Meghan Markle Wants To Trademark A 500-Year-Old English Word For Her Podcast

Meghan Markle has filed to trademark an English word that is nearly 500 years old.

The Duchess of Sussex submitted an application to protect the word ‘archetypes’, after announcing it was to be the title of her long-awaited Spotify podcast.

The 40-year-old ex-Suits star made the application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office last month, and, if it is approved, it will mean no one else can it in business.

The word, which means 'model, first form, or original pattern from which copies are made', first cropped up in the English language circa 1540.

The actor could run into legal issues with her application as a skincare and cleaning company business called ‘Archetypes’ has already established a trademark on the word.

Markle's legal bid comes a little over a year after she and her husband Prince Harry first signed a deal with streaming giant Spotify, rumoured to be worth AUD $31 million (£18 million).

“This is how we talk about women, the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us," the mum-of-two said in a video explaining her podcast.

"But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up and defining our lives?”

She then introduced herself and the podcast, explaining it will 'dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back'.

"I'll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives," Markle added.

"And I'll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.”

The couple have kept largely to themselves in recent months, with Prince Harry skipping his grandfather's memorial service in the UK.

The British Royal Family has declined to use taxpayer money to pay for security for Prince Harry and his family when they visit the UK, according to the BBC, despite Harry and Meghan quitting their royal duties.

The move to quit as working royals came after the couple accused the royal family of bullying and racism, and concerns from the couple that their son Archie would not be given a royal title.