Meghan Markle joined author and lifestyle creator Courtney Adamo for a Godmothers Bookstore livestream on Wednesday, Oct. 23 — and the Duchess of Sussex shared her approach to entertaining.

Her secret to making guests instantly feel at ease at her Montecito home, which she shares with husband Prince Harry? Opening the door “barefoot,” with an “apron on.”

“It demystifies,” she said. “People walk in and go, ‘Oh, she’s in this with me.’ And what are they drawn to? Your kitchen. They come right in, and suddenly everyone’s a little bit softened.”

Rather than offering guests a cup of tea, Meghan, 43, said she prefers to have a cider or hot toddy on the stove, inviting everyone to help themselves.

“I love people being able to serve themselves, and having things on the stove that everyone can help themselves to,” she said, adding, “I always have music on in the background.”

The event, titled “Compare Notes on Creating a Home That’s Filled With Joy,” took place at the Summerland, Calif., bookstore Godmothers, and was moderated by the store’s co-founder, Victoria Jackson. It also featured Adamo’s new book, The Family Home.

The two women go way back — Meghan revealed they first met as freshmen at Northwestern University, where they became friends and sorority sisters. During the chat, Meghan shared that she and Adamo “backpacked France on spring break,” enjoying “crepes” along the way.

Now both moms, Meghan — mother to Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4 — and Adamo, who has five children between 8 and 20, swapped stories about parenting and the lessons they try to instill at home.

Throughout the livestream, the pair reflected on everything from motherhood to creativity — including “the value of boredom” for children’s imagination and, as Meghan put it, the importance of “deep belly laughing with your friends” instead of just sending a “laughing emoji.”

Meghan also supplied bottles of her As ever wine for guests after the event.

The name of Godmothers Bookstore was inspired by Meghan’s husband. At Prince Harry’s book party for Spare, he thanked Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and Victoria Jackson for their support, referring to them as his “fairy godmothers.” Oprah then suggested the name to the bookstore’s founders.

Meghan and Harry attended the bookstore’s opening events in September 2024.