Prince Harry reportedly had some wild ideas for his own podcast, which would have seen him interview some of the most controversial figures in the world.
Some of the guests Harry reportedly wanted to talk to were former US president Donald Trump, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The report from Bloomberg which details the aspirations the prince had for potential podcasts comes after it was announced Spotify and the Sussexes’ audio company, Archewell Audio, had decided to part ways.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed a multi-million dollar deal with Spotify in 2020, with the pair expected to produce podcasts exclusively for the platform.
However, only 12 episodes of Markle’s Archetypes were ever released.
An insider claimed to Bloomberg that Prince Harry had a few ideas for his podcast, and had spoken with producers and production houses about his ideas.
Bloomberg reports that Prince Harry did listen to a number of ideas for his podcast, but was set on doing one based on his own idea.
Wanting to explore childhood trauma, Prince Harry would interview the likes of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Mark Zuckerberg about their early years and how that affected them later in life.
It’s not clear when Prince Harry floated this idea, as it could have been anytime from the deal with Spotify being signed to just a few weeks ago.
Of course in that time, Trump’s presidency came to an end with his followers’ January 6, 2021, attack on Congress. Trump currently faces a number of criminal charges and legal battles.
President Putin, who invaded Ukraine in 2022, has also been busy and might have been pressed for time to summon childhood memories.
As for Zuckerberg, as Bloomberg noted, just like Putin, he rarely gives in-depth interviews about such personal topics.
Prince Harry, a father of two, was also interested in doing a podcast based on fatherhood. Another idea he had was a podcast covering important issues such as climate change and religion.
He even hoped to get the Pope to speak on his podcast, Bloomberg reported.
Opinions were divided after revelations about Prince Harry’s podcasts that never came to be. Many mocked Prince Harry online, while a few people expressed interest in hearing what Putin would have to say about his childhood.
Deals fall through
Prince Harry has kept quite busy despite stepping back from his royal duties in 2020.
He released his ghost-written memoir, Spare, and did several high-profile interviews to promote it.
He and wife Meghan also released a Netflix documentary series which gave viewers a look into their relationship, and they did an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
While Spotify has parted ways with the couple, there are reports Meghan Markle will host her podcast on another platform.
However, it has been alleged she didn’t conduct the interviews in her previous episodes and instead, a producer did the interviews and Markle’s voice was added later.
Bill Simmons, an executive at Spotify, called out the couple on his own podcast.
“‘The f—ing grifters’ — that’s the podcast we should have launched with them,” Simmons said.
“I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”
It’s not clear if the podcast idea Prince Harry discussed with Simmons is the one that would have involved Putin, Trump and Zuckerberg.
