Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been socializing with key elements of their Montecito set, who gathered for the opening of a new bookstore.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent Friday evening last week at an intimate private event for friends of bookstore Godmothers, in Summerland, about 10 minutes drive from their house.
And the following day Meghan gave a talk in front of Oprah Winfrey at another event for their new local bookshop.
The event shed light not only on who the key figures are in their local network but also how those stars are connected to each other.
Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Victoria Jackson
The two founders of Godmothers appear to view their new venture not only as a bookstore but an opportunity for networking.
However, their links to Harry and Meghan date back beyond the shop's actual opening and Rudolph Walsh in fact was credited in the acknowledgments for the prince's book.
"Thanks and hugs to Jennifer Rudolph Walsh for her always positive energy and soulful counsel," Harry wrote.
And according to royal fashion expert Elizabeth Holmes, who was invited to the opening, Harry also helped name the store after describing Rudolph Walsh and Jackson as two of his three "fairy godmothers" during the Beverly Hills launch party for his memoir.
Other guests at the private launch on Friday appeared to paint the store as being at the heart of a clique of California's elite.
Holmes wrote in Town & Country: "'It's Mayberry for rich people!' roars actress Jane Lynch from one of the fireside armchairs.
"Lynch was greeted enthusiastically Friday night by Jennifer Freed, a bestselling author and Gwyneth Paltrow's psychological astrologer, complimenting her blouse (bought that day from the Johnny Was store in town).
"Holding a mocktail with a sprig of rosemary in it, Lynch gushes about her chosen home. 'This is the most community I've ever had in my life,' she says. 'We all know each other. We know each other's dogs!'"
Oprah Winfrey
Harry's other "fairy Godmother" referenced at his own book launch was the chat show host who guided him and Meghan through their bombshell 2021 tell-all interview.
She also gets a thanks in his memoir among a list of people credited "for their unwavering friendship and support."
Oprah also spoke at Godmothers on Saturday, arriving part way through Meghan's own speech about how a book shop gave her sanctuary during a secret trip to New York in 2019.
Brian Robbins and Tracy James
Paramount chief executive Brian Robbins and his wife Tracy were also at the Godmothers event on Friday but this is not the first time we have heard about the friendship with the Sussexes.
The couples attended the premiere of biopic Bob Marley: One Love in Kingston, Jamaica in January. The Robbins' only moved to the area a year ago so clearly it did not take long for them to meet the Sussexes.
Meghan also sent one of a select number of jars of her American Riviera Orchard jam to Tracy, who styles herself as MrsTracyRobbins on Instagram but calls herself James professionally.
"Thank you for the delicious basket," she posted in April. "I absolutely love this jam so not sure I'm sharing it with anyone :)."
At the book launch, Brian told Holmes: "The sense of community here is kind of wild."
Tracy added: "Up here, there is real time for connection…It's quality time."
The Robbins are clearly also friends with Oprah Winfrey, and with Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, after she attended a launch party at their house for The Space That Keeps You on March 2, 2024.
Their son Miles Robbins did the catering at that event and is also the head chef at the Godmothers café. Clearly, there is a book loving Montecito set which includes some of America's biggest household names.
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen and Portia de Rossi were also at the Godmothers event on the Friday but it was not the first time they've brushed shoulders with the Sussexes.
They are Montecito locals too but most notably Meghan was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2021 when they pranked vendors near the TV studio.
Meghan wore an ear piece and had to follow instructions from the chat show host during the segment.
Gloria Steinem
Meghan has long been friends with feminist firebrand Gloria Steinem after they teamed up together to cold call voters in the months before the November 2020 Presidential election, which saw Joe Biden oust Donald Trump.
Steinem later told Access Hollywood: "Meg is herself, smart, authentic, funny, political. She came home to vote.
"And the first thing we did and why she came to see me was we sat at the dining room table here—where I am right now—and cold-called voters."
They were seen getting lunch together in July 2022 and then Steinem gave Meghan her Ms. Foundation Women of Vision award in May, 2023.
During her acceptance speech Meghan said: "To my friend Gloria, for the inspiration that you are, for your mentorship, your sage advice, your extraordinarily cheeky sense of humor, and of course, for your incredible friendship: Thank you."
Steinem has also supported Godmothers after she gave its inaugural newsletter an exclusive interview.
While social media content about the book store's launch was posted unexpectedly last weekend with little fanfare, it in fact appears to have brought the broadest cross section of the Sussexes Montecito community together in a single place in the presence of a journalist since their U.S. move in 2020.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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