Meghan Markle has been criticised over a "disappointing misstep" regarding her new podcast series, Confessions of a Female Founder. The Duchess of Sussex launched her new podcast show with Lemonada Media last month, releasing four episodes so far featuring various female entrepreneurs, including Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd, Girls Who Code's Reshma Saujani, Highbrow Hippie's Kadi Lee and most recently IT Cosmetics' Jamie Kern Lima.

While announcing the show earlier in March, the podcast distributor said fans can expect to "be inspired by the real, unfiltered stories and lessons learned from notable female founders—from knowing your worth, to trusting your gut, securing investors, and investing in yourself." The Duchess previously hosted another podcast series on Spotify, titled Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes before the Sussex couple's deal with the streaming giant ended. It featured Meghan casually chatting to various A-listers about the stereotypes against women.

Now, a royal expert has criticised the Duchess for adopting the "same format" for her new podcast series, suggesting that it could be one reason why it received less-than-favourable reviews.

Confessions of a Female Founder received scathing reviews from British media.

The Telegraph gave the series two stars out of five and branded it "insane", while The Guardian also gave the show two stars out of five, saying it is "stomach-turning" and "a bit much".

The Times rated it one star out of five, saying it is full of Meghan's "self love", adding that "it’s a research exercise for her new app. Meghan, after all, is a world expert in self-love."

Edward Coram-James, CEO of PR and SEO agency Go Up, told the Express: "Confessions of a Female Founder isn’t just casual conversations with girlfriends; it’s designed to be a thought-provoking platform, with the audience seeking insights from influential leaders.

"Yet, it seems that Meghan simply scrolled through her contacts and thought, 'Oh, you’ll do.'

"Take her first guest, Whitney Wolfe Herd. Being the founder of Bumble, she’s a huge name, but the conversation leaned more towards their shared experiences as women rather than the gritty, actionable advice we were hoping for."

The PR specialist added: "There's absolutely nothing wrong with this. But while she may know her guests well, it doesn’t always mean they'll offer the depth the audience seeks.

"Today’s audiences are sharper than ever; if they don’t find value in what’s offered, they’ll move on.

"It’s a bit disappointing how predictable this misstep seems. Meghan hasn’t quite changed the format; this podcast feels more like Archetypes 2.0, just with a new intro and a bit less media buzz."