Meghan Markle reveals terrifying incident when Archie narrowly escaped a fire during South Africa Royal Tour

Meghan Markle has revealed what happened during the ordeal on her new podcast - and why it made her question the demands of her role

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu
(Image credit: Photo by Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty)

Meghan Markle has a new podcast that has given a deeper insight into the Duchess' time as part of the Royal Family, including a terrifying incident that left the family shaken. 


Meghan's Markle isn't one to hold back when it comes to saying what she thinks, so when news of a new podcast emerged we had no doubt she'd be covering some topical issues and championing the causes she believes in.

But along with discussing important issues such as motherhood and race, Meghan has also given more of an insight into her past experiences within the Royal Family, including a harrowing incident in South Africa, where Archie narrowly escaped a fire in his bedroom during the royal tour. 

Meghan told the audience that she and Harry had dropped off Archie with their nanny, who had taken Archie down to get a snack before putting him down in his nursery for a snack. While they were downstairs, the heater in his nursery caught fire and what would have made this an incredibly dangerous incident is that there was no smoke detector in the room in question.

What distressed Meghan further after the event was that she and Harry had to go on to make appearance at an official engagement, despite both being shaken. 

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit the British High Commissioner's residence to attend an afternoon reception to celebrate the UK and South Africa’s important business and investment relationship, looking ahead to the Africa Investment Summit the UK will host in 2020

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Speaking to Serena Williams, Meghan said, “We finish the engagement, we get in the car and they say there’s been a fire at the residence. What? There’s been a fire in the baby’s room,” she said. “We came back. And, of course, as a mother, you go, ‘Oh, my God, what?’

“Everyone’s in tears. Everyone shaken. And what did we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement. I said this doesn’t make any sense. We had to leave our baby… we still had to leave him and go into another official engagement.”

Not everyone has shown sympathy towards Meghan though, with Piers Morgan reacting with distain and tweeting, "He wasn’t even in the room & nobody was harmed. Can you imagine the Queen whining about having to an engagement in this circumstance?

"Markle’s victimhood knows no bounds, nor does her thirst to trash the royals whilst making $$$ from them. It’s shameless & pathetic."

Lauren Hughes

Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine.