A California dinner party has sparked a very public disagreement between two of the world's most recognisable lifestyle brands — and at the centre of it is a question about what Meghan Markle did or did not say about her private reunion with King Charles.
Martha Stewart, the veteran American homemaking mogul, told People magazine that she and Meghan had recently been guests at the same gathering in California, and that the Duchess of Sussex had been openly talking about her recent trip to Highgrove House — the King's Gloucestershire residence — with fellow guests at the table.
"I had dinner with Meghan Markle the other night. We were both guests at a dinner party in California. And she had just gotten back from the palace. I didn't talk to her really more than to say a couple of words, but I know she was talking about it."
The remarks landed with considerable force, given that Prince Harry was reportedly understood to have committed to keeping the Highgrove reunion private. While Meghan did post on Instagram about the broader European trip — sharing personal family moments — nothing from the Highgrove visit itself appeared on her feed.
'She Must Have Been Confused'
Meghan's team wasted little time in offering a very different version of events.
A source close to the Duchess told the Mirror that the two women were not even seated near each other during the evening, raising the question of how clearly Ms Stewart could have heard any conversation across the room.
"Meghan was asked by someone else about her European vacation and said it was nice, and that was the extent of it. I think she must have been confused."
The insider was also careful to note that, despite the public disagreement, Meghan continues to hold Ms Stewart in high regard — a diplomatic touch that suggests neither side is particularly keen to escalate matters further.
Not the First Time Stewart Has Weighed In
This is not the first occasion on which Ms Stewart has offered a pointed observation about the Duchess's pivot into the lifestyle and homemaking space. Meghan recently launched her cooking programme With Love, Meghan, a move that puts her squarely in territory long associated with Stewart's own empire.
Stewart did not hold back when asked about the transition. "If you're an actress, it's hard to then transition to a princess and then from a princess into a homemaking guru on a television show," she said. "It doesn't sort of follow. So go from there."
In an earlier interview with Yahoo Lifestyle, Stewart had also stressed the importance of genuine expertise in the field, saying that "authenticity, to me, is everything, and to be authentic and knowledgeable about your subject matter is extremely important" — remarks widely read as a veiled commentary on Meghan's credentials, though Stewart added that she had no objection to successors in the space.
The Highgrove Visit
The dinner party row sits against the broader backdrop of the Sussex family's reunion with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove last month — a visit that had, until now, been kept notably quiet. The gathering represented a significant moment in the ongoing and closely watched relationship between the Sussexes and the wider Royal Family, and the question of who knew what — and who said what at a party in California — has given it an unexpectedly colourful postscript.
For now, the two women's accounts remain irreconcilable. Ms Stewart says she heard Meghan talking. Meghan's camp says Ms Stewart was too far away to know. And somewhere in between, a dinner party in California has become the latest instalment in one of the most scrutinised family sagas of our time.
