Meghan Markle tells Archetypes podcast how Archie’s nursery caught fire during South Africa tour
Meghan Markle today relived the moment her son Archie narrowly escaped a fire in his bedroom during the Sussexes’ tour of South Africa – and spoke of her frustration that she immediately had to do another official engagement.
The Duchess made the comments in the first episode of her Archetypes podcast – released today – speaking of her horror at having to ‘leave our baby’ while she and Harry were working.
The drama unfolded when a heater in Archie’s bedroom caught fire, setting the nursery alight – though fortunately four-and-a-half month old Archie was downstairs with his nanny, who had gone ‘to get a snack.’
But Meghan spoke of the stress the ordeal had on her as a new mother, telling the podcast: ‘In that amount of time that [the nanny] went downstairs, the heater in the nursery caught on fire. There was no smoke detector.
‘Someone happened to just smell smoke down the hallway, went in, fire extinguished. He was supposed to be sleeping in there.’
The former Suits star told how they had dropped their young son at the housing unit they were staying in for a sleep straight after arriving on their official tour, with Meghan and Harry leaving to carry out a visit to the Nyanga township, where the duchess delivered a speech.
The 41-year-old stressed the need for more ‘understanding of the human moments behind the scenes’.
‘There was this moment where I’m standing on a tree stump and I’m giving this speech to women and girls, and 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 added.
‘As a mother, you go, ‘Oh, my God, what?’ Everyone’s in tears, everyone’s shaken. And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement.
‘I said, ‘this doesn’t make any sense. Can you just tell people what happened?’ And I think the focus ends up being on how it looks instead of how it feels.
‘And part of the humanising and the breaking through of these labels and these archetypes and these boxes that we’re put into is having some understanding on the human moments behind the scenes that people might not have any awareness of and to give each other a break. Because we did– we had to leave our baby.’
Meghan Markle has revealed how her son Archie narrowly escaped a fire that erupted in his bedroom during the Sussexes’ tour of South Africa (Pictured: Meghan and Harry with Archie on the day they met Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu, in Cape Town)
Meghan makes a speech as she visits a Justice Desk initiative in Nyanga township, with Prince Harry during their royal tour of South Africa on September 23, 2019. Just minutes later, she was told that her son’s bedroom was on fire
Harry and Meghan watch dancers as they leave the Nyanga Township in Cape Town, South Africa. Meanwhile, back at home, Archie’s bedroom was on fire, she revealed today
Meghan spoke today of her frustration that she immediately had to do another official engagement after the fire (pictured doing so with Harry later the same day)
Later the same day, the couple had visited Cape Town’s historic District Six neighbourhood, met residents in its Homecoming Centre and heard from people who were forcibly removed to a township during the Apartheid era, with the Sussexes also carrying out an impromptu walkabout.
The terrifying incident was unearthed in the first episode of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast, available on Spotify.
Meghan and Harry’s controversial African tour took place in the autumn of 2019, just months before they quit as senior working royals.
During the trip, the US born former Suits star filmed an interview with ITV in which she told of her struggles with royal life, and how she had tried to cope with the pressures by putting on a ‘stiff upper lip’.
In the podcast, which discussed the double standards women face when they are labelled ‘ambitious’, Meghan tells her close friend and tennis superstar Serena Williams: ‘I don’t remember ever personally feeling the negative connotation behind the word ambitious until I started dating my now husband.’
Williams reveals Harry helped her with her decision to retire from tennis long before it was announced, spending around an hour discussing the issue with her.
Meghan, who stepped away from the monarchy with the Queen’s grandson for a new life in California, says to Williams: ‘I think, you know, I think both of us, or the three of us, really know that sometimes the right decision isn’t the easiest decision.’
As they discussed Williams’ retirement, Meghan adds: ‘It takes a lot of courage, I think, too, to stop something in many ways than to keep going sometimes.’
Meghan also admitted to being ‘so tired’ during pregnancy, with Williams saying: ‘You were under a lot of stress’, and the duchess saying: ‘Yeah it’s true.’
Harry and Meghan revealed in their Oprah Winfrey interview that the monarchy’s institution failed to help a suicidal Meghan while she was pregnant with their son.
The Archewell foundation announced earlier this year that the couple’s Spotify podcast would finally debut this summer – 18 months after inking the lucrative deal.
‘Archetypes’ is hosted by Meghan who will speak to historians, experts and woman who have experienced being typecast.
In a trailer for the Archewell Audio project, the duchess said: ‘This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us. But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up and defining our lives?’.
The duchess, previewing the type of guests who will feature, added: ‘This is Archetypes – the podcast where we dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.
‘I’ll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives. And I’ll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.’
Meghan and Harry signed a lucrative deal with the audio streaming giant to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around £18million, in late 2020.
But they had only released one show so far – a holiday special featuring their son Archie and celebrity guests.
Spotify and Archewell Audio said: ‘Spotify and Archewell Audio both value responsible stewardship of the audio landscape, and as explained recently, are committed to working closely to support transparency and strong principles of trust and safety.’
Meghan has long been a campaigner on female empowerment. Spotify and Archewell Audio described her conversations with typecast women as ‘uncensored’ and said the duchess would delve into the origins of stereotypes.
Former Suits actress Meghan is also an executive producer on the series, along with Ben Browning, Archewell’s head of content, and Rebecca Sananes, Archewell’s head of audio.
Meghan Markle has finally released her long-awaited podcast on Spotify – with an interview with Serena Williams
Meghan Markle and Serena Williams in New York City in 2014
The podcast is being produced by Archewell Audio in partnership with Gimlet Media for Spotify.
Harry also makes an appearance in the episode, with Meghan saying: ‘You wanna come say hi? Look who just popped in.’
Meghan and Williams greet Harry with ‘Hello’ in British accents, with Harry telling Williams: ‘I like what you’ve done with your hair. That’s a great vibe.’
Williams replies: ‘Thank you. Good to see you too as always, I miss you guys.’
The duke responds ‘Well come and see us’, with Meghan saying they will make a plan.
As Harry leaves, Meghan remarks: ‘Thanks my love.’
The Archewell foundation announced earlier this year that the couple’s Spotify podcast would finally debut this summer – 18 months after inking the lucrative deal.
Archetypes is hosted by Meghan who will speak to historians, experts and woman who have experienced being typecast.
In a prior trailer for the Archewell Audio project, the duchess said: ‘This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us. But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up and defining our lives?’.
The Duchess, previewing the type of guests who will feature, added: ‘This is Archetypes – the podcast where we dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.
‘I’ll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives. And I’ll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.’
Meghan and Harry signed a lucrative deal with the audio streaming giant to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around £18million, in late 2020.
But they had only released one show prior to now – a holiday special featuring their son Archie and celebrity guests, in December 2020.
Meghan has long been a campaigner on female empowerment. Spotify and Archewell Audio described her conversations with typecast women as ‘uncensored’ and said the duchess would delve into the origins of stereotypes.
Former Suits actress Meghan is also an executive producer on the series, along with Ben Browning, Archewell’s head of content, and Rebecca Sananes, Archewell’s head of audio.
