When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would put guest speakers at centre stage in their new podcast, few would have expected to hear from their toddler Archie.

But Prince Harry and Meghan’s 19-month-old son made a surprise cameo appearance at the end of the first episode, released on Tuesday, revealing a slight American accent as he wished listeners a happy new year.

Making his first public broadcast in very modern style, Archie took to the microphone to say “Happy” after his father said it, then copied Meghan and said “New” before completing the phrase without prompting. “Boom,” said Harry as the three burst into giggles.

The young royal featured at the end of a “Holiday special” episode from Archewell Audio, Harry and Meghan’s newly-formed production company, which has signed an exclusive multimillion-pound partnership with Spotify.

The podcast, which Spotify said would produce “programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world”, comes after the couple’s multimillion-pound Netflix deal that will see them produce documentaries and feature films for the streaming service. The deals form part of the couple’s efforts to become financially independent after stepping down as senior royals in January.

The podcast ends with the couple broadcasting the gospel song This Little Light of Mine which was played at the end of their wedding.

Quoting Martin Luther King, Meghan said the song was “the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together. Because as we all know, ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”’

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In a reference to the couple’s tumultuous year, which saw them announce their exit as senior royals, move to Canada and then California and pursue multiple legal actions against various media outlets, Meghan says: “From us I’ll say no matter what life throws at you guys, trust us when we say, love wins.” Harry added: “Love always wins.”

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The couple had asked a string of famous friends, activists and campaigners to reflect on 2020 for the debut podcast, including Sir Elton John, comedian James Corden and tennis star Naomi Osaka.

In his audio diary for the podcast, John, 73, said that as a recovering alcoholic he had attended weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings over Zoom since the pandemic began, hailing the video platform as a “lifesaver”.

He added: “I hope after this awful pandemic has passed, and we can go back to some sort of normality, that we have become better people – and I hope for healing.

“It’s been an awful time for people. People have lost loved ones, people have lost their businesses, they’ve lost work. It’s been an awful time for people, so I hope that we can heal in 2021.”

Source : The Guardian