Royal Expert Makes Startling Claim About Meghan Markle's Podcast

Although she no longer enjoys the official privileges of being a member of the British palace, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, does have one advantage that is normally denied to her in-laws. Senior royals live under a code of silence that restricts them from speaking their minds in public about many hot-button topics. Meghan, a private citizen living in the U.S., is free to express herself in media interviews and other outlets, though the royals may not necessarily be happy about what she says. 

In late August of 2022, the duchess launched her own podcast, "Archetypes," which quickly became a hit for Spotify (via People). The outlet allows Meghan to give insights into topics such as parenting and racism. Most of all, she addresses the harmful labels that get placed on women in an attempt to minimize or demean them, such as "bimbo," "ambitious," "diva," and "angry Black woman." But one recent episode has one royal expert declaring that Meghan is merely phoning it in.

It all began when author Allison Yarrow, author of "90s B****," was invited to speak on "Archetypes" about the connotations of "the B-word" and how it has been used to hold back powerful women. Yarrow posted twice about the experience: first to announce her appearance, and next to share a personal thank-you note that Meghan sent her afterward. The first post caught attention for something Yarrow said in the caption that indicated the podcast isn't all it appears to be.

After Allison Yarrow gave an interview to "Archetypes" in the late summer of 2022, she posted an announcement to Instagram that she would be appearing in the upcoming episode. "Excited to be included in the visionary series Archetypes hosted by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, that aims to dissect and subvert the archetypes that hold women back," Yarrow wrote. But a few sentences later, she added, "Cheers to producer @farrahsafari (an excellent interviewer) and the folks at ... @Spotify who get the job done!"

Yarrow's thank-you seemingly indicated that she had been interviewed by the podcast's producer, rather than by the duchess herself. This raised the hackles of royals biographer Angela Levin, who spoke to The U.S. Sun about the controversy. "It shows how determined she is to conquer everything," Levin said, "She wants all these famous women to talk to her to prove to us she has all these connections, I don't think she is particularly interested. You can tell she has got the producers to interview [and then] the cheek of her to just tell us about herself."

Yarrow's followers debated the point, too. "It's interesting she didn't interview you in person," said one commenter. "It shows how she doesn't value people who don't have enough $." But another respondent pointed out, "It's common for producers to do some of the work, it's literally in their job description. Probably best you admit to not knowing how things work."