The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie has given his first public broadcast wishing the world a “Happy New Year” – in a slight American accent.
Harry and Meghan giggled with delight as they coached their son to say the phrase during the final seconds of their new podcast show, which featured Sir Elton John speaking movingly about his hopes for “healing” in 2021.
Talking with what appeared to be an American twang to his voice, the royal toddler repeated “Happy” after his father said it, then copied Meghan and said “New”.
But he completed the phrase without any further prompting saying “Year” as his parents laughed and Archie, who is 19-months-old, could also be heard giggling.
During the final moments of the broadcast Harry also says, in an apparent reference to the microphone in front of his son, “you can speak into it” while Meghan asks “Archie is it fun?” and her son replies “fun”.
It is thought Archie has spent more than a year living in North America, joining his parents when they had an extended break towards the end of 2019 in Canada, before they made the permanent move to California in March.
With his mother and grandmother Doria Ragland, both Americans, it is likely he is picking up their accent which will be reinforced if he attends a local playgroup.
Harry and Meghan had asked their guests who included activists, campaigners and famous friends like James Corden to record audio diaries looking back on the year.
Sir Elton, when asked about his hopes for the future, said: “I hope after this awful pandemic has passed, and we can go back to some sort of normality, that we have become better people – and I hope for healing.
“It’s been an awful time for people. People have lost loved ones, people have lost their businesses, they’ve lost work. It’s been an awful time for people, so I hope that we can heal in 2021.”
The duke and duchess began their show by paying tribute to healthcare and frontline workers for their “sacrifices” and remembered those who have lived through “uncertainty and unthinkable loss” during the coronavirus pandemic.
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 ✨https://t.co/NlM2LsaP6h
— Spotify (@Spotify) December 29, 2020
The couple have signed a lucrative deal with Spotify to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around 25 million US dollars (£18 million) and the development comes a few months after their Netflix deal, rumoured to be worth more than £100 million.
In his audio diary for Meghan and Harry’s podcast Sir Elton John said: “Well, we were in the middle of a tour and then Covid started and we came back to England in May, and it was very strange because we were going full pelt, and then all of a sudden, we ground to a halt.
“I’m 73 years old, and I’m a semi-diabetic so I’m in a risky area there, I have an underlying condition as they say. I’ve seen my immediate family – Zachary, Elijah and David – all the time.
“But my relatives, who I love, haven’t been able to see much of them at all, and I’ve only stayed connected with them by phone, of course, and by Zoom.”
The singer said as a recovering alcoholic being able to attend virtual AA meetings via video calls has been a “lifesaver”.
Other podcast guests, during the 34-minute show, included activist and tennis star Naomi Osaka, American filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry, wellness icon Deepak Chopra and teenage activist Christina Adane, from London – who campaigns on food issues.
Corden, who was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding and was asked by the duke to perform at the couple’s evening celebration, said he has been happy spending extra time during the pandemic with his family.
The actor, who hosts The Late Late Show on the American television network CBS, said: “I think what I’ve learned about myself is I really don’t have Fomo (fear of missing out). I’m very happy, staying in I mean. I could lose a day just staring at the corner of a rug. That’s what I’ve realised, and I’ve been ok with that.
“I think being able to spend so much time with my children, I felt like my relationship with them has changed, being around them more, you know, the five of us in our house has really brought quite a lot of joy to me.”
Before the appearance of Archie, the couple broadcast the gospel song This Little Light Of Mine, which was played at the end of their wedding.
Quoting Martin Luther King, Meghan said “It was the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together. Because as we all know, ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that…'”
