She added that she always saw it as a positive trait as a child, before she learned “a thing or two” about the labels and conventions that hold women back. In the first of her new Archetypes podcast, launched on Spotify on Tuesday and titled The Misconception of Ambition with Serena Williams, Meghan expresses her desire to explore “the boxes that women have been placed in for generations”. The statement, which could be interpreted as a new broad view of the royal family, comes after a tumultuous few years for the Sussexes and their relationship with the company. The couple made the decision to step back from royal duties in 2020 before moving to California and giving an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey. Speaking to the chatshow host, Meghan claimed members of the royal family had openly expressed concerns about how dark her son Archie’s skin would be and said she nearly killed herself while pregnant with her first child. The couple had a low-key return to Britain for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and the podcast comes just before they prepare to return again in a few weeks to attend a series of charity events. “I don’t personally remember feeling the negative connotation behind the word ambitious until I started dating my now-husband, and obviously ambition is a terrible, terrible thing. For women,” he says. “Having felt the negativity behind it, it’s really hard to feel. I can’t even tell it to the millions of girls and women who make themselves smaller, so smaller on a regular basis.’ In the podcast, Meghan explains that she wants to explore the stereotypes that hold women back, “boxes like the diva, the crazy, the B word” and get to the bottom of where they come from, why they’ve stuck around for so long, adding: “Of course, I know a thing or two about these labels myself.” She said she wants to share her and other women’s experiences in the hope that “her own experience will help other women open up to reveal the layers of well-being within all of us.” Meghan and Williams, who describe their close friendship on the podcast, also talk about how women are treated differently when they become mothers, with Meghan saying: ‘The double standard between how men and women are treated after having children is so, so true. I have felt it.” Williams, who recently announced her retirement from tennis, revealed the ordeal she went through as she made the decision to “evolve” her career. She said she spoke to Harry, who is doing a small podcast presentation and inviting Williams to the couple’s home. Williams said she has often teared up since making the decision, but it was “exciting to not have to worry about … performing at such a high level.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “Tennis was chosen for me and I loved that choice… but now for the first time in my entire life I choose to do something. And it’s hard,” Williams said. Meghan added that Williams, herself and Harry “really know that sometimes the right decision is not the easiest decision […] and it takes a lot.” Concluding the podcast, Meghan said there is a “misconception that if you’re an ambitious woman, you have an agenda”. In a segment likely to be scrutinized by avid fans of the royal controversy, she argues that if women are ambitious they are seen as rational or selfish or aggressive or mountaineers, adding: “If you’re that fierce or strong or brave then somehow you deserve whatever what happened to you However, it can be disproportionate or unfair and even when it is more than most people could afford.’ In a promotional video released on Twitter, Meghan vowed to be “unfiltered” in her series, saying “people should expect the real me in this” and not what they see through the media lens. She added: “I’m just excited to be myself and talk and be unfiltered.”
