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Meghan Markle ‘angers Palace’ by getting Oprah Winfrey to flog coffee investment on Instagram, insiders claim
MEGHAN Markle has reportedly "angered the Palace" by getting Oprah Winfrey to flog her coffee investment on Instagram, insiders have claimed.
Palace insiders told that there were "more than a few raised eyebrows" as it emerged that the Duchess of Sussex had invested in the oat-milk latte start-up Clevr Blends.
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When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit the Royal Family in January, the couple announced their plans to become "financially independent" while still "continuing to uphold the values of Her Majesty."
The Duchess has reportedly started "building a portfolio of startup investments" - and sent her A-list pal Oprah Winfrey a package of coffee samples to try earlier this week.
The TV host, 66, took to Instagram to thank a mystery neighbour named as “M” for gifting her a basket full of latte mixes today.
She wrote: "On the first day of Christmas my neighbor 'M' sent to me... a basket of deliciousness! (Yes that M) My new drink of choice for the morning and night.
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"Wish I had @clevrblends sooner cause I would've added it to my Favorite Things list. #HappyHolidays."
Although she didn’t give any other indicators as to the present giver, Oprah did add a crown emoji after saying “Yes that M”.
A royal source added: "It is hard to see how emojis apparently trading on royal connections is respecting the values of the royal family.
"When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to step back as senior royals in order to become financially independent it was always going to be a balancing act.
“But what is clear are the promises made at the time to uphold the values of Her Majesty and the Crown, that neither party should be trading on their royal connections to benefit financially or risk bringing the Crown into disrepute."
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In the UK, advertising rules mean that any gifted items have to be labelled with a "#ad" - however, it is not believed that Oprah was paid to promote the products Meghan has invested in.
Meghan and Prince Harry are now neighbours with Oprah, after snapping up a luxury £11million mansion down the road from the TV mogul in Santa Barbara, California.
She is known to be pals with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after securing an invite to their royal wedding in 2018.
Harry has partnered up with Oprah to work on a new TV series focusing on mental health for Apple TV.
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Stars such as Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston will be involved and it aims to "inspire viewers to have an honest conversation about the challenges each of us faces".
This follows rumours that Oprah could land the couple’s first sit down interview after they stepped down as senior royals in March and relocated to California.
However, a representative for Oprah said at the time: "No, [Oprah is] not in discussion for an interview."
Oprah previously said: "Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out what’s best for them.
"I care about them both and support whatever decisions they make for their family."
Fabulous has contacted a representative for Oprah for comment.
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