Meghan Markle proved it’s all about the accessories as she stepped out in California to visit her friends’ new bookstore.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, visited Godmothers in Summerland, located just a few miles from where she lives in Montecito, on September 2.
Pictured leaving the store in photos obtained by People magazine, Prince Harry‘s wife was seen carrying a £195 leather matchbook keyring by British designer Anya Hindmarch.
The cream charm – described on the brand’s website as a ‘whimsical’ addition to any bag or keys – is emblazoned with the phrase ‘Take What You Need’, while inside the keyring, words such as hugs, love and a smile are embellished on the fabric.
Opting for a low-key look, Meghan wore a simple V-neck blue jumper teamed with a large straw sun hat and Ray-Ban sunglasses.
The Duchess of Sussex (pictured in March 2024), 43, visited Godmothers in Summerland, located just a few miles from where she lives in Montecito, on September 2
Adding a touch of glitz to her ensemble, she donned her £12,800 Cartier ‘juste un clou’ necklace for the outing.
Meghan appeared to enjoy a look around the new shop co-owned by literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and cosmetics mogul Victoria Jackson, ahead of its official opening.
Meghan was a speaker at the opening weekend for Godmothers, on September 7, which also saw a guest appearance by Oprah Winfrey.
Then the day before, the Duchess was reportedly joined by her husband at the bookstore’s friends and family party, where the couple’s books, including Harry’s memoir, Spare, and Meghan’s children’s story, The Bench, were on display in the Our Local Authors section.
During her speech at the opening, Meghan revealed she ‘felt uncomfortable being out in the world’ when she was a working royal and ‘craved safety’.
The Duchess, who wore a £315 jumpsuit by Club Monaco, was pictured sitting in the front row before taking to the stage to briefly address the group at the new shop, where she spoke about the solace she has found in bookstores.
According to Town & Country, the Duchess detailed going to a bookstore during her trip to New York in 2019 – when Meghan’s A-List pals threw her a baby shower at one of the most expensive suites at The Mark Hotel in Manhattan.
The Duchess said: ‘For me, sneaking to New York five years ago was a really big deal. I was still so uncomfortable being out in the world. The safety of what I was craving, I knew I could find in a bookstore.’
Pictured leaving the store in photos obtained by People magazine , Prince Harry ‘s wife was seen carrying a £195 leather matchbook keyring by British designer Anya Hindmarch
The Duchess then went on to thank the founders of the Godmothers bookstore Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Victoria Jackson for ‘for holding the space for so many people to feel seen through the pages, either in laughter, in grief, in feeling less alone’.
After the event finished, the publication reports Meghan said: ‘Wasn’t that incredible?’
The Duchess is then said to have ‘made a dash for the door’ and told guests: ‘I’ve got to make dinner for the kids.’
Other high-profile 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 featured analysis of 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 front-and-centre in the shop, on its ‘hometown heroes’ shelf.
Following the event at Godmothers bookstore on Saturday, psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson praised Meghan as one of the evening’s ‘light-filled speakers’.
Oprah Winfrey – who was the evening’s main speaker – has been close friends with the Duchess for several years and attended the Royal Wedding in May 2018.
At a launch party for the bookstore last week, Prince Harry dubbed Oprah Winfrey one of his ‘fairy godmothers’, which is said to have inspired the name of the business.
According to Town & Country, the royal couple arrived in a ‘darkened Range Rover’ and warmly greeted other guests – including Ellen DeGeneres, Jane Lynch and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos – at the venue.
After Jennifer and Victoria shared some brief words with their intimate audience, Meghan – who donned a chic Ralph Lauren top and matching white trousers – was heard hollering out a ‘Woo!’.
Photos from the event show a grinning and glamorous Duchess hugging the talkshow host that interviewed them for their bombshell 2021 broadcast.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their Colombia trip on August 15, 2024
Oprah Winfrey arrives at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018
Their relationship appears to have grown even stronger over the years after the Sussexes moved into a $14million Montecito mansion, which is located just a stone’s throw from Oprah’s own sprawling home.
Oprah even publicly weighed in on whether she thought they should attend King Charles’ Coronation in May 2023.
‘I think they should do what they feel 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 haven’t asked me my opinion.’
Harry ultimately attended the Coronation without Meghan and left immediately after the ceremony to return to California.
In the couple’s 2022 Netflix docu-series, Meghan opened up about her ‘beautiful’ baby shower in New York.
The Duchess celebrated the impending birth of her son by flying to the Big Apple by private jet in 2019. Around 20 friends attended the five-day celebration, including Serena Williams.
Speaking in the show, Meghan recalled: ‘My friends surprised me with a really beautiful baby shower in New York.
‘They were like, “We’re going to shower her with love, and shower her baby, and she’s going to survive this and we’re going to get through it with her.”‘
Meanwhile, Meghan’s friend Silver Tree said: ‘It’s like this really magical time of us just celebrating her.’ Serena added: ‘It was just so cool and so fun to try to have an intimate moment.’
Guests attending the event included Meghan’s makeup artist Daniel Martin, her former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer and her former BFF Jessica Mulroney.
Meanwhile Misha Nonoo, Serena Williams and close friend Lindsay Roth can also be seen posing in snaps from the 2019 event.