August 12, 2026 at 12:54pm EDT

Martha Stewart may have started the feud, but Meghan Markle‘s response could turn it into a full-blown PR disaster.

Let’s go through how Stewart and the Duchess of Sussex got here in the first place. The Queen of Lifestyle has always been known for serving up a bit of hot gossip in her interviews, and she teased Meghan and Prince Harry’s recent reunion with King Charles with People. She really didn’t offer any concrete details, but she hinted about it.

“I had dinner with Meghan Markle the other night,” Stewart told the media outlet on August 5. “We were both guests at a dinner party in California. And she had just gotten back from the palace. I didn’t talk to her really more than to say a couple words, but I know she was talking about it.”

Someone from Meghan’s camp fired back, citing an insider who reportedly sat next to her at the dinner party both women attended. The source called Stewart’s interpretation of the evening “simply untrue.”

“Meghan didn’t talk about her European vacation other than to say the family had a great time,” they added. “Meghan has always been a fan of Martha’s and enjoyed getting to meet her briefly at the dinner.”

You can’t blame Meghan for wanting to clear the story up as quickly as possible after it has taken her and Harry years to even soften the royal family feud — the palace has been very receptive to a reconciliation.

Still, Stewart hasn’t always been welcoming to actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrow, entering the lifestyle space — she likes to claim her territory. It looks like Meghan is drawing her ire right now.

“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. It doesn’t sort of follow. So go from there,” Stewart told the media outlet of the Duchess of Sussex’s pivot to her As Ever brand and her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan.

Even with those prickly words, Stewart is a beloved figure in Hollywood at 85. She’s more than earned her stripes as a TV personality and came back even stronger after a five-month stint in federal prison in 2004 for obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and lying to federal investigators in the ImClone stock trading case.

Perhaps Stewart’s timing was not great on the heels of the royal reunion, but Meghan might want to sit out this brewing feud. In the end, Stewart always wins.