From One Princess To Another: No Thanks

Taylor Swift is said to have been asked by Meghan Markle personally to appear on her Archetypes podcast but declined through a representative, it has been claimed. 

The Wall Street Journal, which analyzed the pair's relationship with Spotify and Netflix, summed up Harry and Meghan's dealings as 'big ideas, subpar execution' after executives reportedly said they were 'underwhelmed' by the pair's lack of strong ideas and productivity. 

Since quitting their royal duties in 2020 and jetting off to California to live in their new $14million nine-bedroom mansion, the couple have been building a complex network of 'entertainment' companies to help promote 'their truth'. 

Swift, Markle

However, Spotify's has since axed Archetypes and its deal with the couple, while Netflix has also said it is unlikely to renew its contract after it expires in 2025. It has been suggested, however, that the pair are currently creating a Great Expectations-inspired show for Netflix called Bad Manners. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, Meghan would often ask for changes late in the editing process, at times recruiting senior Spotify executives, including then-Chief Content Officer Dawn Ostroff, to call producers and push them to make changes.

The “Archetypes” podcast launched in August of 2022 and went to the top of Spotify’s podcast charts in its premiere week. It halted the release of new episodes in September during the mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II, Harry’s grandmother.

Given the show’s success, the audio company and Archewell executives began discussing a second season. Those talks stalled for months before Spotify told Archewell that the show wouldn’t be renewed.

Archewell didn’t make good on all of the terms of the Spotify deal, which included each of the Sussexes voicing and being directly involved in a podcast. Harry, in particular, struggled to land on an idea.

He explored a podcast on veterans but couldn’t find a compelling way to tackle the subject in podcast form. He tossed around subjects such as misinformation and his point of view as someone new to living in America, and at one point considered co-hosting a show with comedian Hasan Minhaj.