How Meghan Markle and Oprah Winfrey became friends

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's tell-all interview with TV icon Oprah Winfrey is set to air on Sunday night.

Their discussion will cover a wide range of topics including parenthood, public scrutiny, stepping back from the British royal family, and their marriage. 

When CBS announced the special was coming soon, many fans started to wonder how Harry, Markle, and Winfrey became friends. 

The talk show host reportedly first met Harry years ago through Sir Elton John because of the musician's foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

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John and Princess Diana, Harry's late mother, were close friends because of their devotion to charity work. 

When Markle and Harry married in May 2018, Winfrey wasn't the only Hollywood figure in attendance at the royal wedding. Victoria and David Beckham, Idris Elba, Serena Williams, Amal and George Clooney, and James Corden were some major names who snagged a coveted invite. 

Oprah Winfrey met Meghan Markle through her engagement to Prince Harry. The Duke and the American TV host reportedly met through Sir Elton John.  (Reuters, AP, File)

Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight according to W magazine, "Let me just tell you about that royal wedding, it was transformative, it was more than a wedding."

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"It was a cultural moment and you could not be there or watch on television and not feel that there was a shift that just happened in the middle of it. It’s bigger than them," she added. 

Later in 2018, Winfrey invited Doria Ragland, Markle's mother, over to her home in Los Angeles for a lunch. 

Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland attended a lunch hosted by Oprah Winfrey at her home in Los Angeles.  (AP, File)

There were rumors of an interview brewing but the Emmy-winner set the record straight.

"The story was that Meghan’s mom had come to my house and she left laden with gifts," she explained to Entertainment Tonight at the time. "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."

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Winfrey added that the pair bonded over loving kumquats. "She said, ‘I love kumquats,’ and I said, ‘I have a kumquat tree! You want some kumquats?’ So it was a basket of kumquats, people... 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. If kumquats can get you an interview, I’m all for it!"

Prince Harry will be partnering with Oprah Winfrey to create a documentary series on mental health for Apple's new streaming service. (Getty)

When Markle and Harry announced they would be stepping down as senior working members of the royal family in March 2020, Winfrey reacted and said to TMZ: "I support them 1,000 percent."

"You know why I support them? I support them because I believe, when you have thought about this as long as they have - and even in the Queen’s statement [she] says, ‘This has been going on for months,’ these discussions have been going on for months — and when Harry said in that charity statement the other day that he had to make the decision to move forward in peace with his new family," she added.

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In 2019, Winfrey also announced that she and Harry were working on an upcoming documentary series for Apple TV+ on mental health, a subject they both care deeply about. 

Speaking to "CBS This Morning" about their project Winfrey said, "Harry is co-creating this with me and he is executive producing this. We’ve had several meetings. We’ve had secret meetings in London, I’ve flown there with the crew sitting in sessions and talking about the direction we’re going to take."

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"Our hope is that it will have an impact on reducing the stigma and allow people to know that they are not alone and allow people to speak up about it and identify it for themselves and their friends," she described.

The sit-down, titled "Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special," will air on March 7.