Royals and podcasts: Why royals are choosing to reveal more about themselves on podcasts instead of traditional television interviews | Meghan Markle, Queen Mary, Kate Middleton, Mike Tindall, Queen Camilla

Two years before that, Prince Andrew put the final nail in the coffin of his royal career by stumbling his way through an interview with the BBC about his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, denying allegations about alleged abuse towards his accuser Virginia Giuffre.

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In 2010, his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, went on Oprah to offer a public apology after being caught in an undercover sting offering to sell access to Prince Andrew to a reporter posing as a businessman.

But times are changing.

The royal television exclusive could, perhaps, be a thing of the past, now making way for a more casual approach: the podcast.

The Duchess of Sussex is the latest royal to share their inner musings, hopes for the future and titbits about life on a podcast – even going makeup-free and wearing upmarket tracky-daks for the filmed episode with her close friend and businesswoman, Jamie Kern Lima.

It was the first time Meghan had been a guest on someone else’s podcast after hosting two series of her own (Archetypes and Confessions of a Female Founder) giving Lima the honour and, in turn, generating headlines globally.

While this interview wasn’t as shocking or revelatory as others Meghan has given in the past, the duchess did touch on a few topics she knew would attract attention: her children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, her marriage with Prince Harry and whether she has plans to write a memoir of her own (“Yes, maybe, for sure!”)

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However it was the inclusion of a printed, monogrammed note that has sparked the biggest interest, revealing Meghan still refers to herself as HRH [Her Royal Highness] despite she and Prince Harry agreeing to not use the prefix in their post-working royal lives.

So, why are royals choosing to share their lives on podcasts more than ever over the traditional medium of television?

For one thing, doing a podcast typically gives the royal more control of the topic and they usually have more time to get their point across than on television.

They can also choose a podcaster, or show, that aligns directly with the causes they have been supporting throughout their royal career, giving the topic a huge boost in publicity.

Take Denmark’s Queen Mary as a recent example. Last year, the Australian-born royal announced a three-part podcast series through the Mary Foundation.

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The Lonely Youth series will give a voice to those experiencing social isolation, a core issue of focus within Mary’s charity.

“These are heavy numbers that we must do something about,” Queen Mary said, referring to a landmark survey in Denmark the year before which found 73 per cent of 16-19-year-olds experience loneliness.

The Queen said that, like so many around the world, she is a listener of podcasts: “Some days I’m in the mood for entertainment, and other days I use it to gain knowledge and new input”.

It is not yet clear if Queen Mary will feature on any of the episodes.

Back in the UK, Princess Eugenie co-hosted Floodlight, a podcast with her friend Julia de Boinville, which ran for two seasons in support of The Anti-Slavery Collective, a charity that the two women created to fight modern slavery.

The Princess of Wales, while Duchess of Cambridge, spoke about her experiences of feeling guilt as a working mum while a guest on the podcast Happy Mum, Happy Baby in 2020.

Over 30 minutes, Kate made a number of revelations about parenting her three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, including that she found introducing her firstborn in front of the world’s media on the steps of the Lindo Wing to be “slightly terrifying”

Her appearance was in support of her work into the vital first five years of a child’s life, known as the Early Years, which is a core focus of Kate’s since marrying into the royal family.

The Duchess of York co-hosted a podcast with her friend where the royal spoke at length over multiple episodes about her diagnoses of breast and skin cancer, urging listeners to get themselves checked and raising huge awareness of both conditions.

Queen Camilla, a lifelong advocate of reading, began sharing her passion for literature when she launched The Queen’s Reading Room podcast in 2024 following the success of her book club.

The series, which has had two seasons so far, included short interviews with Queen Camilla who shared her favourite books with listeners, and conversations with authors.

Reading for just five minutes a day, the book club found through a scientific study, was just as valuable to mental wellbeing as walking 10,000 steps and eating five portions of fruit and vegetables.

Royals also venture into the world of podcasting to have a bit of fun and to show side of themselves not often seen during official engagements, which can be formal and very regulated.

Prince William and Kate, and Princess Anne, joined Mike Tindall on his hugely popular rugby podcast The Good, the Bad & the Rugby in an episode filmed recorded in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle.

Prince William and Kate both spoke about their competitive nature, with the Princess of Wales jokingly denying that she was competitive at all, saying her family was always “very active”.

Challenged by fellow host James Haskell that she and her husband are “super, super competitive”, Kate said, “I’m not that competitive”, while her husband laughed and winked.

She added: “I don’t think we’ve actually managed to finish a game of tennis. It becomes a mental challenge between the two of us.”

William agreed: “It’s who can out-mental the other.”

Tindall even used his podcast to pay tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II just weeks after her death in 2022, after taking a key role in the mourning events including the state funeral.

He said: ”You never predict it. A 96-year-old lady, you know, at some point it’s going to happen but you’re never ready for when it does”.

Hosting a podcast, or appearing on someone else’s show, can also have self-serving benefits for the royal by helping them to “stay relevant”, particularly amid criticism of the point of monarchies in our modern world.

“Royals tend to be later than everybody else entering these spaces,” Dr Lisa Beckett, a lecturer at the University of New England researching royalty and popular culture, told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2024.

“But [engaging in new mediums] is one of the ways they stay relevant.

“Queen Elizabeth could get away with quite a bit of distance because she started her reign so long ago, but the younger royals are expected to act more modern and to be in this space…That distance between celebrities and fans has been shrinking, particularly with social media.”

Along with helping a royal to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world, or giving publicity to a cause they are passionate about, podcasts are also popular amongst royalty because they can be recorded basically anywhere and do not always require the careful grooming that comes with being on television.

They offer the opportunity for a royal to be casual, which is often in stark contrast to the formalities of palace life.

We are likely to see more royals in the future try their hands at podcasting, whether as a guest or host, providing what is likely to be endless opportunity within this new frontier of how royalty deal with the public and their subjects.

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