A week after Meghan, Duchess of Sussex recounted the time in South Africa where a heater caught fire in a room that her eldest child, Archie, was supposed to be sleeping in, a witness has come forward to share their perspective.
Speaking to The Citizen, the source revealed that the heater did burn.
A witness has come forward in light of Meghan’s nursery fire story.
(Image: Getty)“The heater burnt. The house didn’t burn, the rooms didn’t burn. I didn’t see the fire itself, but I saw the heater when it came out of the room. The plastic was severely melted,” they told the publication.
They added that they could not say whether Archie was in danger when the fire broke out.
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Meghan recounted the incident during her inaugural podcast episode with close friend and tennis champion Serena Williams.
(Image: Getty)Meghan recounted the incident during her inaugural podcast episode with close friend and tennis champion Serena Williams.
According to the duchess, the nursery fire occurred during her and Prince Harry’s trip to South Africa, with their then four-and-a-half month old son.
“The heater in the nursery caught on fire,” she said. “There was no smoke detector. Someone happened to just smell smoke down the hallway went in, fire extinguished. He was supposed to be sleeping in there.”
“He was supposed to be sleeping in there,” she said.
(Image: Getty)“We came back,” Meghan continued. “And of course, as a mother, you go, Oh, my God, what? Everyone’s in tears, everyone’s shaken. And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement? I said, This doesn’t make any sense.
“The focus ends up being on how it looks instead of how it feels.”
The anecdote has received mixed reactions from royal observers. While some have displayed sympathy for the mother, others have ridiculed the duchess – including Today Show host Karl Stefanovic.
WATCH: Karl Stefanovic’s brutal reaction to Meghan Markle’s birthday video. Article continues after video
“So, just to get this right, the baby’s, what, not even there?” he said during the morning show.
“No… the nanny had taken the baby from the room before the fire ignited,” co-host Allison Langdon replied.
“But… so then, the baby’s not there when the fire catches right? And because the baby wasn’t there, she was going to have difficulties going to a function? Oh, my God,” Karl responded.
Allison attempted to sympathise and remind her co-host that Meghan was a new mother in a foreign country which could have been frightening. But Karl only laughed before suggesting to stop showing fake sympathy.
“That is not you talking. You are a woman who says ‘grow a set’. That’s what you would say normally,” he said.
