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In a surprise moment on Saturday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined Prince William and Kate Middleton for a walkaround at Windsor Castle following the death of William and Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

Dressed in black, the foursome were seen greeting onlookers and emotionally taking in the flowers and other memorial items left for the late monarch, who died on Thursday at age 96.

Kensington Palace says William, 40, invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to join him and Kate, 40, who was recently named Princess of Wales alongside her husband’s new Prince of Wales title.

Prince William thought the walkabout to greet the crowds “was an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family,” a royal source tells PEOPLE.

The reunion among William, Kate, Harry and Meghan is poignant, as relations have been strained between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and members of the royal family in recent years, including an ongoing estrangement from William and Kate.

Before the Queen’s death — which occurred while the U.S.-based Harry, 37, and Meghan, 41, were already in the U.K. for charity events — the couple were last in the nation in June to help celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, but there was no public interaction between the couple and William, Kate and the rest of Harry’s immediate family members.

They did, however, privately introduce Charles to his granddaughter Lilibet, 1, for the first time, which also gave him the chance to see his 3-year-old grandson Archie, PEOPLE learned at the time.

“It was a fantastic visit. The prince was delighted to see his grandson and meet his granddaughter for the first time,” a royal source said, adding that it was “wonderful” to have Harry and Meghan back in Britain.

Source: https://people.com

The conditions are right for confession. It is a beautiful August day in Montecito, in a beautiful sitting room, in a beautiful home. Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, a lively 3-year-old with a shock of ginger curls identical to his father’s, toddles into the room demanding “Momma” listen to his heartbeat with a wooden toy stethoscope. He stands, tummy protruding, while his mother, Meghan, convincingly performs her glee at hearing the thump-thump, thump-thump in his chest. Archie giggles and, satisfied, toddles right back out again.

Meghan, relaxing in a cozy chair, gazes over all that is climate-controlled and high-ceilinged and sun-dappled and perfectly marshmallowy, and hers. An invisible hand has lit a Soho House–branded rose-water candle (the founder, Nick Jones, is a friend from “long before I met Harry,” she says), and that scent fills the air, mingling with the gentle tones of a flamenco-inflected guitar floating from a speaker. Then, in the lull in conversation, Meghan turns to me and leans forward to ask in a conspiratorial hush, “Do you want to know a secret?”

Meghan, silenced no more, looks around, making sure nobody (who would be?) is listening in. Then the top-secret drop: “I’m getting back … on Instagram,” she says, her eyes alight and devilish.

This could have been a troll: Delivering a nothing with such gravitas feels as if Meghan, who has been so trolled by the media, is serving it back, just a little. But, as I quickly realize, it is actually news. Before this chapter in her life, before everything difficult that spun off from marrying the Duke of Sussex and, along with him, the British monarchy, she was just Meghan Markle, a woman with a plum role on a USA procedural and a moderately popular lifestyle blog, The Tig. As herself, she’d amassed 3 million Instagram followers by sharing snippets of a basic life: yoga, food she liked, hikes with friends, her beagle, Guy. Fans watched as she attended events with her Suits castmates and charity galas, nights out at Soho House in London and Toronto. She ran that account for years before she met Harry, but on the heels of their engagement, control over her Instagram was just one of the things (along with The Tig, her passport, and the freedom to open her own mail) she gave up. She’d loved sharing her life with people, she says, but she loved Harry more. “It was a big adjustment — a huge adjustment to go from that kind of autonomy to a different life,” says Meghan.

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The Duchess of Sussex released the first episode of Archetypes, featuring guest Serena Williams

Meet Meghan Markle!

In a promo for her new Spotify podcast Archetypes, which debuted on the platform Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex shared what her listeners will hear.

Sitting on a couch in front of a microphone, Meghan says, “People should expect the real me in this, and probably the me that they’ve never gotten to know — certainly not in the past few years, where everything is through the lens of the media as opposed to, ‘Hey, it’s me.’ ”

“I’m just excited to be myself and talk and be unfiltered and…yeah, it’s fun,” she adds.

Meghan, 41, spoke with longtime friend and longtime pal and tennis champion Serena Williams for the podcast’s first episode, tackling the double standard for men and women when it comes to ambition.

“I loved talking about so many important topics with my dear friend Meghan as her first guest on #archetypes for @spotify!” Serena, 40, captioned an Instagram photo featuring Meghan and her daughter, Olympia. “It’s out now and worth the listen, especially if you’re ambitious.”

“I don’t remember ever personally feeling the negative connotation behind the word ‘ambitious’ until I started dating my now-husband,” Meghan shared.

Reflecting on life in the limelight as Prince Harry’s partner, she continued, “and apparently ambition is a terrible, terrible thing, for a woman that is — according to some. So, since I’ve felt the negativity behind it, it’s really hard to un-feel it. I can’t unsee it, either, in the millions of girls and women who make themselves smaller — so much smaller — on a regular basis.”

Meghan also got personal about motherhood, revealing for the first time that a fire broke out in son Archie’s nursery during the couple’s royal tour to Africa in 2019. Although Archie was ready to go down for his nap, his nanny Lauren decided to bring him downstairs with her while she grabbed a snack — the same time that the heater in Archie’s room caught on fire.

“He was supposed to be sleeping in there,” Meghan said.

The Duchess of Sussex, who welcomed daughter Lilibet Diana in June 2021, said they then “had to leave him and go do another official engagement.”

Serena replied, “I couldn’t have done that. I would have said, ‘Uh-uh.’ ”

Source: https://people.com/

Meghan Markle deconstructs the history of societal stereotypes about women in “Archetypes,” her first show for Spotify, which premiered Tuesday.

The first hourlong episode of “Archetypes” features Serena Williams, who recently announced her plans to retire from pro tennis, talking with Markle about the double standard women face when they are labeled “ambitious.” and Dr. Laura Cray, a professor at UC Berkeley and an expert on gender in the workplace. (The inaugural episode is available at this link.) Next week’s episode will feature a conversation with Mariah Carey.

The Duchess of Sussex’s weekly podcast is available exclusively on Spotify worldwide. “Archetypes” is the first series to land on Spotify under the streaming service’s exclusive deal with Markle and Prince Harry’s Archewell Audio — inked in December 2020.

In the series, Markle will have “uncensored conversations” with guests including historians and experts to uncover the origin of stereotypes about women and how they shape narratives in the culture.

“Archetypes” will delve into “how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us,” Markle says in the trailer for the series. “But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up in defining our lives?”

In partnering with Spotify, Archewell Audio said it was “committed to producing programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world; spotlights diverse perspectives and voices; and builds community through shared experience, narratives and values.” Until “Archetypes,” it had produced only one podcast for Spotify: a 2020 holiday audio special.

Earlier this year, Markle and Prince Harry had raised concerns with Spotify over COVID misinformation on the platform (amid a wider backlash over vaccine misinfo on “The Joe Rogan Experience”). After meeting company execs, the couple came away assured that Spotify was adequately addressing the misinformation.

“Archetypes” is produced by Archewell Audio in partnership with Spotify’s Gimlet Media. Markle serves as executive producer alongside Terry Wood and Catherine Cyr. Archewell Audio’s executive producers are Rebecca Sananes and Ben Browning. Spotify Studio’s executive producers are Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Courney Reimer.

In addition to the couple’s deal with Spotify, Archewell Productions has an exclusive deal with Netflix.

Source: https://variety.com

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are taking another bite out of the Big Apple!

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who relocated from the U.K. to Meghan’s home state of California in 2020, are planning another trip to New York City. According to reports, a spokesperson for the United Nations confirmed that the couple will be in New York for the U.N. General Assembly to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day on July 18. Prince Harry, 37, is expected to give an address.

Meghan, 40, appeared at the U.N. Women’s conference on International Women’s Day in 2015. Her mom Doria Ragland was on hand as she gave an inspiring speech on gender equality.

“U.N. Women, as you guys know, has defined the year 2030 as the expiration date for gender inequality,” she said. “And here’s what’s staggering — the studies show that at the current rate, the elimination of gender inequality won’t be possible until 2095. That’s another eighty years from now. And when it comes to women’s political participation and leadership the percentage of female parliamentarians globally has only increased by 11% since 1995. Eleven percent in 20 years? Come on. This has to change. Women make up more than half of the world’s population and potential, so it is neither just nor practical for their voices, for our voices, to go unheard at the highest levels of decision-making.”

Members of the royal family, including Harry’s grandparents Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip as well as both of his parents Prince Charles and Princess Diana, met with Mandela on many occasions before his death in 2013.

During the couple’s tour to Africa in 2019, they met with Graca Machel, Mandela’s widow. Prince Harry and Meghan also visited the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition in London back in July 2018.

Meghan and Prince Harry visited New York City in September 2021, starting with a visit to One World Observatory at the World Trade Center with former Mayor Bill de Blasio, his wife Chirlane McCray, their son Dante de Blasio and Governor Kathy Hochul.

During the trip, they met with U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Meghan read her children’s book The Bench to second grade students at P.S. 123 Mahalia Jackson School in Harlem.

The duo then appeared on stage at Global Citizen Live in Central Park, where they spoke up about the world’s need for COVID-19 vaccine equity.

“Every single person on this planet has a fundamental right to get this vaccine. That’s the point, but that’s not happening,” Meghan said.

Meghan and Harry returned to New York in November, marking Veterans Day in the U.S. and Remembrance Day in the U.K. at the 2021 Salute to Freedom gala at the Intrepid Museum. After hitting the red carpet, Prince Harry, who served in the British army for 10 years, presented the inaugural Intrepid Valor Awards to five service members, veterans and military families living with the invisible wounds of war.

Last month, the couple returned to the U.K. with their two children — Archie Harrison, 3, and Lilibet Diana, 1 — for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. During the trip, they celebrated Lili’s first birthday with a backyard party at their U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

Source: https://people.com

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are celebrating their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday with the release of an adorable new photo.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex invited close friends and family to gather for a “casual, intimate backyard picnic” on Saturday at their Frogmore Cottage home, a spokesperson for the couple shared on Monday.

In the sweet photo, Lili smiles as she plays in the yard of her family’s home. She wears a blue dress and a white lace bow in her red hair — which she inherited from dad Harry!

Close family friend and guest Misan Harriman who attended Lilibet’s party with his wife and children took the “candid, spontaneous photograph that the Duke and Duchess are pleased to share today,” the spokesperson added.

Baker Claire Ptak from East London’s Violet Bakery was tasked with creating a special cake for Lilibet. Ptak also created Meghan and Harry’s wedding cake in 2018.

Harry and Meghan “remain incredibly touched by the countless birthday wishes for their daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor,” the couple’s spokesperson said.They were “amazed to learn that people around the world made donations” amounting to over $100K to the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in her honor,” the spokesperson continued, adding that the couple “extended their gratitude to all who have shown support for the organization, which is especially near to their hearts.” WCK is first on the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate and community crisis. They build resilient food systems with locally-led solutions. Most recently, they provided support in Uvalde, TX and Ukraine.

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Official portraits lilibet’ 1st birthday – june 4 2022

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry won’t join the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour, but they will reunite with Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the royals for another Platinum Jubilee event.

The couple, who will travel from their California home to the U.K. with their two children for the weekend of festivities marking the monarch’s 70 years on the throne, is expected to attend the service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, June 3, according to The Telegraph.

Many members of the royal family are expected to attend the event, including Prince Andrew, the Queen’s son who is no longer a working royal following his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some of the Queen’s older great-grandchildren, including Prince George and Princess Charlotte, may also attend the Friday ceremony, although Meghan and Harry’s two children — Archie Harrison, 3, and Lilibet Diana, who will turn 1 on June 4 — are believed to be too young for the outing.

News that Meghan, 40, and Prince Harry, 37, would travel to the U.K. for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations came shortly after Queen Elizabeth, 96, announced that only working members of the royal family will appear for the traditional Buckingham Palace balcony appearance as part of Trooping the Colour, the monarch’s annual public birthday celebration.

“After careful consideration, the Queen has decided that this year’s traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday 2nd of June will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the Royal Family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.

This change in tradition does not include Meghan and Harry, who stepped back as senior members of the royal family in 2020, and Prince Andrew following his recent lawsuits. However, it’s possible that Meghan and Prince Harry will appear at Trooping the Colour in another capacity, such as taking part in a carriage ride as part of the parade.

It’s likely that Meghan and Prince Harry will attend other events throughout the weekend as well.

On Saturday, June 4, members of the royal family will attend the Derby at Epsom, followed by the Platinum Party at the Palace in the evening, with performances by Queen + Adam Lambert, Diana Ross and more.

The four-day celebration will wrap with the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday, June 5, featuring a parade down The Mall to the Palace in London.

Source: https://people.com/