Reporter reveals Meghan’s blunt pre-interview rule

The reporter who interviewed Meghan for a new feature has revealed the one rule she was forced to adhere to when she arrived.

IN LONDON

Meghan Markle had one strict rule for a reporter who interviewed her inside her and Prince Harry’s $21 million Montecito mansion recently, it’s been revealed.

Julia Moskin, a food writer for the New York Times, spoke to the Duchess of Sussex in her kitchen last week ahead of the launch of her website, As Ever – becoming the first journalist invited into the couple’s home.

“I was allowed in on the condition that no photographs were taken in, or of, the house,” she wrote in the article published on Wednesday.

Meghan copped backlash for filming her lifestyle show at a rented home. Picture: Netflix

Harry and Meghan are notoriously private about their sprawling property, where they live with their two kids, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. The duchess copped plenty of backlash earlier this year when it emerged her Netflix lifestyle and cooking series was filmed at a rented home nearby.

In her profile piece, Moskin wrote that observing Meghan cooking in her own kitchen was impressive.

“Last week’s visit … showed that she is a passionate home cook who knows her way around a vinaigrette, is quick with a lemon zester and deft with a knife,” she wrote.

While her With Love, Meghan series has been widely panned by TV critics for being unattainable, Meghan was quick to point out to Moskin that she wasn’t always rich – or married to a prince.

“Don’t they know my life hasn’t always been like this?” she asked the writer while indicating her lavish home.

Meghan added that she felt compelled to work.

“I need to work, and I love to work,” she said, explaining she’d been working since she was 13 years old.

The couple are notoriously private about their real home. Picture: Netflix

Meghan and Harry first moved into the Montecito home in 2020, after a brief layover in Canada following their departure from royal duties and their UK base.

The mansion features nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a pool, tennis court, tea house, rose garden, a two-bedroom guesthouse and a children’s cottage.

Meghan’s new interview comes in the midst of a major relaunch for the former working royal, with her Netflix series followed by the unveiling of her new lifestyle brand, As Ever, on Wednesday.

The site went live on Wednesday, US time, with a range of products available for sale, including raspberry jam (A$22), cookies (A$22), honey (A$44) and tea (A$19).

The entire collection appeared to have sold out within 30 minutes of becoming available.

It’s not known what quantities of each product were available.

“Our shelves may be empty, but my heart is full!” Meghan wrote on Instagram afterwards.

“We sold out in less than one hour and I can’t thank you enough … for celebrating, purchasing, sharing and believing. It’s just the start of @aseverofficial. Here we go!”