Where was Oprah's explosive interview with Harry and Meghan filmed?
It was neither in the house of the presenter nor in the new home of the Dukes of Sussex but in a neutral place
Just when Oprah Winfrey knew that she was going to conduct the most explosive interview of British royalty, since that unforgettable conversation between Princess Diana and Martin Bashir for the BBC 25 years ago, the journalist knew that the setting to carry it out had to be as comfortable as it was neutral, and it was. Although it was initially speculated that the place chosen was the mansion that Harry and Meghan have in Montecito, the reality is that it was filmed in the exclusive Californian residence of Gayle King, a CBS journalist and close friend of Oprah for 43 years and in turn She is also an acquaintance of Meghan.
In fact, it was Gayle King herself, who during one of her television appearances after the broadcast of the interview, denied the hoaxes about the location of the interview although she refused to confirm that it was the mansion of her property. “They filmed at a friend's house. People said it was at Oprah's house or Harry and Meghan's, but it was actually the house of a mutual friend, "said King.
The mansion, which is surrounded by a lot of vegetation, became the perfect place to carry out the interview, giving the couple the intimacy and privacy that they so longed for for this meeting. Seated on wicker chairs with a low table in the center, set on a natural rattan rug and guarded by four stone pillars, as well as some strategically placed terracotta pots, Oprah carried out what has been rated by many like, the great interview of his life.
Inside her home, Gayle King, who was one of the guests at Meghan's baby shower, has various works of art and sculptures, as well as flower arrangements, colored doors, and green roofs, so her garden was a lot more impersonal and informal and, according to the English press, the best backdrop to show Meghan and Oprah as 'sisters who do not compete' and turn this meeting into a chat "between friends" rather than a typically formal interview.
But in addition to thanking King for selflessly lending her house, the journalist is also responsible for the friendship that emerged between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Oprah, as it was she, a friend of Meghan, who put them in contact by phone. Apparently, and as the Daily Mail points out, the connection was instantaneous and in March of that year Winfrey was spending a few days in London and received an invitation from Meghan Markle to meet her at Kensington Palace. She accepted and that meeting was the beginning of a friendship. And it is that just a month after that first meeting, Meghan's mother was with the presenter at the house that the Duchess has in Montecito and there they practiced yoga and enjoyed a pleasant aperitif.
That is why the two journalists usually support and help each other whenever necessary and whenever there is the opportunity. Both were invited to the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with the small difference that Oprah attended with the privileged guest label and King attended as a reporter, a fact that made the audience soar that day with more than four million viewers during his coverage of the link on CBS.