Meghan Markle and Oprah Winfrey Made a Surprise Appearance at a Bookstore Near Their California Homes
Just some casual neighborly bonding.

Meghan Markle and Oprah Winfrey proved that they're the kind of neighbors who actually hang out this weekend when they made a surprise appearance together at a bookstore near their Montecito, California homes.
The event that drew the high-profile pair was the grand opening of Godmothers bookstore in Summerland, California on Saturday, Sept. 7. Markle and Winfrey joined author Shaka Senghor, astrologer Jennifer Freed and the new bookstore's co-founders, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Victoria Jackson at the event, according to People.
Meghan went CEO chic for the surprise appearance, wearing a sleeveless, navy blue Club Monaco tuxedo jumpsuit, accessorized with a classic pair of diamond earrings—a fact those of us not in attendance at the opening know thanks to pictures from the event that were shared on Instagram.
Author Laura Lynne Jackson shared a picture of Markle speaking onstage at the event on her Instagram Stories that People captured for posterity, noting that Jackson captioned the photo, "Most light-filled evening of speakers..."
Meghan Markle speaking at the grand opening of Godmothers bookstore in Summerland, California on Saturday, Sept. 7.
The People report on the event also included a second image from Laura Lynne Jackson's Instagram, featuring author Shaka Senghor speaking with Oprah Winfrey at the Godmothers grand opening.
Author Shaka Senghor speaking with Oprah Winfrey at the grand opening of Godmothers bookstore in California.
Godmothers "celebrate[s] our hometown authors as if they were our hometown heroes, because to us they are," as co-founder Rudolph Walsh explained in a video promoting the bookstore—which makes it fitting that Markle and Winfrey spoke at the grand opening, since both women are authors and high-profile members of the store's local community.
This isn't the first time Winfrey's proximity to the Sussex family's California home has made headlines. Their status as new neighbors was buzzed about in 2021, when Winfrey interviewed Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, following their decision to step back from royal duties and move to the United States.
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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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