Meghan's Podcast Has Royal Aides 'Not Keeping Calm, Nor Carrying on'—Author

Meghan Markle's Spotify podcast bombshells have caused concern among royal aides that dramatic revelations could be in the pipeline, according to biographer Omid Scobie.

The Duchess of Sussex launched Archetypes on August 23 with an interview with her friend, tennis star Serena Williams.

The show covered their experiences of life in the public eye and the different ways their ambition was interpreted by society but also contained a veiled swipe at the institution of monarchy that Meghan and Prince Harry left behind.

Meghan said "we had to leave our baby" after Archie narrowly avoided being caught up in a fire in his room during a visit to South Africa in September 2019.

U.K.-based Scobie, author of Meghan and Harry's biography Finding Freedom, said the palace was worried about the possibility of more bombshells in future episodes of the weekly show.

In his Yahoo! News column, Scobie wrote: "Of course, it wouldn't be a conversation about the Sussexes without mentioning the palace's 'fears.' I'm told Buckingham Palace aides were most definitely not keeping calm, nor carrying on after the show's premiere on Tuesday, worried about what else might be shared over the next 12 weeks.

"Two aides have already pushed back on Meghan's 'precise recollection' of events in South Africa—one told a tabloid that it was a smoking heater, not a fire (does it matter?) and another claimed it is 'unfair' to share such stories when the Royal Household cannot comment.

"But then this is the reality that the royal institution helped create. Uncensored and unbothered, Meghan, like Harry, has managed to create a healthier and happier existence since being shown the door after the couple's half in, half out proposal was rejected."

Meghan said on Archetypes: "The heater in the nursery caught on fire. There was no smoke detector.

"Someone happened to just smell smoke down the hallway, went in, fire extinguished. He was supposed to be sleeping in there.

"And we came back. And of course, as a mother, you go, 'Oh, my God, what?' Everyone's in tears, everyone's shaken. And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement? I said, 'This doesn't make any sense.'

"I was like, 'Can you just tell people what happened?' And so much, I think, optically, the focus ends up being on how it looks instead of how it feels."

Scobie also gave his reaction to the podcast in an appearance on Good Morning America, saying: "This podcast is an opportunity to speak not just unfiltered but also in a way that we haven't heard from her before. This is Meghan not as the Duchess of Sussex, it's another step away from her life as a working royal and one that she's clearly enjoying."

GMA reporter James Longman added: "Now I've listened to this first episode and the thing that really strikes you is how good Meghan's voice is for podcasting. It's so smooth and rich, it's brilliant to listen to."

Scobie and Longman's positive takes contrast with the reception among many British reviewers, with U.K. broadsheet The Times rating the show one star.

Journalist James Marriott wrote: "The Duchess of Sussex's almost entirely preposterous new podcast Archetypes promises to 'rip apart the boxes women have been placed into for generations.'

"On the evidence of the first episode, an interview with Serena Williams, it won't really do this at all. The podcast is a tastefully sound-tracked parade of banalities, absurdities and self-aggrandizing Californian platitudes."