Royals Expert Claims Meghan Markle's Podcast Has A Hidden Motive

Meghan Markle's podcast is No. 1 on Spotify, beating out "The Joe Rogan Experience," for the top pod in the United States. Variety reported that "Archetypes" not only holds the tops spot in the U.S., but in Canada, Ireland, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand as well. On Spotify, "Archetypes" is described as a podcast that will "investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back." On the first episode of "Archetypes," Markle claims, "We're going to live inside and rip apart the boxes women have been placed into for generations." In other words, Markle did not come to play.

According to royal editor Omid Scobie, "[T]he outraged reaction from the British press and world of royal commentators" only proves the point of the podcast, which is to call out the stereotypes about women. Scobie notes that despite publishing no less than 16 stories about it, The Daily Mail called Markle's podcast "pathetic" and "'yawn'-worthy." In fact, the British media slammed "Archetypes" almost immediately. James Marriot of The Times called it a "tastefully soundtracked parade of banalities, absurdities and self-aggrandizing Californian platitudes."

The premiere episode of "Archetypes" features Markle's friend Serena Williams, and the Duchess of Sussex notes, "It takes a lot of courage, I think, too, to stop something in many ways than to keep going sometimes." But one royal expert claims Markle's podcast has a hidden motive.

Royal expert Duncan Larcombe said the Meghan Markle's podcast "was the opening salvo in Meghan's 12-week war" on the royal family. Larcombe told The Daily Beast, "It has the potential to be even more damaging than the Oprah interview because it is Meghan, in her own words, on her own show, doing exactly what she wants, and the fact is she took the first opportunity to plunge the knife in." Larcombe notes that it doesn't matter who is a guest on "Archetypes," "Meghan has star power, and this was all about Meghan being Meghan."

Tom Sykes, the royalist correspondent for The Daily Beast, believes The Duchess of Sussex's podcast might be a lead-in for Prince Harry's memoir that royals are nervous about. The final episode of the pod will be around November 10, close to the date of Harry's book launch. However, Page Six reported that the launch of the tell-all memoir by the Duke of Sussex might move to 2023. A source told the outlet, "I have heard that Harry has some truth bombs in his book that he is debating on whether to include or not." It seems there is never a dull moment with the royal family.