Harry and Meghan are seen for first time since announcing pregnancy

Harry and Meghan are seen for first time since announcing pregnancy

02/26/2021

Singing for their supper: Prince Harry and pregnant Meghan Markle make first appearance since quitting royal family and announcing second child as they plug their podcast at Spotify live stream event

  • Pregnant Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have made a surprise appearance 
  • The Duke and Duchess of Sussex now live in California after quitting the Firm
  • Couple announced they are expecting their second child on Valentine’s Day 

Prince Harry and his pregnant wife Meghan Markle have made their first appearance since quitting the royal family and announcing their second child together. 

The couple, who were last Friday stripped of their remaining royal titles and patronages, recorded a 20-second video to plug their Archewell Audio podcast at a Spotify live stream event broadcast today.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex last year announced they had secured a deal with the music streaming giant, thought to be worth up to £30million. It was commercial deals such as this that put the couple completely at odds with the impartiality required of those in public service and led to the permanent split with the Firm.

In the brief, highly choreographed appearance, Meghan, 39, gushes that they are ‘using podcasting to drive powerful conversations’, before Harry, 36, chimes in ‘that inspire, challenge and educate’. 

‘We created Archwell audio to make sure we can elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard and hear people’s stories,’ Meghan, who was wearing a £2,645 Oscar de la Renta dress, continues. 

Harry finishes: ‘And the biggest part of this is trying to create this community of where you can share, that will encourage everybody else to then share their own vulnerabilities in that safe space.’ 

It comes just hours after it emerged Harry and Meghan’s incendiary interview with their friend Oprah Winfrey may have to be re-edited or even partially re-shot due to the rift it has caused with the royal family and 99-year-old Prince Philip’s hospitalisation. Some of claimed that the interview, believed to be completed last week, could even be toned down.

Prince Harry and his pregnant wife Meghan Markle have made their first appearance since announcing their second child together and permanently severing their ties with the royal family 

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A post shared by Meghan (fan page) (@_duchess_of_sussex)

Harry and Meghan are said to be in shock because the Queen stripped them of their royal and sporting patronages after they ‘poured their hearts out’ to Ms Winfrey during a two-day shoot in their £11million LA mansion last week. 

The tell-all interview is due to air on Sunday March 7 with no topics off-limits with one source warning Harry’s family the show would be a good ‘time to hide behind the sofa at the palace’. 

Today it was announced the Queen will steal a march on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and beat them to the airwaves by addressing the nation on TV supported by Prince Charles and Prince William just hours before the Sussexes’ interview. 

Her Majesty was due to attend the annual Commonwealth Service on March 8 – but this has been cancelled for the first time in nearly half a century due to Covid-19, Westminster Abbey announced this morning.

Instead the Queen has chosen to share her annual message 24 hours earlier for A Celebration For Commonwealth Day, in a speech pre-recorded at Windsor Castle and broadcast on BBC One on Sunday March 7.

This will be shown to millions a few hours before Harry and Meghan’s intimate interview with Oprah Winfrey is being screened in a 90-minute special on CBS at 8pm EST in the US – around 1am UK time on Monday.

And in a show of unity with the monarch, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, will also take part in the show hosted by Anita Rani, sharing their royal perspectives on the importance of Britain’s Commonwealth links.

The couple (pictured), who were last week stripped of their remaining royal titles and patronages, recorded a video to plug their Archewell Audio podcast at a Spotify live stream event that was broadcast today

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who now live in California after quitting as senior members of the Royal Family last year, announced they are expecting their second child on Valentine’s Day

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told FEMAIL she believes Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, already know the gender of their baby because ‘that is the LA way’ – and suggested they may opt for a more off-the-wall name now they’re free of royal constraints.

‘I’m certain that neither of them will feel obliged to use any of the standard royal names,’ she explained. ‘I’m sure they will already know the sex of the baby, as that is the LA way.

‘I imagine they might go for the Victorian style names which are all symbolic of colours. 

‘For a boy, they may choose Red, which is Redmond, Blue or Grey. Whereas for the girl choices, I can see them turning to the flowers – Daisy, Primrose, Violet or Ivy. I certainly don’t think they’ll be following Gwyneth Paltrow’s steps by looking to fruit.’

Ingrid added that she wouldn’t be surprised if they choose Diana if it’s a girl – one of the current bookies’ favourites – as a tribute to Harry’s mother.

Ladbrokes has Alfie and Alexandra as frontrunners, both with odds of 4-1, and the betting on the baby’s sex has seen both a boy and girl priced at 10-11. 

Ingrid added that she wouldn’t be surprised if the couple (pictured after the birth of Archie) chose Diana if it’s a girl – the current bookies favourite – as a tribute to Harry’s mother

When Meghan was pregnant with Archie, she caused a furore with her lavish $500,000 New York baby shower held in the penthouse of the Mark Hotel, which reportedly left senior courtiers ‘spitting out their morning tea’ when pictures of the luxurious affair emerged.

Ingrid said she has ‘no doubt’ the duchess’ glamorous LA lifestyle will play a part in her second pre-birth celebration, and suggested new neighbour Oprah Winfrey may be first in line to plan it. 

‘I think Meg’s girlfriends will be fighting for the privilege of giving her a baby shower this time around,’ Ingrid observed.

‘Perhaps Oprah might step up to the role as she is a neighbour now? Saying that, though it’s tradition that friends throw the shower, her nearest and dearest may host it at Meghan’s house – it will no doubt still be very elaborate compared to how we Brits do it. If her last shower is anything to go off, expect harpists and a boujee banquet.’ 

Harry and Meghan recorded a tell-all interview with the chat show host on Wednesday and Thursday last week – just hours before issuing a parting shot after being stripped of their roles and patronages by the Queen, it was revealed yesterday. 

Her Majesty suggested a ‘life of public service’ is not compatible with the couple’s lucrative new career in America – and courtiers and other members of the family were upset by the tone of the pair’s response – released just minutes after – in which they argued ‘service is universal’.

When Meghan was pregnant with Archie (pictured with Harry in London in February 2019), she caused something of a furore with her lavish $500,000 New York baby shower held in the penthouse of the Mark Hotel

The Oprah interview is due to be broadcast on March 7 and a person close to the couple told the Sunday Times that Meghan believes the prime-time broadcast gives her the ‘loudest way she’ll get her voice back’.  

Party planner Jess Martin from Ginger Ray (gingerray.co.uk) said she expects Meghan will opt to hold her baby shower at home. 

‘Now that they’ve made a break away from royal tradition, we believe that Meghan will want to make this second pregnancy her own – without influence from the Royal Family,’ she explained.

‘Due to how we’ve all had to treat our homes as sanctuaries this year, we believe she’ll host a lavish celebration in her home in the US, instead of at an establishment like The Mark Hotel.

‘Judging by her previous baby shower guest list, I would imagine that her former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer will be in attendance, as well as her neighbour Oprah, designer Misha Nonoo and her close friends Priyanka Chopra and Jessica Mulroney.

‘In terms of colour scheme, we’re sure she’d turn to more rustic, botanical baby shower decorations such as wooden features and greenery. Advocates of a sustainable lifestyle, especially after announcing her pregnancy on Instagram wearing the same dress she wore whilst carrying Archie, it’s likely they’ll go for eco-friendly, biodegradable decorations too. 

‘There won’t be a stitch of royal blue in sight.’ 

Harry and Meghan brought forward the announcement of their ‘wide-ranging interview, covering everything from stepping into life as a Royal, marriage, motherhood [and] philanthropic work’ with Oprah after ITV were accidentally tipped off about it.

Prince William was left furious at Meghan and Harry’s ‘insulting, disrespectful and petulant’ parting shot at the Queen, it was claimed at the weekend

The Mail on Sunday revealed Harry did not inform the Queen about it, meaning Her Majesty was ‘blindsided’ last week when she learned of it only when US TV network CBS hurriedly issued a statement on Monday after a producer working for Ms Winfrey mistakenly alerted the British channel.

It is usual for members of the Royal Family to run potential TV interviews past the Queen, but Harry not only kept the deal secret, sources question whether he instigated the discussions with the Queen over the Sussexes’ ‘divorce deal’ in order for it to be settled before the interview.

According to sources, Prince William has been ‘shocked and saddened’ at his brother’s behaviour towards the monarch and believes the couples’ final statement was ‘insulting, disrespectful and petulant’, reports the Sunday Times.

It also emerged that Oprah had been with the Sussexes immediately before their riposte was released, having taken her £50 milllion Gulfstream jet to Santa Barbara – where she owns a second home a short drive from the pair.

In stark contrast to that glamorous meeting, Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, remains in hospital, and was visited by a teary-eyed Prince Charles on Saturday, with the 99-year-old expected to continue to be monitored and encouraged to rest into this week.

Pictured: The statement from Buckingham Palace that The Sussexes had been stripped of their remaining roles

Minutes later, the apparently furious Sussexes issued a stinging rebuke to the Queen, insisting they would still ‘live a life of service’ outside the royal fold. They added: ‘Service is universal’

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