MEGHAN Markle had met Oprah Winfrey just once before inviting her to her royal wedding to Prince Harry, it has been claimed.
The high-profile women had first made contact after Meghan’s friend CBS anchor Gayle King made the introduction.
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Meghan and Oprah spoke on the phone, before meeting up in March 2018 at Kensington Palace, when Oprah was in London, according to The Times.
Oprah was invited to the May 2018 wedding shortly after, alongside stars such as David and Victoria Beckham and George and Amal Clooney.
This follows claims the Clooneys didn’t know Meghan or Harry well before the wedding.
Chat show host Oprah said of the swanky nuptials in her magazine: “It gave us hope, that wedding’ after declaring ‘All mature beings recognised it as the beginning it was’.”
Now it has been announced that Oprah will sit down with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for a controversial tell-all interview, after they stepped back as senior royals last year.
“Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special” is to be filmed over the next few days.
The bombshell 90-minute special will air on March 7 and Meghan, 39, will speak about topics ranging from “stepping into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work, to how she is handling life under intense public pressure”.
Since their brief meeting pre-royal wedding, Oprah and the Sussexes have grown their friendship, with Oprah becoming a mentor to Meghan.
The Times said: “The duchess’s decision to give a tell-all interview to Winfrey is the fruition of a three-year courtship by the chatshow host.
“At the wedding she was described as ‘a friend of the couple’. The truth was that Winfrey had met the duchess only once before — and that was as part of overtures by CBS.
“Winfrey was happy to play the role of mentor, offering friendship and guidance to the duchess as she grew into her role.”
In April 2019, before Archie was born, the chat show star said she would be sending him “welcome to the world” gifts.
She 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.”
On Archie’s birthday, Meghan was seen reading him Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, which featured a sticker for “Archie’s book club” – in a nod to Oprah’s own book club.
It was also announced that Oprah had partnered with Prince Harry to produce a mental health series for Apple TV.
Speaking of Meghan and Harry stepping back as senior royals, she told TMZ: “I support them 1,000 percent.
“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?”
The pals now live down the road from one another, after Meghan and Harry splashed out on a £11million mansion in Montecito, California.
In December, a coffee company Meghan had invested in was promoted by Oprah on her 19.3million-follower Instagram page.
Oprah added: “On the first day of Christmas my neighbour ‘M’ sent to me…a basket of deliciousness! (Yes that M) My new drink of choice for the morning and night.”
We shared how “Harry is Meghan’s passport to fame & fortune”, according to royal expert.
And Meghan and Prince Harry announced on February 14 that they are expecting a second baby later this year.
