There’s never a dull moment in Montecito, not with all of those celebrities living in their gorgeous homes right next to each other. Just ask Oprah Winfrey, the unofficial mayor of the posh Santa Barbara suburb, who was asked by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to take on some new residents recently. A little famiy of ducks. And as you can imagine, hilarity ensued.
Oprah spoke to Kelly Ripa on her podcast Let’s Talk Off Camera about the Easter adventure she shared with her neighbors Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “I got a call from Harry, Prince Harry, on Easter Sunday,” the mogul told Ripa this week, going on to do her best British accent to impersonate the second son of King Charles. “He says, ‘Sorry to bother you, O, but we have a duck problem here.’ A duck had come into their yard and laid their eggs, and had all these chicks.”
Prince Harry went on to explain that they simply didn’t have the right set up for the duck family. “He said, ‘Our pond is a stream, we don’t have a pond, so can we bring the ducks over to your pond?” Naturally, Oprah agreed and told the royal couple to bring their duck family over, especially since her best friend Gayle King was at her house with her grandchildren and she wanted them to be on hand to see the ducks safely delivered to her pond.
Which turned out to be easier said than done. Prince Harry tried to drive the ducks to Oprah’s massive property, but ran into a snag when the mother duck went out the window.
“As he opens the [car] door, the mama duck flies out, and he’s got all the baby ducks in a box,” she explained. “We’re chasing the mama duck who is in the front yard and has flown to the other side. We’ve got her ducks. Harry’s running after [her], Meghan gets out, she’s running after, chasing the mom and trying to get her to come back to her ducks.
“And for like half an hour, we’re running around with the ducks in a box. We have a video, it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Indeed, Markle shared a quick moment from this adventure on Instagram at the time without giving her fans the behind-the-scenes story.
This is not the first time fans have gotten some insight into the friendship between Oprah and the Sussexes. Back in 2021, the couple sat down for a rare interview with the media magnate to discuss their departure from royal life, their new world in California, and of course, their son Archie’s backyard chicken coop.
So it seems some feathered friends are allowed to take up residence in their yard.
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