The Queen’s Christmas message might be an old-fashioned royal radio tradition, but one of the tiniest royals, baby Archie, has brought the family’s end-of-year communication into the 21st century with his wishes for a happy New Year delivered in a recent podcast episode.
With the help of Spotify, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have launched a podcast with their new Archewell Audio production company. Earlier this month, Spotify announced a multiyear partnership with Archewell Audio, through which the couple intends to create uplifting content, focusing on the stories that connect us.
“[W]hen we hear each other, and hear each other’s stories, we are reminded of how interconnected we all are,” the pair said in a statement.
The most recent podcast episode is an end-of-year holiday special featuring inspirational messages from an impressive group of high-profile names, such as tennis champion Naomi Osaka, author and speaker Brené Brown, Deepak Chopra, novelist Matt Haig, Tyler Perry, Stacey Abrams, Sir Elton John and James Corden, among others.
Spotify tweeted about the holiday episode on Dec. 29:
Archewell Audio’s holiday special from The Duke and Duchess of Sussex offers hope, reflection, and honest conversations as we put 2020 behind us and look ahead â¨https://t.co/NlM2LsaP6h
— Spotify (@Spotify) December 29, 2020
Despite all the star power in this episode, however, it’s the Duke and Duchess’s firstborn child, baby Archie, who steals the spotlight toward the end, when he speaks to the public for the first time. The special little guest is positioned next to the microphone, and Markle coaxes him to chat.
“Archie, is it fun?” she asks Archie, and the baby replies, “Fun.”
Prince Harry then prompts Archie to repeat after him: “Happy … New …” And Archie finishes the phrase all by himself (“Year!”), to the delight of his parents.
Twitter user @DionneGrant isolated the Archie clip from the episode, so we can listen and re-listen to the sweet baby voice wishing us well (and then dissolving into giggles!) over and over again.
Little Archie stealing the show on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first episode of their new podcast, Archewell Audio ð¥°pic.twitter.com/zhQOVnxGFz
— Dionne Grant (@DionneGrant) December 29, 2020
Other Twitter users were also quick to express their enjoyment of this emotional and uplifting podcast episode, like @MikeOmoniyiCS, who wrote about how heartwarming they found it.
This is one of the most heartwarming things I've heard this year.
Thank you, Duke and Duchess of Sussexhttps://t.co/PbbUBeTCgV
— M.T. Omoniyi (@MikeOmoniyiCS) December 29, 2020
User @NicoleBlades tweeted that the podcast provided exactly the dose of positivity they needed right now.
Oh, goodness! Hearing little Archie’s voice and giggle on Harry + Meghan’s podcast was the spot of warmth + sweetness I needed.
— Nicole Blades (@NicoleBlades) December 29, 2020
Meanwhile, @LiMauLo likened the episode to a “warm cup of coffee on a cold morning.”
Harry and Meghan sound like they've been doing this for ages! Their voices are like a warm cup of coffee on a cold morning! Can't wait for more. ð¥°
— Lisa (@LiMauLo) December 29, 2020
And @LaurenKateMacd tweeted that the emotional episode made her look forward to more podcasting goodness from this little family.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s podcast has made me so emotional. It’s full of hope, reflection and gratitude throughout this year which has been hard for so many. It’s incredibly heartwarming and I can’t wait to hear more episodes. â¨
— It’s okay to talk about mental health! ⨠(@LaurenKateMacd) December 29, 2020
What a lovely way to end this chaotic year and look toward the future with hope. To echo the wise little baby Archie, happy New Year!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.