Meghan Markle chats to Sophie Trudeau in new Spotify Archetypes podcast

Meghan Markle today revealed she studied for the UK’s citizenship test after meeting Prince Harry, who she claims had ‘no idea’ about some of the answers when she asked him for help because it was ‘so hard’.

The Duchess of Sussex’s star guest on her new Spotify podcast is First Lady of Canada Sophie Trudeau. The friends spoke about the challenges of parenting and being a partner to two famous men in an episode called: ‘Good Wife/Bad Wife, Good Mom/Bad Mom’.

The pair also described the ‘crushing guilt’ of being a mother in public eye. Meghan also revealed she threw a pool party this summer for Mrs Trudeau, where the two ‘giggled like schoolgirls’ and drank wine on the terrace of her Montecito mansion.

On episode eight of her Archetypes show, Meghan also chatted to comedian Pamela Adlon, best known as the voice of Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series King of the Hill, who became a British citizen in 2020. 

Meghan then revealed that she prepared for the ‘Life in the UK’ test, although LA born and based Ms Markle is not believed to be a British Citizen, having reportedly ‘abandoned’ the idea after Megxit in 2020. Experts said that she did not live in the UK for the three years required to get spousal citizenship after marrying Harry in 2018.

The Duchess of Sussex said: ‘That citizenship exam is so hard. I was studying for it [the test] and I remember going: “Oh my goodness”. I would ask my husband: “Did you know this? Did you know this?”  And he would say: “I had no idea”. But she did not expand on whether she ever took the test – or just studied for it. 

But Adlon joked: “I think they made it harder for you. They were like: “We’re gonna really throw up walls on this one”.’

Meghan would have needed to pass the Life in the UK Test before applying for citizenship, and it costs £50 per try with a 75% pass mark required. The test asks questions about UK laws and the legal system, working in the country, its history, culture and other details of life in the UK. It can also contain questions about the British Royal Family, which she remains a member of.

When her engagement to Harry was confirmed in 2017, Buckingham Palace announced that the former Suits star would become a British citizen. But the Sussexes quit the working monarchy in 2020 and moved to the US via Canada, amid reports Meghan had abandoned the process.

The latest Archetypes episode also revealed:

• Meghan’s mother Doria pops up halfway through the podcast when she Facetimed her daughter; 
• There was a long chat with Sophie Trudeau, who is one of Meghan’s closest friends. There were rumours that Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie were consulted about Megxit, before members of the Royal Family and even the Queen. 
• Meghan described Sophie as a ‘humanitarian mother’. She said: ‘Sophie has become a dear friend and someone who I think is so emblematic of strength that comes from embracing your humanity, even in the face of all these family and home and public pressures’;
• Meghan revealed how she and Prince Harry start the day by looking after their children – from prepping Archie’s lunch box to feeding their three dogs and making breakfast for her family, which is ‘very important to her’;
• The Duchess of Sussex went on to say she ‘bows down’ to women who go through the same morning rush as single mothers and added ‘it is so hard being a mum’;

Meghan has revealed she studied for the UK Citizenship Test – and Harry struggled with some of the answers – but it has long been reported that she did not end up taking British citizenship

Meghan Markle’s star guest on her new Spotify podcast is First Lady of Canada Sophie Trudeau. Pictured together in a photo booth in 2016

The Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 39, bought the sprawling nine-bedroom and 16-bathroom mansion (pictured) in upscale Montecito, Santa Barbara, for $14.65million. It appears they and the Trudeaus enjoyed some recent pool time when the two mothers were ‘giddy like schoolgirls’

According to the explosive biography Finding Freedom, when she began dating Harry in 2016, Meghan was urged to take advice from Sophie Trudeau by her friend Jessica Mulroney, who deemed the two women ‘now had a lot in common’ because of their famous husbands. 

They would become close pals and confidants with Justin Trudeau urging his country to welcome the Sussexes after they emigrated from the UK in 2020. 

Meghan admitted Sophie ‘used to send me little meditations during my pregnancy’ and voice notes ‘of encouragement’, adding: ‘I’ve gone to her over the years for advice’. 

Introducing her friend Mrs Trudeau, Meghan calls he a ‘humanitarian mother’ who she met in Toronto at the city’s fashion week around seven years ago, when she was starring in Suits.

She said: ‘Sophie has become a dear friend and someone who I think is so emblematic of strength that comes from embracing your humanity, even in the face of all these family and home and public pressures, keeping that sense of self while holding up the mantle of what comes with being a parent and a spouse, that’s a full plate’.

Ms Markle and Canada’s First Lady became friends when Meghan was filming Suits. The Duchess of Sussex became part of Toronto’s ‘platinum elite’, which also included their mutual friend Jessica Mulroney.

They posed together cheek-to-cheek on a Toronto rooftop bar in 2016 at the exclusive Soho House.   And it was Mrs Trudeau’s husband, who has been Canada’s PM since 2015, who urged his country to welcome the Sussexes after they emigrated from the UK. They would later move to LA.

Opening the podcast, Meghan describes a day of laughter and fun at her Montecito mansion with Mrs Trudeau. Their children played in the swimming pool on pizza-shaped floats while they drank wine ‘on the terrace’ and were ‘giddy like absolute schoolgirls.’

Meghan said: ‘This wasn’t our day of being the wives and moms, all perfectly quaffed with updos and pearls and demure smiles.

‘This was the other version of us both with wild curly hair and swimsuits and loose linen and huge belly laughs. Big cuddles with our little ones, quiet whispers of girl talk on the terrace, giddy like absolute schoolgirls. We were just having so much fun.’

The Duchess of Sussex also spoke to TV star Pamela Adlon (left) and SNL comedian Sam Jay (right), who has a Netflix series

Sophie Trudeau attended the funeral of the Queen with her husband, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on September 19, pictured. Meghan described her as a friend 

Meghan went on to reveal she was talking about an event with Sophie, whom she has known for a number of years before joining the royal family.

Elsewhere, she described how she had ‘gone to Sophie for advice’ over the years, after meeting ‘seven years ago.’  

According to Finding Freedom, Meghan became friendly with the First Lady in 2016. 

Meghan had previously met her husband Justin Trudeau at the One Young World summit in Ottawa that year, with the pair pictured deep in conversation.

‘Sophie had given up a career in television, where she had been working as a correspondent on CTV’s eTalk, to take on a more formal role alongside her husband as he hit the campaign trail,’ the authors claim.

‘The pair became fast email friends, Meghan was interested to hear how Sophie had successfully made the move from an entertainment news correspondent to much-beloved First Lady, all while skillfully dodging controversy.’

A close friend of Trudeau and a former cabinet member told Scobie and Durand: ‘Sophie would have made it clear that every single aspect of Meghan’s past would be dug up, so the most important thing was to be honest with Harry—tell him everything.

‘Sophie’s a smart woman and the perfect brain for Meghan to pick. She knows how difficult something like this is. Few people can relate or truly sympathise. For those of us that knew about their friendship, it was amazing to see the change in Meghan that followed.’

Earlier that year Meghan and Sophie were pictured in a series of photobooth images with Jessica taken at the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA) at Soho House in Toronto – where Meghan lived while filming Suits.

Back in January 2020 there was speculation that Justin Trudeau may have given a cryptic Twitter clue about Meghan and Harry’s departure from the Royal Family.   

Diplomatic sources claimed Mr Trudeau and his wife Sophie were consulted about the decision late last year, before members of the Royal Family and even the Queen.

Prince Harry and Mr Trudeau have always looked to enjoy each other’s company at events such as Commonwealth commemorations. The two have also encountered each other on multiple occasions through Harry’s Invictus Games for disabled servicemen.

In today’s podcast  

‘Hi Mommy!’ Doria Ragland makes a cameo in Meghan Markle’s podcast Archetypes after FaceTiming while she was recording – as Duchess praises her mother for ‘juggling so much’ while raising her

Meghan Markle’s mother Doria Ragland made a surprise cameo in her Spotify podcast today. 

In a soundbite shared by Meghan on the podcast, which was releaed this morning, Doria could be heard FaceTiming her and speaking to her daughter for a few seconds as she was recording the show from her Montecito home in California.  

The Duchess of Sussex said the spontaneous moment made her reflect on the way in which Doria, who lives close by in Los Angeles, has supported her throughout her life. 

She also joked that they still do a handshake she came up with when she was eight, and said that being mother can be ‘the most thankless unpaid labor there is.’

Meghan Markle’s mother Doria Ragland made a surprise cameo in her Spotify podcast today. Pictured in 2018 before the royal wedding 

Meghan played the soundbite of the FaceTime call during the podcast, explaining Doria had interrupted her recording a few weeks beforehand by calling her. 

‘So, a few weeks ago while I was working on this very episode, my mom called. She actually FaceTimed,’ she said, before the clip played. 

In the outtake, Meghan could be heard saying: ‘Oh sugar, my mom’s FaceTiming me.’

She then picked up the phone and could be heard saying: ‘Hey, Mommy,’ with Doria replying “Hey, how’s my girl?”.

‘Hey, I’m okay, I’m hanging in there,’ Meghan could be heard chuckling, before adding: ‘It’s okay, I’m recording right now. Do you want to see?’

‘We’re just doing some podcasting. Can I call you back in a little bit,’ she was then heard asking. 

‘It was just your run-of-the-mill mother-daughter, conversation,’ Meghan can be heard saying in a voiceover playing midway through the soundbite. 

‘I have on a smiley face,’ Doria could be heard saying, with Meghan repeating ‘I have on a smiley face,’ and ‘I love you.’

Meghan took the occasion of her mother calling her while she was recording to bring up something they have been sharing since she was a child.  

‘My mom, she did this thing I do. You may have heard this clicking sound that she was doing,’ she said. 

‘All right, gang, my mom literally just pulled out a reference of what I came up with as a cool handshake to do with her when I was about eight, which was snap scissors, cut chicken,’ she said, laughing. 

‘I’m 41-years-old. And she’s like, “okay”,’ she laughed into the microphone. ‘It’s great. And it just put me right back into the past thinking about my childhood and our little quirks together. 

‘And then with this episode on my brain, it got me thinking about all the ways my mom supported me, how she took care of me and the house and herself and how she just juggled so much,’ she went on. 

‘The amount that women carry, that they navigate – it’s immense, and it’s often the most thankless unpaid labor there is,’ she added. 

‘There’s no union, there’s no lunch break. There’s nothing like that. At home, women just work really, really hard,’ she added. 

‘A lot of that work is born out of necessity, but so much of it is also born out of expectations,’ she said. 

Meghan’s political pool party! Duchess reveals she ‘giggled like a schoolgirl’ with Sophie Trudeau at her $14 million mansion where they ‘splashed about on an inflatable pizza slice’ and ‘drank wine’

Meghan Markle has revealed how she threw a pool party this summer with First Lady of Canada Sophie Trudeau where the two ‘giggled like schoolgirls’ on her latest podcast episode.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, who is currently living in her $14 million mansion in California, released the seventh show from her Archetypes series today, describing her guest Sophie as ‘a dear friend.’

During the introduction, the royal mother-of-two described how she hosted the event at her home in Santa Barbara earlier this year, adding it was a chance to ‘get the kids together, drink wine, swim.’

She described how she had bought an ‘inflatable pizza slice online’ which the family ‘splashed about on’ calling it ‘a big hit.’

According to the explosive biography Finding Freedom, when she began dating Harry in 2016, Meghan was urged to take advice from Sophie by her friend Jessica Mulroney, who deemed the two women ‘now had a lot in common’. 

Meghan Markle has revealed how she threw a pool party this summer with First Lady of Canada Sophie Trudeau where the two ‘giggled like schoolgirls’ on her latest podcast episode.

Meghan had previously met her husband Justin Trudeau at the One Young World summit in Ottawa in 2016, with the pair pictured deep in conversation

Starting the podcast today, Meghan said: ‘This past summer, a friend of mine was in town with her kids, for a few days.

‘Now, this to me was very exciting because I hadn’t seen her for a while, and the idea of getting our kids together, this was a real treat – [to] swim and drink wine.

‘We splashed in the water, then threw some pool floats in.

‘By the way, the inflatable pizza, slice proved to be a big hit, which I found online.

‘And I kid you not the one without pepperoni was a few dollars less than the one with pepperoni.

‘And yes, I’m still talking about the inflatable Pizza, float for the pool. We all got a good laugh out of that.

She continued: ‘But all that aside, this wasn’t our day of being the wives and moms.

‘All perfectly quaffed with updos and pearls and demure smiles.’

‘This was the other version of us both with wild curly hair and swimsuits and loose linen and huge belly laughs, big cuddles with our little ones.

‘And quiet whispers of girl talk on the terrace, like absolute schoolgirls.’

‘We were just having so much fun.’

Meghan went on to reveal she was talking about an event with Sophie, whom she has known for a number of years before joining the royal family.

Elsewhere, she described how she had ‘gone to Sophie for advice’ over the years, after meeting ‘seven years ago.’  

Meghan Markle’s ‘morning rush’: Duchess details her ‘whirlwind’ Montecito routine – including prepping Archie’s lunch box, feeding their three dogs and making breakfast for her family, which is ‘very important to her’

Meghan Markle has shared a glimpse of her ‘whirlwind’ morning routine on her latest Spotify podcast episode.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, who is currently living in her $14million mansion in California, alongside her husband Prince Harry, 38, and their two children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, released the seventh show from her Archetypes series today.

Speaking to one of her guests, American actress Pamela Adlon, in the episode ‘Good Wife/Bad Wife, Good Mom/Bad Mom’, Meghan revealed what mornings are like for her and the Duke of Sussex in their Montecito home. 

Describing her ‘morning rush,’ Meghan revealed how she and Prince Harry start the day by looking after their children – from prepping Archie’s lunch box to feeding their three dogs and making breakfast for her family, which is ‘very important to her’.

Meghan Markle (pictured with Prince Harry and their children) has shared a glimpse of her ‘whirlwind’ morning routine on her latest Spotify podcast episode 

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, who is currently living in her $14million mansion in California , alongside her husband Prince Harry, 38, and their two children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, released the seventh show from her Archetypes series today (pictured) 

‘So the morning rush I’m sure it’ll only get more chaotic as they get older,’ Meghan said.  ‘But for me, it’s, you know, both monitors on for the kids to hear them, always up with Lily, get her downstairs, then a half hour later Archie’s up.’

She went on to say she ‘start[s] doing his lunch box right before he’s up while I have her, getting her a little nibble, my husband’s help me get him downstairs.’ 

Meghan added: I make breakfast for all three of them. It’s very important to me. I love doing it. For me it just feels like the greatest way to start the morning.

After breakfast, the mother-of-two moves to feed the family’s dogs, and revealed Harry and her recently got a third pet.

‘And then it’s like feed all three of the dogs – because we just got another dog – and then it’s get Archie out the door for school and, you know, but it does, it feels like a whirlwind,’ she said.

Pamela then said she hopes Prince Harry contributes to this demanding morning routine and ‘kid time.’

‘Also, I hope dad is being a good contributor to like the time, the kid time,’ she said.   To which Meghan replied: ‘Oh my husband? He’s great.’ 

Inside King Charles’s Buckingham Palace: Harry and Meghan’s photo still takes pride of place, finds SIOFRA BRENNAN on her video tour of what’s changed under the new monarch

King Charles has been on the throne for just over a month, and he is already reshaping the monarchy.

In this video guide Mail Online takes a look at how Buckingham Palace has changed since he took over.