Meghan Markle Joins Oprah Winfrey for Surprise Appearance at Bookstore Near Their California Homes

Mar. 15, 2025

Meghan Markle in March 2024.Photo:SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty

SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty

Meghan Marklestepped out to support fellow authors at a bookstore opening in Santa Barbara.

On Saturday, Sept. 7, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, spoke at the grand opening ofGodmothersbookstore in Summerland, Calif., near Montecito — where she and husband Prince Harryhave lived since 2020.

Meghan sported a chic, business-inspired look for the event. She wore a sleeveless navy blue tuxedo jumpsuit from Club Monaco, and kept her hair back in a ponytail. She completed the ensemble with a simple pair of diamond earrings.

Meghan Markle at Godmothers bookstore in Summerland, Calif.Laura Lynne Jackson/Instagram

Laura Lynne Jackson/Instagram

Also in attendance at the star-studded bookstore launch were Meghan’s friend and neighborOprah Winfrey, authorShaka Senghor, astrologerJennifer Freedand the new bookstore’s co-founders, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Victoria Jackson.

“We celebrate our hometown authors as if they were our hometown heroes, because to us they are,” Rudolph Walsh said in a video promoting the new store.

Godmothers bookstore in Summerland, Cali.Laura Lynne Jackson/Instagram

Meghan’s book — which she wrote to “depict another side of masculinity — one grounded in connection, emotion and softness,“according to a blog post she wrote at the time— became aNew York Timesbestseller in June 2021.

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“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved into their family home in July of this year,” the rep said at the time. “They have settled into the quiet privacy of their community since their arrival and hope that this will be respected for their neighbors, as well as for them as a family.”

Meghan is also in the midst ofpreparing to launch her new lifestyle brand,American Riviera Orchard. A source previously told PEOPLE that the launch was keeping the Duchess of Sussex busy ahead of the launch, slated for later this year.

A trademark application for American Riviera Orchard notes that the lifestyle brand intends to sell a wide range of products, including everything from tableware, drinkware and kitchen linens to edible treats such as jellies, jams, marmalade and spreads, cookbooks and more.

An insider previously told PEOPLE that this latest venture “will reflecteverything that she loves— family, cooking, entertaining and home décor.”

source: people.com