Meghan Markle Prince Harry
Credit: Getty

When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their new project: a Spotify podcast called Archewell Audio, the only question was why hadn’t we predicted this pivot sooner. Of course the Cali couple would be listening to ‘The Daily’ on their morning walks along the beach and tuning into Joe Rogan, Marc Maron, and, in Markle’s case, Gwyneth Paltrow, through their AirPods – just like any other basic millennial in 2020. Of course they’d want to control their media narrative themselves, and of course they’d want to follow in Barack and Michelle Obama’s footsteps (the former First Lady launched her own Spotify original earlier this year). 

When the trailer for Archewell Audio dropped, we were given a glimpse into how candid and chatty the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were planning to be, as Markle joked about her husband’s cute British accent, they (awkwardly) sang to a holiday jingle, and read a scripted-but-pretend-it’s-not intro about their hopes for their new medium: to help people find common ground, community and celebrate voices who are working hard to make change. 

meghan markle prince harry
Credit: Getty

Now, as promised, the first episode has been released, and it includes the whole shebang: celebrities, untold stories and an appearance by the couple’s 19-month-old son, Archie. During the 33-minute long ‘holiday special’, the pair speak to Stacey Abrams, Brene Brown, Rachel Cargle, James Corden, Sir Elton John, Naomi Osaka and Tyler Perry – to name but a few. 

On top of their famous line-up, Markle and Prince Harry spoke about their wedding, signing off the episode with a song “that means so much to us.” 

“Not a toast per se, but a song – which is about shining a light,” Harry said. ” ‘This Little Light of Mine” played at the very end of our wedding while we were walking down the steps of the church,” Meghan continued. “It 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…’ “

“The message of this song is one we hold so dearly. It’s about using the power we each have within us to make this world a better place,” Harry continued. 

As People notes, the song was performed by Karen Gibson and the Kingdom Choir, which provided the live music for the royal wedding in May 2018. 

At the very end of the episode, Archie Harrison, when prompted by his parents, wishes listeners a Happy New Year, before signing off with a giggle. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff of yet, but nevertheless, adorable.