Harry and Meghan make first appearance after announcing pregnancy and official step away from royal duties

Watch: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry make first appearance since announcing pregnancy at Spotify event

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made their first appearance since being stripped of their royal patronages and announcing they are expecting a second child.

The couple appeared at a virtual Spotify event on Monday to plug their Archewell Audio podcast, named after their 20-month-old son, which is part of a rumoured £30m deal with the audio streaming platform.

Singers Burna Boy and Justin Bieber were among fellow celebrities who put an appearance in during the Spotify Stream On event.

It was not immediately clear if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s video was recorded before 14 February – when they announced they were to be parents again – but it caused a stir nonetheless as no one has seen them since it was announced on Friday they were officially leaving the royal family.

In the clip released by Spotify, the couple say they are “using podcasts to drive powerful conversations that inspire, challenge and educate”.

Meghan, sat on a sofa next to her husband, says: “We created Archewell Audio to make sure that we can elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard, and hear people’s stories.”

The 39-year-old former actress is believed to be around five months pregnant.

“The biggest part of this is trying to create this community of where you can share [and] encourage everybody else to then share their own vulnerabilities within that safe space,” Harry adds.

It was reported in September last year that the pair had also bagged a lucrative deal with Netflix, which encompasses their newly set up production company, Archewell Productions, and a multiyear deal to cover them making documentaries, docuseries’, feature films, scripted shows and children’s shows.

They will also appear in an exclusive interview with Meghan’s close friend, broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, scheduled to air on the US network CBS on 7 March at 8pm EST (1am in the UK).

As part of the couple’s exit from the royal family, Harry and Meghan had to officially confirm they would “never return as working royals” while the Queen stripped them of their royal patronages and Harry of his honorary military roles. It was announced in a statement by Buckingham Palace on Friday.

“Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the palace said.

The couple, who now live in Los Angeles, later released their own statement in which they declared: “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal”.

Harry, 36, and Meghan also lost their positions as president and vice president of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT).

The remaining nuclear royals, including the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are due to take part in a special television programme celebrating the Commonwealth – it will air in the UK on the same day as Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview, hours before.

Meanwhile Harry’s grandfather, 99-year-old Prince Philip, is currently in hospital, having been taken in “as a precaution” last week. Prince William said on Monday that the elderly royal is “doing ok”.

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