When Oprah Winfrey memorably swept into the grounds of Windsor Castle for Harry and Meghan’s wedding, her appearance certainly raised a few eyebrows – with many observing they had no idea the billionaire US chat show legend even knew the couple.
Now it has emerged she had only met the Duchess of Sussex once face-to-face before being invited to the star-studded nuptials and given a plum seat next to senior royals.
Their sit-down at Kensington Palace months before the 2018 ceremony was reportedly initiated by CBS anchor Gayle King, a mutual friend, who set up an initial phone call between the pair.
But that one-off meeting set the wheels in motion for a three-year love-in between Oprah and the Sussexes that all-but confirmed the journalist as an unofficial mentor to Meghan.
Oprah has publicly cultivated a relationship with the couple.
She has promoted the Duchess’s range of vegan coffee to her 19.2million Instagram followers, visited her mother Doria for ‘kumquats and yoga in the garden’ and even teamed up with Harry to secure an Apple TV deal.
And it is clear the royal couple must also value their bond with the hugely influential Miss Winfrey – they now live cheek by jowl with her and other high-profile stars in the celebrity-filled Montecito, California.
Their closeness fuelled speculation that work was underway to secure a trademark Oprah interview that would see Meghan tell all on air.
Now it has been confirmed and ‘Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special’ will be filmed over the next few days – with some suggesting it is already in the can.
Meghan and Harry will be interviewed by Oprah on March 7 in a glittering TV special
Oprah Winfrey’s appearance at Meghan and Harry’s 2018 wedding revealed their friendship
CBS broadcaster Gayle King introduced Oprah Winfrey to Meghan by phone in 2018
It is a long way from their first meeting, reported by The Times, which happened when Oprah ‘found herself in London’ and was invited by Meghan to meet her at Kensington Palace in March.
Their only face-to-face encounter happened so far under the radar that by the time of Duke and Duchess of Sussex tied the knot St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle some were surprised when she arrived.
As Oprah took her seat on May 19, 2018, on the row alongside the likes of Serena Williams and George Clooney some Royal watchers wondered how she knew Megan and Harry.
And her brief report on the day – published of course in her own Oprah Magazine – gave little insight into any friendship.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in Windsor
Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother, had enjoyed a yoga session with Oprah before the wedding
The layout of the chapel shows where Oprah was sat among other guests at the wedding
She said ‘It gave us hope, that wedding’ after declaring ‘All mature beings recognised it as the beginning it was’.
Meghan was reported to have been delighted when Oprah texted her after the ceremony to offer her congratulations.
By now pictures of the veteran interviewer at the wedding had cemented them as friends in the eyes of the public.
Rumours immediately emerged they would be doing an interview, but nothing materialised with the topic never mentioned by either party.
It later emerged Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland had visited Oprah’s Promised Land mansion in Montecito, California, just three weeks earlier.
The pair spent six hours together eating kumquats and doing yoga in her garden.
What followed over the next three years was a love-in between Oprah and the Sussexes that all-but confirmed the journalist as an unofficial mentor to Meghan.
In April, 2019, and before Archie was even born, the chat show host announced she would be sending him some ‘welcome to the world’ gifts.
They were a huge collection of books, including one that would later become thrust into the public arena.
Oprah said at the time ‘I don’t know the baby’s name or the baby’s gender, but this baby will have enough books to last a lifetime.’
The same month she tapped up Prince Harry to produce a mental-health series for Apple TV.
They are said to have had a number of meetings in London and was heralded by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s official Instagram account.
Some watchers believed the gesture was further evidence of Oprah’s drive to woo the couple.
Then in January last year she and King publicly backed the pair’s breakaway from the Royal family.
Out in New York one night, they told TMZ: ‘I support them 1,000 percent.
A coffee company Meghan had invested in was plugged by Oprah on her Instagram page
‘You know why I support them? I support them because I believe, when you have thought about this as long as they have — and even in the Queen’s statement says, ‘This has been going on for months,’ these discussions have been going on for months — and when Harry said in that charity statement the other day that he had to make the decision to move forward in peace with his new family.
‘Who doesn’t feel what that takes to make that decision to give up everything you’ve known your whole life to say I’m going to choose this new life or what I believe to be the truest vision for myself?’
Five months later Oprah’s world was featured in a video released to celebrate Archie’s birthday.
A video showing Meghan reading him Duck! Rabbit! by by Amy Krouse Rosenthal had a plug to one of her brands.
Oprah Magazine described it as ‘A subtle nod to one of the family’s biggest champions’ and confirmed the broadcaster had gifted it to them.
The book had a label on the front saying ‘Archie’s Book Club’ a version of ‘Oprah’s Book Club’ branding.
In August the couple moved to an £11million mansion in Montecito, California, down the road from her.
Then in December last year a coffee company Meghan had invested in was plugged by Oprah on her 19.3million-follower Instagram page.
She said her ‘neighbor M’ had given her a basket of the Clevr Brands goods ‘for Christmas’.
Oprah added: ‘On the first day of Christmas my neighbor ‘M’ sent to me…a basket of deliciousness! (Yes that M) My new drink of choice for the morning and night.
‘Wish I had Clevr Blends sooner cause I would’ve added it to my Favorite Things list.’
By February 15 the conclusion of the dance between Oprah and Meghan appeared to have reached a conclusion.
It brought to an end suggestions King – who had attended the duchesses’ baby shower – would be grilling the royal pair.
Instead, her station revealed the news it would be Oprah who had scored the interview.
Details suggest a carefully chorographed chat with just Meghan about her life as a Royal and life under the public spotlight.
Harry will join later to talk about their future hopes and expanding their family, after the news they are expecting their second child.
With a running time of 90 minutes, it promises to be a lot longer than Meghan and Oprah’s first phone call three years ago.
Harry and Meghan ‘didn’t inform the Queen they were planning tell-all Oprah chat’: CBS promises ‘wide ranging’ two-part interview will begin with Duchess talking solo about her journey as a ‘royal and a mother’ before she’s joined by husband
- Duke and Duchess of Sussex are keen to avoid upsetting the Queen, sources say
- Harry and Meghan are likely to discuss why they stepped down as senior royals
- But the couple are not expected to reveal all the details that preceded ‘Megxit’
- Sussexes ‘under no obligation’ to inform Royal Family of plan, royal source says
By MARK DUELL FOR MAILONLINE
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not tell the Queen in advance that they were planning a ‘tell-all’ TV interview with Oprah Winfrey – but are keen to avoid upsetting the monarch during their chat, it was claimed today.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are likely to discuss why they dramatically stepped down as senior royals during the 90-minute special to be shown in the US on CBS on March 7.
But the couple are not expected to reveal all the details that preceded their historic ‘Megxit’ split from the Royal Family which was announced in January 2020.
Sources close to the Sussexes told the London Evening Standard that the couple still had a good relationship with the Queen, the Duke’s grandmother.
A royal source said that as the couple were no longer working royals, any decisions taken with regard to ‘media commitments are matters for them’.
The source added that the Sussexes were ‘under no obligation’ to inform the Royal Household of the interview, which was announced by CBS in a press release.
The US network described ‘Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special’ as an ‘intimate conversation’ including ‘a wide-ranging interview’ with Meghan.
It said the first part will see Oprah speak to Meghan about ‘everything from stepping into life as a Royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure’.
CBS added that they will later be joined by Harry as they ‘speak about their move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family’.
It comes as the Daily Mail revealed Harry and Meghan are set to lose all their remaining royal patronages.
A photograph of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was released on Sunday as a spokesman for the couple announced: ‘We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother’
Oprah Winfrey is pictured at Harry and Meghan’s Windsor Castle wedding on May 19, 2018
It comes as the Daily Mail revealed Harry and Meghan are set to lose all their remaining royal patronages.
It is understood the Queen is to ask them to relinquish their links with any organisations passed down through the Royal Family.
Her 36-year-old grandson would be stripped of his three remaining honorary military titles and, potentially, his patronages with the Rugby Football Union, Rugby Football League and the London Marathon.
Meghan would have to step down as patron of the National Theatre, unless she can negotiate another position with them.
Meghan, Harry and the Queen at an awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 26, 2018
Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was announced by CBS in this press release
When she was handed the role in 2019, it was seen as a major gesture of support and affection because the Queen had been patron of the London institution for 45 years.
One grey area is expected to be the couple’s links with the Commonwealth, but sources suggested that these are likely to go as well.
It was confirmed last night that Meghan, 39, had agreed to a ‘wide-ranging’ interview with Oprah. It is believed the programme could be recorded this week.
The two women are friends and near neighbours in California, with Oprah attending the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018 and plugging a range of vegan lattes that Meghan has helped finance.
One source described the interview as ‘one of the most inevitable and, sadly, predictable consequences’ of the ‘Megxit’ saga.
Harry will also feature in the 90-minute show. It will air next month on CBS and the couple will discuss their move to the United States.
It will be the first time the pair have spoken publicly about their bombshell decision to leave Britain and step down from their working roles in the Royal Family.
The interview is reportedly the result of a three-year bid by Oprah to win Meghan’s trust.
When she attended the wedding she had met the duchess only once, despite being described as a ‘friend of the couple’, The Times reported.
Before raising the subject of an interview, she worked with Harry on an Apple TV series and visited Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland in Los Angeles.
It follows news that the couple are expecting their second child. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were ‘overjoyed’ at the pregnancy, revealed on Valentine’s Day.
The decision to take part in the interview risks angering – and embarrassing – the Royal Family.
It could also widen the divisions between Harry and his brother, Prince William, and William’s wife, the Duchess of Cambridge.
In the interview, the couple will speak about their move last year and their ‘hopes and dreams for their expanding family’. The programme will air on March 7.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment about the interview, which will be aired six weeks before the Queen’s 95th birthday and in advance of celebrations for Prince Philip’s 100th.
The statements issued for the Duchess of Sussex’s first pregnancy in October 2018 (top) and then on Sunday (bottom)
Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan are set to lose all their remaining royal patronages, which are displayed above
While there was no angry reaction from the palace – it has taken great pains not to get into a public slanging match with the Sussexes – the coldness of the response was evident.
The expected decision to strip the couple of their last remaining royal titles is not being done as a reaction to the interview.
It is being perceived that the televised chat was agreed because the couple could ‘see the direction of travel’ of future royal roles.
Sources have stressed that a 12-month review of their new status was not put into place last year with a renegotiation of terms in mind, but as a safety net in case they moved abroad ‘and didn’t get a dime in the bank’.
Harry and Meghan have since secured multi-million deals with companies including Spotify and Netflix, meaning that their futures are now assured.
But their decision to pursue commercial tie-ups has made their position as quasi-royals simply impossible, courtiers believe.
One source has said: ‘You can’t have one of the head of state’s representatives flogging cups of coffee, it’s as a simple as that.’
Just days ago friends of the prince signalled his determination to fight in particular for his military titles:
- Captain General of the Royal Marines,
- Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington in Bury St Edmunds
- Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command.
But it seems as if that battle, at least, has been lost.
The father of one will be allowed to keep anything that is a private patronage – and he still has several, such the Invictus Games and WellChild. Meghan holds two personal patronages, the Mayhew animal charity and Smart Works.
It is not clear when an announcement on the patronages will be made but the Mail understands that it could even be earlier than March 31, when the couple’s review period concludes.
One source told the Mail that it was hoped that the interview with Oprah would provide the couple with the chance to ‘get whatever it is they want to say off their chests and move on’.
Another added: ‘The interview has clearly come about because there is an understanding [with Harry and Meghan] that all remaining formal links with organisations will cease to exist.’
The deal has echoes of Princess Diana’s 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir, which she negotiated behind the backs of the Royal Family and caused widespread damage.
Oprah interviewed Sarah, the Duchess of York, in 2010.