Prince Harry and Meghan make first appearance since confirming end to senior royal life

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have set out some of their ambitions for the next year after confirming they would not be returning to work as senior members of the Royal Family.

The couple made their first appearance since announcing Meghan's pregnancy in a short clip shared as part of the Spotify Stream On event.

They signed a deal last year with the streaming giant to make podcasts through their production company Archewell Audio, though only one episode has been released so far.

Explaining their goal for the podcasts, Meghan said: “We’re using podcasting to drive powerful conversations.”

Harry continued: “That inspire, challenge, and educate.”

Former actor Meghan, 39, added: “We created Archewell Audio to make sure that we can elevate voices that maybe aren’t being heard, and hear people’s stories.”

Harry, 36, then said: “And the biggest part of this is trying to create this community of where you can share. We encourage everybody else to then share their own vulnerabilities within that safe space.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their first podcast in between Christmas and New Year, speaking to friends including James Corden and Sir Elton John about how the coronavirus pandemic had impacted them.

They are also producing programmes for Netflix.

Watch: Buckingham Palace confirms Harry and Meghan won't return as working royals

Read more: Where to buy Princess Eugenie's velvet yellow headband from baby photo

The couple confirmed last week that they would not be returning to their former lives as working royals, making the final announcement more than a month early as they came to an arrangement with the Queen.

Having stated they wanted to step back last year, the Queen gave the couple a 12-month review period, which was due to come to an end on 31 March.

But ahead of schedule Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple would not return as senior royals.

The Queen said they would always be "much loved members of the family".

A YouGov poll taken after the palace's statement showed that nearly half of Britons thought Prince Harry should be removed from the line of succession.

Harry is sixth in line to the throne, and his son Archie is seventh. The lack of royal title does not change his position.

In recent history the only person removed from the line of succession was Prince Michael of Kent when he married Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, now Princess Michael of Kent, because she is Catholic.

His position in line was reinstated when the law changed in 2013, ending the practice of removing those who marry Catholics.

Harry and Meghan now live in Santa Barbara, California, with their one-year-old son Archie, who will become a big brother later this year.

Meghan is expecting their second child, but the due date is not known.