Author Andrew Morton claims Meghan invited celebrities she ‘didn’t know well’ to her wedding for a reason

Royal biographer Andrew Morton has revealed the reason he believes Meghan Markle invited stars she “didn’t know well” like Oprah and George and Amal Clooney to her wedding.

Royal biographer Andrew Morton, who penned the controversial Diana: Her True Story about the late Princess of Wales, has claimed Meghan Markle was strategic in inviting stars she “didn’t know well” to her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the British author claims the Duchess of Sussex invited people such as Oprah Winfrey, and George and Amal Clooney, to her big day because she knew they would defend her down the track.

US presenter Oprah Winfrey arrives for the wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and US actress Meghan Markle. Picture: AFP

“Meghan is smart and she showed her purpose at her wedding by the people she invited,” Morton told the US publication. “She invited people she didn’t know well – Oprah, George and Amal Clooney – the big Hollywood hitters.

“It was a clever move, because they’re the ones who have stood up for her when she has been attacked,” the British author said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel after their wedding in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Picture: Getty

Amal and George Clooney arrive at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. Picture: Getty

George Clooney, 58, defended Meghan publicly in February when the Oscar-winner said she was being “pursued and vilified” by the media.

Winfrey, 65, has also been very vocal in defending the duchess. Last May she told Entertainment Tonight in the US: “To be able to stand up and say this is what I really want for my baby and my family and now I’m going to do it a different way when it’s been done that way for a thousand years? I’m just so proud of her.

“Who is ready to walk out and stand before the world and put that face on, you know, a day after you’ve had a baby?” she said.

Morton’s claim, however, that Meghan barely knew the stars when she invited them to the royal wedding is debatable.

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George and Amal Clooney at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. Picture: Getty

The royal couple live just 30 minutes away from the Clooneys, and Amal Clooney became one of Meghan’s first friends when she moved to London.

Winfrey also became friends with Meghan’s mum before the wedding and had to defend her own motives amid suggestions that Doria Ragland left “laden” with gifts in an attempt by the media titan to get an interview with her daughter.

“The story was that Meghan’s [mother] had come to my house and she left laden with gifts,” Winfrey explained during an interview with ET Online. “You know what the gifts were? First of all, she’s great at yoga, so I said, ‘Bring your yoga mat and your sneaks in case we just want to do yoga on the lawn.’ So one of the bags was a yoga mat and the other was lunch.”

Oprah Winfrey and Meghan Markle. Picture: Supplied

Winfrey did, however, confess to gifting Ragland one thing – a basket of fresh cumquats.

“She said, ‘I love cumquats,’ and I said, ‘I have a cumquat tree! You want some cumquats?’ So it was a basket of cumquats, people,” Winfrey said.

“For all of the people who said I’m getting her gifts and I’m trying to bribe her for an interview — they were cumquats. If cumquats can get you an interview, I’m all for it!”

Andrew Morton, British journalist and biographer. Picture: AFP

Morton sparked controversy when he released the controversial DIANA – Her True Story after Princess Diana’s untimely death in 1997, later renaming the book DIANA – Her True Story In Her Own Words.

He was accused of commercially exploiting Diana’s death, Buckingham Palace threatened to have the book banned, and the Spencer family, deeply distressed, sought legal advice over the ownership of six recordings the princess had made about her life, and passed onto Morton via a friend.

The cover of the book entitled Meghan, A Hollywood Princess by author Andrew Morton. Picture: AFP

More recently, Morton has written an unauthorised book on Meghan entitled Meghan: A Hollywood Princess.