Meghan Markle and Oprah Reunited to Help Open an Indie Bookstore In Santa Barbara

On Saturday, Meghan Markle had a reunion with her friend and fellow Santa Barbara County resident Oprah Winfrey at Godmothers, a new bookstore a short distance away from the Montecito home the duchess shares with Prince Harry. According to People, she was in the audience as Winfrey spoke to author Shaka Senghor and, as seen in a photo posted to Instagram by author Minh Lê, Meghan later spoke at the microphone herself.

Author Victoria Jackson and Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, a powerful literary agent who has represented Winfrey, Brené Brown, Sheryl Sandberg, and other prominent authors, opened the store, called Godmothers, this weekend. The store features a cafe and features a selection of books by local authors near the front; a recent Instagram video showed Meghan’s children’s book The Bench and Harry’s memoir, Spare, on display.

Instagram content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

“I wanted it to be the first when you walk in, because I want the authors who are local to this area to know that this is their bookstore,” Rudolph Walsh said in the video. “We celebrate our authors as though they are hometown heroes because to us, they are.”

In July 2020, Meghan and Harry purchased their home in Montecito, an enclave favored by celebrities. The couple’s two children, Archie and Lilibet, both attend nearby schools. In recent months, Harry has continued to speak about the security threats facing his family in the UK, and according to an insider who spoke to Express, the couple has no plans to consider UK schools for their education. “Harry and Meghan see Montecito as their home now and couldn’t imagine sending Archie away to school,” the source said. “They are very hands-on parents and can think of nothing worse than to send him over to the UK when the rest of the family will remain in the United States.”