Meghan Markle reveals she ‘felt uncomfortable being out in the world’ when she was a working royal and ‘craved safety’ in speech at Oprah’s book event
Meghan Markle said in a speech at Oprah’s book launch that she felt “uncomfortable in the outside world” when she was a working royal and that she “longed for security.”
The 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex attended her friend Oprah’s book club meeting on Saturday at Godmothers Bookstore in Summerland, just a few miles from her home in Montecito, California.
The mother-of-two, wearing a £315 Club Monaco jumpsuit, was pictured sitting in the front row before taking to the stage to speak briefly to the group, talking about the solace she finds in bookshops.
According to City & CountryThe duchess recounted a visit to a bookstore during her trip to New York in 2019, when Meghan’s A-list friends threw her a baby shower in one of the most expensive suites at The Mark Hotel in Manhattan.
The Duchess said: ‘For me, five years ago, it was a really big event to secretly go to New York.
Pictured: Meghan Markle seen on stage during Oprah’s book club event at Godmothers bookstore in Summerland on Friday
‘I still felt so uncomfortable in the outside world. The safety of what I was looking for, I knew where to find in a bookstore.’
The Duchess then thanked the founders of the Godmothers bookshop, Rudolph Walsh and Victoria Jackson, ‘for creating a space for so many people to feel seen through the pages, whether in laughter, in sadness, in feeling less alone’.
After the event, Meghan said, according to the publication, “Wasn’t that incredible?”
The Duchess is then said to have ‘run to the door’ and told guests: ‘I have to make some food for the children.’
Other notable guests at Saturday’s event included Glee actress Jane Lynch and author Elizabeth Holmes, who wrote the 2020 book HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style, which analyzed Meghan’s wardrobe.
The bookstore is promoting several popular celebrity books, including Meghan’s children’s book The Bench and Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, which can be found at the front of the store on the ‘hometown heroes’ shelf.
Meghan’s comments on personal security come after the Mail on Sunday reported that Prince Harry is continuing his legal battle with the Home Office over his taxpayer-funded security.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex received full government funding for protection before stepping back as working royals in 2020 and moving to Montecito, California.
Speaking at the book event, Meghan Markle (pictured with Prince Harry in October 2019) said she “craved security” and “felt uncomfortable going out into the world” when she was working as a royal
Meghan Markle pictured with son Archie and daughter Lilibet at their home in Montecito, California
The couple still have protection when they return to Britain under certain circumstances, but they must give 28 days’ notice of their plans.
Prince Harry has been fighting for the past three years to have his 24-hour security reinstated in the UK, reportedly as part of his desire to return to Britain more often.
Following the event at Godmothers bookstore on Saturday, psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson praised Meghan as one of the evening’s “luminous speakers.”
Oprah Winfrey, the evening’s keynote speaker, has been a close friend of the Duchess for many years and attended the royal wedding in May 2018.
At a launch party for the bookstore last week, Prince Harry called Oprah Winfrey one of his “fairy godmothers,” which is said to have been the inspiration for the store’s name.
According to Town & Country, the royal couple arrived in a “dark Range Rover” and warmly welcomed other guests, including Ellen DeGeneres, Jane Lynch and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Pictured: Meghan Markle reads her children’s book The Bench, which is sold at the new Godmothers bookstore.
The Sussexes enjoyed an evening with ‘friends and family’ of literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh (left) and cosmetician Victoria Jackson (right) last week
Town & Country also revealed that Prince Harry, 39, played a part in coming up with the bookstore’s name, as he thanked Oprah, Victoria and Jennifer for being his “fairy godmothers” at his own book party in Beverley Hills. Pictured, decor inside the bookstore
After Jennifer and Victoria exchanged a few brief words with their intimate audience, Meghan, 43, dressed in a chic Ralph Lauren top and matching white pants, was heard to shout, “Woo!”
Photos from the event show a grinning and glamorous Duchess embracing the talk show host who interviewed them for their spectacular 2021 broadcast.
Their relationship appears to have only grown stronger after the Sussexes moved into a $14 million mansion in Montecito over the years, which is just a stone’s throw from Oprah’s own sprawling home.
Oprah has even spoken out publicly about whether she would attend King Charles’ coronation in May 2023.
“I think they should do what they think is best for them and their family. That’s what I think,” she said on the CBS Mornings show ahead of the event, adding, “They didn’t ask me for my opinion.”
Harry ultimately attended the coronation without Meghan, leaving immediately after the ceremony to return to California.
Pictured: Meghan Markle leaves The Mark Hotel in Manhattan, where her baby shower was held in 2019.
Meghan Markle has opened up about how her friends ‘surprised’ her with a ‘beautiful’ baby shower at The Mark Hotel in Manhattan when she was expecting her son Archie (pictured: the Duchess with friends including Abigail Spencer, Daniel Martin, Misha Nonoo, Serena Williams and Lindsay Roth)
In one photo, Meghan is seen wearing a navy polka dot dress, laughing with her friends
In the couple’s 2022 Netflix docuseries, Meghan opens up about her “beautiful” baby shower in New York.
The Duchess celebrated the upcoming birth of her son by flying to the Big Apple on a private jet in 2019. About 20 friends attended the five-day party, including Serena Williams.
Meghan told the show: ‘My friends surprised me with a beautiful baby shower in New York.
“They were like, ‘We’re going to shower her with love and spoil her baby, and she’s going to survive this and we’re going to get through this with her.’”
Meanwhile, Meghan’s friend Silver Tree said: “It’s a magical time as we celebrate her.”
Serena added: “It was just so cool and fun to try to have an intimate moment.”
Those in attendance at the event included Meghan’s makeup artist Daniel Martin, her former Suits colleague Abigail Spencer and her former best friend Jessica Mulroney.
Meanwhile, Misha Nonoo, Serena Williams and good friend Lindsay Roth are also seen posing in photos from the 2019 event.