Meghan Markle shows rare photo of Archie on Ellen

The Duchess of Sussex, 40, stunned the audience who had no idea she was a special guest, before showing a rare photo of her and Prince Harry’s two-year-old son, Archie, feeding chickens at their Montecito, California estate.

The pair have been ultra private about their children, having only ever shared photos of Archie from behind.

The light-hearted interview opened rather awkwardly when Ellen introduced Meghan as “the Duchess of Sussex”, to which Meghan let out a stifled giggle.

Elsewhere, Meghan engaged in a series of Ellen’s signature pranks, while the pair discussed meeting for the first time a decade ago at a pet shop and now enjoying a friendship as neighbours: “Meghan’s a great dancer,” Ellen tells the audience.

Meghan, Harry’s kids ‘not into’ Halloween

After moving to the US early last year, Meghan told the TV host she wanted to celebrate Halloween this year with her growing family of four, saying she dressed Archie up as a dinosaur and Lilibet Diana, who was born in June, as a skunk “like Flower from Bambi”.

“We wanted to do something fun for the kids, and then the kids were just not into it at all,” Meghan said, before Ellen – who spent Halloween with the Sussexes – added that Archie wore the costume for “not even five minutes”.

Meghan also said witnessing her husband of three years be a father was “the most beautiful thing to watch.”

Meghan reveals wild night out with Harry

Elsewhere in the interview, Meghan revealed she and Harry attended a Halloween party in disguise in 2016 before their relationship became public.

The Duchess told Ellen they were in Toronto, where she was filming Suits, when they decided to go incognito for a night on the town with fellow royal Princess Eugenie and her now-husband, Jack Brooksbank.

“[Harry] came to see me in Toronto and our friends and his cousin Eugenie and now her husband Jack – they came as well,” she said.

“The four of us snuck out in Halloween costumes to just have one fun night on the town before it was out in the world that we were a couple.

“It was a post-apocalypse theme so we had all of this very bizarre costuming on and we were able to just have one final fun night out.

Meghan and Harry, 37, met on a blind date in July 2016, before their relationship began being speculated in September that year. It wasn’t until November, shortly after Halloween, that Harry confirmed their relationship when he issued a press release detailing his concerns about the press’ “abuse and harassment” toward his new partner.

Meghan pranks street vendors

Ellen fit Meghan with an earpiece and tasked her with pranking street vendors on the Warner Bros. studio lot.

A clearly recognisable Meghan, who was not in disguise for the stunt, first targeted a crystal stall, with Ellen urging Meghan to say she has “healing powers” to the seller while musing at the crystals on display.

Ellen then asked Meghan to hold one of the crystals against her head and chant.

Over at a hot dog vendor, DeGeneres ordered Meghan to eat a tortilla chip “like a chipmunk” as the audience watched on in fits of laughter.

“Mummy wants some heat!” Meghan screamed at the vendor, as per Ellen’s direction.

Meghan’s political push

While most of the interview was fairly light-hearted, Meghan talked about paid parental leave in the US, which she has been openly pushing for for weeks, including reports she cold called senators.

“As a mum of two I will do everything that I can to make sure we can implement [paid family leave],” she said.

“People truly forget that or don’t even know it’s (the US) one of only six wealthy countries in the world that does not mandate and have a federal paid leave program.

“I will do everything I can to make sure we can implement that for people.”

Originally published as Meghan Markle’s interview with Ellen DeGeneres: All the highlights