Surprise! Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attended a virtual event one week after their pregnancy reveal.
“We’re using podcasting to drive powerful conversations,” the Suits alum, 39, said while promoting their production company during Spotify’s Monday, February 22, Stream On event. “We created Archewell Audio to make sure that we can elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard and hear people’s stories.”
The former military pilot, 36, chimed in, “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.”
The couple kicked off their podcast last month with a holiday special, featuring their 21-month-old son, Archie. Not only did the toddler speak into the microphone, calling it “fun,” but he repeated “Happy New Year” after his dad, complete with a giggle.
The little one’s parents announced on Valentine’s Day that they’re expecting baby No. 2. “We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” a spokesperson for the pair told Us earlier this month. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”
The former actress debuted her budding belly in a black-and-white picture at the time, her head resting in Harry’s lap. The couple grinned at each other while Markle touched her baby bump.
The stunning shot included a subtle nod to their previous miscarriage, photographer Misan Harriman said during a Tuesday, February 16, Good Morning America appearance. “Particularly for the many women going through this, this should give them strength to know there’s light in that dark place. It really means a lot,” the Nigeria native, 43, explained. “[The lighting signified] fortitude, hope and love.”
Harriman added at the time: “You don’t even see the image. You feel it. They are lost in each other. And the tree in the background and just life growing around them is incredibly powerful and symbolic. … In the age of COVID, it’s impossible obviously for me to be there to shoot it, so technology came to the rescue. I was able to remotely take over the iPad and they could hear my voice and it was conversational and the rest really is history.”
The announcement came days before Buckingham Palace revealed that Markle and Harry “will not be returning as working members of the royal family” after stepping back from their roles in January 2020.
“Following conversations with the duke, the queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of the royal family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the palace’s statement read on Friday, February 19. “The honorary military appointments and royal patronages held by the duke and duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty before being redistributed among working members of the royal family.”
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