PIERS Morgan has hit out at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “narcissistic” Spotify deal after he thought the trailer was a spoof.
The Good Morning Britain presenter branded the couple as “the most god-awful royal grifters” as they rake in £30million from their new venture.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex giggled about having “podcast voices” and even hummed Christmas songs during the heavily scripted three-minute trailer that Piers thought was a joke.
Slamming the pair’s new venture in the Daily Mail, he wrote: “As with everything the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seem to do these days, their new commercial venture appears to be driven by large dollops of narcissism, hypocrisy and greed.”
The Archewell Audio podcast, which begins later this month, is the pair’s latest lucrative deal since they split from the Royal Family and vowed to become financially independent.
Mr Morgan continued: “Meghan and Harry have turned into the most god-awful royal grifters, cynically exploiting their royal status to line their own pockets.”
“Honestly, when I first heard the promotional trailer for their new podcast, I assumed it was a spoof,” he added.
This morning Piers pretended to vomit into a bin live on Good Morning Britain as he ranted on air about the couple’s audio venture.
After removing the bin from his face, he said: “I’m so sorry, how awkward?”
Piers then added: “But underneath the vomit-making, look, if they want to do vomit-making podcasts – it’s entirely their right – but it boils down once again, what are they thinking at Buckingham Palace?
“These two are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they’re still royals. They don’t do any of the nasty stuff, you know the wet Wednesday at the care home in Stoke-on-Trent.
“They’ve bailed out of all that. And they’re now making gazillions doing all these commercial – very commercial deals – which is absolutely fine except they’re only making the money because they’re the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Otherwise they wouldn’t make a bean.”
The news of Archewell Audio came the day after Meghan announced her investment in a ‘vegan oatmeal latte’ brand called Clevr Blend.
She managed to get her billionaire pal Oprah Winfrey to plug it on her TV show.
One insider said: “Meghan was the driving force behind it. The initial multi-year deal is worth in excess of £30million with a view to extending it within six months.”
Spotify says it will “uplift and entertain audiences”.
In the trailer for the podcast, Harry says: “Shall we start? Ladies first?”
A giggling Meghan replies, telling her husband: “No, say it because I think it sounds really nice with your accent.”
Prince Harry then says: “Hi guys, I’m Harry” before Meghan adds: “And I’m Meghan” – with the pair choosing not to use their royal titles.
Meghan, 39, then says with a more serious tone: “One of the things my husband and I have always talked about is our passion for meeting people and hearing their stories.
“And no matter what the story they usually offer an understanding of where someone else is coming from and, in some way, remind you of a story about yourself.”
Harry, 36, added: “And that is what this story is all about.
“To bring forward different perspectives and voices that perhaps you haven’t heard before and find our common ground.
“Because when that happens change really is possible.”
It is not known how much their Spotify contract is worth but US comedian Joe Rogan signed a $100million (£75million) deal in May this year.
In the chirpy podcast intro, the couple also imitated church bells and said: “We can’t wait to share it with you and will be out later this month.”
Harry then urged people to sign up to the podcast and touched on the pandemic which has caused “so much pain”.
He said: “So many people have suffered so much pain this year, experiencing loss and a huge amount of uncertainty but it feels worth mentioning that 2020 has connected us in ways we could never have imagined.
“Through endless acts of compassion and kindness. So here’s what you need to do, tap follow right now.
“Go ahead, go on. Tap, follow and that way you won’t miss out and you’ll be able to hear new shows on Archewell Audio as soon as they drop.”
Announcing their newest venture, the couple said in a statement: “What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another without distraction.
“With the challenges of 2020, there has never been a more important time to do so, because when we hear each other, and hear each other’s stories, we are reminded of how interconnected we all are.”
It is available on the streaming service, accompanied by a short description which reads: “Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, present Archewell Audio. Coming soon to Spotify.”
