Meghan Markle Recalls Sneaking to New York in 2019: ‘I Was Still So Uncomfortable Being Out in the World’

Mar. 15, 2025

Meghan Markle at Godmothers bookstore in Montecito, California on Sept. 7, 2024.Photo:Sara Prince

Sara Prince

Meghan Marklerecently opened up about a place where she found “safety” in the past.

While speaking on Sept. 7 at Godmothers, a bookstore near her home in Montecito, California, Meghan reflected on the last time she popped into a bookstore — this time in New York City in 2019, while still a working royal. (Meghan and her husband,Prince Harry, stepped back from their roles as working royals the next year, in 2020.) Meghan was in N.Y.C. during a covert trip from the UK to watch her friend,Serena Williams, play in the U.S. Open, she said, perTown & Country. Before anyone could figure out she was in town, she went for a walk to a bookstore.

“For me, sneaking to New York five years ago was a really big deal,” the Duchess of Sussex, 43, told a crowd, describing how she put on a cap and kept her head down. “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.”

Meghan Markle speaking at Godmothers bookstore in Montecito, California on Sept. 7, 2024.Sara Prince

In fact, according toTown & Country, it was Harry who named the shop. At his book party forSparein Beverly Hills, he thanked Winfrey, Jackson and Rudolph Walsh for their support, calling the three his “fairy godmothers.” As plans for the store began to fall into place, Winfrey told the two founders, “There’s really only one thing you can name it: Godmothers.”

Meghan Markle hugging Oprah Winfrey at Godmothers bookstore in Montecito, California.Sara Prince

“What is Godmothers to us?” Rudolph Walsh said, according toTown & Country. “It’s somebody who roots for you, who supports you, who advocates for you. It’s somebody who is found family.” She later added, “Many times, it’s the younger person who’s teaching the older person something,” and recently joked with Harry — who will turn 40 on Sept. 15 — “Once you turn 40, I’ve got to find new people in their 30s!”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the opening weekend of Godmothers bookstore in Montecito, California on Sept. 6, 2024.Sara Prince

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Just as Jackson and Rudolph Walsh entered into a new entrepreneurial venture, so too is Meghan, who is in the midst of launchinga lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. The launch is slated for later this year, a source previously told PEOPLE, and an insider previously told PEOPLE that her latest venture “will reflect everything that she loves — family, cooking, entertaining and home decor.”

source: people.com