Oprah Winfrey was one of several celebrities lucky enough to snag an invite to the royal wedding in May and ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s union, the media mogul met with the Dutchess’ mother.
In April, The Daily Mail reported Doria Ragland left with tons of gifts after having a six-hour meeting at O’s multi-million dollar Los Angeles mansion.
“The story was that Meghan’s mom had come to my house and she left laden with gifts,” Winfrey tells “Entertainment Tonight” Monday at the 1:12 mark. “You know what the gifts were? First of all, she’s great at yoga, so I said, ‘Bring your yoga mat and your sneaks in case we just want to do yoga on the lawn.’ So one of the bags was a yoga mat and the other was lunch.”
The duo had a dessert made with kumquats, which is a favorite of Ragland’s. So O offered her a basket of the fresh fruits to take home with her.
“For all of the people who said I am getting her gifts and I’m trying to bribe her for an interview — they were kumquats,” Winfrey says. “If kumquats can get you an interview, I’m all for it!”
A source told The Daily Mail months earlier that the gifts were a ploy to land the first interview with the new royal couple.
“No one knows how to schmooze better than Oprah. It’s very much her M.O. to win people over by showering them with her personal attention — and gifts — to get what she’s after,” the insider claimed. “In this case, whether it’s a pre- or post-wedding interview with the mother of the princess bride for her magazine or OWN network, Oprah definitely wants the inside track. And this is probably not the first conversation she’s had with Doria — or the last.”
