Meghan Markle Shutterstock
It is a frightening moment. Meghan Markle shared a scary story about her royal tour of Africa in the inaugural episode of her new podcast, “Archetypes.”
The Duchess Of Sussex, 41, has recalled her and Prince Harry‘s 2019 trip to South Africa, Angola and Malawi with son Archie, who was only 4 months old at the time. “The moment we landed, we had to drop him off at this housing unit that they had had us staying in,” the Suits alum recalled during the Spotify podcast’s premiere episode, released on Tuesday, August 23. “He was going to get ready to go down for his nap.”
The California native and the Duke of Sussex, 37, “immediately” left for an official engagement, and after it was over, they received frightening news. “We finish the engagement, we get in the car and they say there’s been a fire at the residence,” she recalled. “There’s been a fire in the baby’s room.”
Prince Harry, Archie and Meghan Markle Shutterstock
Harry and Meghan raced back home to their house, where Lauren, their nanny was waiting with Archie. The little one hadn’t been in the nursery by pure chance, as Lauren had taken him with her downstairs to get a snack.
“The heater in the nursery caught on fire,” the Bench author explained. “There was no smoke detector. Someone happened to smell smoke in the hallway and went in. Fire extinguished. He was supposed to be sleeping in there.”
Meghan claimed that she and her husband had no choice but to go to their next event following the incident. “As a mother, you go, ‘Oh, my God, what?’ Everyone’s in tears, everyone’s shaken,” the former TigContinued blogger “And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official appointment. I said, ‘This doesn’t make any sense.’”
Meghan’s first podcast guest, Serena WilliamsThen she asked her friend how she could leave Archie at home after such a difficult experience. The Northwestern University alum hinted that she wanted to bring her son with her to the next event but couldn’t.
“I was like, ‘Can you just tell people what happened?’” Meghan recalled. “The focus ends up being on how it looks instead of how it feels. … And even though we were being moved into another place afterwards, we still had to leave him and go do another official engagement.”
Meghan Markle and Archie MEGA
The tennis pro, 40, replied: “I couldn’t have done that. I would have said, ‘Uh-uh.’”
Meghan and Harry announced that they would be retiring as senior working royals in January 2020. Their last official appearance was two months later. The couple also have a 14-month old daughter Lili.
During the pair’s bombshell CBS interview in March 2021, the former military pilot said that he felt extremely confined by his position in the royal family. “I was trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped,” the U.K. native said at the time. “My father, [Prince Charles]And my brother, [Prince William]They are trapped. They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that.”
Invictus Games founder, and his wife, returned to the U.K. with their children in June. Queen Elizabeth II‘s Platinum Jubilee, celebrating her 70 years on the throne. They will also be returning to England next month for the One Young World Summit in Manchester.
