold women back" in the episode alongside male guests TV producer Andy Cohen, movie director Judd Apatow and comedian Trevor Noah.
The Mirror reports she was known by this name because of reports of her sending off emails in the early morning hours and make "huge demands" of her staff.
Near the end of the episode, in which she chatted to businesswomen Mellody Hobson and Victoria Jackson, Meghan said: "I was just chatting with my girlfriends recently and I was asking them for the show, what a sort of archetypes, you think we should discuss and almost immediately unequivocally they all jump to difficult.
"That's the word you have to talk about difficult."
And as she signed off from the last of the 12 episodes of this series, she told listeners how it had made her "feel seen".
She added: "I heard a quote that I will share with you today because we talked about the label, tropes and boxes some may try to squeeze you into and the roles and stereotypes that are attributed to you, that don't quite fit the full person that you are.
“It's from a couplet within a piece of writing by Greek poet Dinos Christianopoulos and he says 'What didn't you do to bury me?'
"‘But you forgot that I was a seed to that point'. My friend, keep growing and I'll see you on the flip side as ever.”
According to royal expert and biographer Phil Dampier, the quote was aimed at the Royals, as he told The Sun : "I'm sure that it was a veiled reference to the restrictions of the Royal Family.
“It's a clever way of doing it because she’s not directly saying something but people can still read into it what they like."
He added: “Then if anyone takes offence she can say 'oh I didn't mean it like that’."
Tennis star Serena Williams, singer Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and actors Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu were among the guests on Archewell.
The joint statement from Archewell and Spotify said: “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”
Harry and Meghan signed the lucrative deal with the audio streaming giant to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around 25 million US dollars (£18 million), in late 2020.
In December, Archetypes won the top podcast award at the People’s Choice Award in Los Angeles.
Meghan wrote on the couple’s Archewell website at the time: “I loved digging my hands into the process, sitting up late at night in bed, working on the writing and creative.
“And I loved digging deep into meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them.
“It has been such a labour of love.”
The Wall Street Journal quoted an Archewell spokeswoman as saying Meghan was "continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform".
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here.
READ NEXT:
Removal of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's HRH titles backfires on King Charles, says expert
Prince William to get rid of one huge royal tradition that dates back centuries
Spotify axes Harry and Meghan's £18m podcast deal after one series of Archetypes
