Reports have emerged suggesting that the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, had pitched a podcast idea to Spotify that involved him interviewing notable figures such as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump about their “childhood trauma.” According to Bloomberg, Prince Harry engaged in discussions with various producers and production companies to develop a potential podcast series for the popular audio streaming platform. This revelation comes after Spotify and Archewell Audio, the production company founded by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, announced their mutual decision to part ways.
In 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had signed a lucrative three-year deal with Spotify worth $20 million, with plans to produce and host podcasts. While they released a 12-part series titled “Archetypes,” hosted by Meghan, no podcast series hosted by Prince Harry has been released since. It appears that the ideas pitched by Prince Harry, including interviewing controversial guests like Putin, Trump, and Mark Zuckerberg about their early formative years, were not pursued. Another concept the Duke floated was a show about fatherhood, in which he hoped to interview Pope Francis, despite the Pope not having any children.
The reasons behind the end of the partnership between Spotify and Archewell Audio have not been explicitly stated, and both parties declined to comment on the matter. However, it has been reported that the deal did not meet the productivity benchmarks required to receive the full payout. Furthermore, leading Spotify executive Bill Simmons criticized Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, referring to them as “f***ing grifters” and suggesting that their partnership should have been terminated earlier.
In the midst of these developments, rumors circulated that Meghan Markle did not conduct her own interviews for the “Archetypes” series. However, these claims were dismissed by Andy Cohen, who defended the Duchess and described her podcast as well-researched, well-informed, and thoughtful. Despite the challenges and controversies surrounding their podcasting venture, the future intentions of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the audio entertainment industry remain uncertain.
