Martha Stewart’s account of a recent dinner party with Meghan Markle is being challenged by the person who hosted the event, days after the lifestyle icon said the Duchess of Sussex had been talking about her family’s European trip.
Stewart, 85, revealed in a new PEOPLE cover interview that she and Meghan had recently attended the same dinner in California.
She said Meghan had “just gotten back from the palace” and that although they barely spoke themselves, she knew the duchess had been talking about the trip.
Now, the unnamed host says Stewart’s description gives the wrong impression. “I sat next to Meghan at the dinner party, and this account of what happened is simply untrue,” the source told PEOPLE.
The Dinner Host Says Meghan Barely Discussed the Trip
The source told PEOPLE that they hosted the California gathering and sat beside Meghan during dinner. According to the host, Meghan did not discuss the family’s European travels in any detail. “Meghan didn’t talk about her European vacation other than to say the family had a great time,” the source said.
The host added that Meghan has long been a fan of Stewart and enjoyed briefly meeting her. A separate source cited by the Daily Mail offered a similar account, saying another guest asked Meghan about the trip and she responded briefly without elaborating.
The dinner’s exact date, location and guest list have not been publicly disclosed. Stewart has not publicly responded to the host’s account.
Stewart Said Meghan Had ‘Just Gotten Back From the Palace’
Stewart’s original comments appeared in a wide-ranging PEOPLE cover interview published around her 85th birthday. Asked what she is like at parties, Stewart explained that she prefers arriving when dinner is about to begin and leaving shortly after dessert.
She then brought up her encounter with Meghan. “I had dinner with Meghan Markle the other night,” Stewart said. “We were both guests at a dinner party in California.” Stewart said she spoke with Meghan for only “a couple words” but knew the duchess had been discussing her recent travels.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that the private family reunion took place on July 10th at Highgrove House, Charles’ country residence in Gloucestershire. The meeting brought Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, together with Charles and Camilla. It was the first time the King had seen Archie and Lilibet in person since 2022.
Meghan Later Shared Photos From the Family’s European Trip
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Meghan later offered her own public glimpse of the family’s travels. The family’s travels included Portugal and the U.K., where they visited Althorp, the Spencer family estate that was Princess Diana’s childhood home and is now her final resting place.
PEOPLE reported that one photograph showed Harry walking along a tree-lined path at Althorp with Archie and Lilibet while they carried flowers. Other images showed Archie inside an airplane cockpit, Harry tossing Lilibet into a swimming pool and the family enjoying time together during the vacation.
Vanity Fair reported that the Highgrove meeting was deliberately kept private, with no photographs released and few details disclosed about what was discussed.
Stewart Also Questioned Meghan’s Lifestyle Career
The disputed dinner recollection was not the only part of Stewart’s interview that attracted attention. Asked about Meghan entering the lifestyle television space with Netflix’s With Love, Meghan, Stewart questioned the progression from acting to royal life and then to homemaking television.
“If you’re an actress, it’s hard to then transition to a princess and then from a princess into a homemaking guru on a television show,” Stewart said. “It doesn’t sort of follow,” she added, according to Entertainment Weekly. With Love, Meghan premiered in 2025 and has aired two seasons and a holiday special. The series has not been renewed for a full third season, although a Sussex spokesperson said in March that it would continue through seasonal specials.
Stewart has previously taken a cautious position on Meghan’s move into the lifestyle business. Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle Australia in 2025, she said authenticity and genuine knowledge of a subject were important qualities for anyone entering the field.
Meghan, meanwhile, has treated comparisons with established lifestyle entrepreneurs more positively. Asked in 2025 about being compared with Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow, she said she found the comparison “very flattering” because both women had built successful businesses.