Meghan Markle Accused of 'Recruiting' Hollywood A-Listers to Lavish Wedding Years Before She Made Break From Royal Family
Meghan Markle allegedly invited celebrities 'she wanted to recruit' to her wedding.
June 11 2025, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle has been accused of compiling her 2018 wedding guest list of A-listers she "wanted to recruit" as friends, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Insiders alleged Markle had ulterior motives when inviting guests like Oprah Winfrey, Amal, and George Clooney to her and Prince Harry's royal wedding.
Guest List Motives
Markle was accused of inviting A-listers 'she most wanted to recruit' to her 2018 wedding.
According to royal insider Tina Brown's book The Palace Papers, Markle invited guests with the intention of "recruiting" them into her inner circle.
Brown wrote: "The celebrity guests were a portrait not of Meghan's intimate circle but of the friends she most wanted to recruit."
Those tapped for recruitment included Oprah, who had only "scarcely met" the former Suits star before her big day.
Clooney's Confession
The Clooneys confessed they did not know Markle when asked about their invite to the wedding.
When the Clooneys were asked if they were pals with Markle after being invited to her wedding, they reportedly told columnist Rachel Johnson, "We don't."
Although Amal ended up attending Markle's 2019 baby shower, she has seemingly sided with the royal family following Megxit in 2020.
The British human rights lawyer launched the Amal Clooney Women's Empowerment Award with the King's Trust in 2022.
Oprah's invite appeared to pay off with the couple's 2021 primetime interview, but the tv host and Markle have seemingly lost contact.
While Markle extending an invite to Oprah appeared to work in her favor – and the former talk show host sat down with the couple shortly after they moved to California for an explosive interview discussing their reasons for giving up their full-time royal duties in 2021 – the pair has seemingly lost contact in recent years.
Rumors have long swirled about Markle and Harry struggling to find their footing in Hollywood.
Many Netflix viewers expected to see some of the couple's high-profile Montecito neighbors, including Oprah and Tyler Perry, as guests on the duchess' With Love, Meghan cooking show, but the cameos never materialized.
Markle's Friendship 'Struggles'
Despite the non-stop backlash against Markle, she is determined to make it big in business.
Anticipation over the cooking show's guest mostly stemmed from Markle's short-lived Archetypes podcast on Spotify, which featured major names like Serena Williams, Judd Apatow, Mariah Carey, and Paris Hilton.
But sources claimed embattled Markle "struggled" to bring in A-list pals for her show.
An insider reportedly said: "They struggled to book guests. They had a real hard time, and it shows."
While Williams did not appear as a guest, she did give Markle a shoutout on Instagram.
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She wrote: "I'm so excited for you to check out WITH LOVE, MEGHAN, now streaming exclusively on Netflix! Join my wonderful friend @meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, as she opens up her world and shares her personal tips for the kitchen, garden, and so much more.
"It's a fun and inspiring series that reminds us all how easy it is to bring a little beauty into our everyday lives, even when we least expect it. Can't wait for you to experience it!"
Even with Williams' endorsement, With Love, Meghan saw mixed reviews from viewers, and Harry's polo documentary was a flop.
Netflix bosses were said to be "underwhelmed" overall with the couple's series.
