Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share disappointing news with fans in statement

Disappointing news for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been confirmed as the couple have shared a statement ahead of a major day for King Charles. 

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released a new statement days before His Majesty’s first Trooping the Colour parade as monarch.
• Prince Harry and Meghan confirmed that they’ve “mutually agreed to part ways” with Spotify and her Archetypes podcast isn’t renewed for a season 2.
• This royal news comes as Queen Camilla’s emerald patterned shirt dress left us green with envy as she bestowed a regal name on a special trainee.  

The Royal Family are preparing to come together to mark King Charles’ first official birthday parade as monarch at Trooping the Colour 2023. This major milestone will see King Charles rising to the challenge and riding on horseback before making an iconic Buckingham Palace balcony appearance. Two royals who aren’t expected to attend the big day, though, are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. However, whilst fans might not get a glimpse of them this weekend the couple have spoken out to share a recent update with fans on one of their projects.

There’s sad news for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they confirmed in a joint statement with Spotify that their deal has come to an end. This in turn means that Meghan’s Archetypes podcast which premiered in August last year will also not be returning for a second season.

The Sussexes and streaming giant declared, “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”

The high-profile contract between Spotify and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been estimated to be reportedly worth around $25 million back in 2020 when it was announced. Archetypes is perhaps the biggest project to emerge from the deal and the first season ran for twelve episodes from August to November 2022.

Guests on Archetypes ranged from DJ and businesswoman Paris Hilton to tennis star Serena Williams as Meghan led insightful discussions about the terms and stereotypes too often used to try to “hold women back”. 

It also saw her reveal some unique personal insights, from Meghan Markle revealing how dating Prince Harry changed her perspective on a “dirty word” to her sharing how she was “re-thinking” her parenting style to help Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet be more “self-sufficient”.

In December it went on to be named Top Podcast at the People’s Choice Awards and took to her and Prince Harry’s Archewell site to express her gratitude to Archetypes’ fans. She also shared how deeply involved she was in every aspect of the podcast, calling it her “labor of love”.

“I loved digging my hands into the process, sitting up late at night in bed, working on the writing and creative,” she explained.

Meghan continued, “And I loved digging deep into meaningful conversation with my diverse and inspiring guests, laughing and learning with them, and with each of you listening. It has been such a labor of love with an amazing team who were each instrumental in helping to bring this series to life.”

Now with the sad news for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, this “labor of love” has unfortunately come to an end, although it's thought that the podcast may be set for a relaunch alongside another streaming service. 

Fans of Harry and Meghan have taken to social media to express their disappointment over the news. 

"That's a shame, I loved the podcast," one wrote, while another added, "That’s a shame enjoyed it so much...Onwards to bigger and better things."

"I hope she does more similar work in future," a third supporter added.