Harry and Meghan once asked Oprah for help with a duck emergency in their backyard: 'Sorry to bother you, O'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle once called upon Oprah Winfrey for help with a duck emergency at their home in Montecito, California.

Winfrey, 71, recalled the moment on a recent episode of Kelly Ripa's Let's Talk Off Camera podcast, explaining she received a call from Harry, 40, at Easter asking her to home a mother duck and her ducklings.

The mother duck had wandered onto their property and laid eggs, that eventually hatched.

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Ripa was telling Winfrey she had once considered giving her a gift of chickens, when Winfrey said, "You know who has chickens, the Sussexes. They have them."

She continued: "I would have taken them to the Sussexes."

Winfrey then said, "Nobody knows this story. So I get a call from Harry, Prince Harry, on Easter Saturday, and he says, 'Sorry to bother you, O, but we have a duck problem here."'

"A duck had come into their yard and laid their eggs and had these chicks," she continued in Harry's voice. "And he said, 'Our pond is a stream, we don't have a pond, so can we bring the ducks over to your pond?'"

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Winfrey agreed, but asked Harry to wait until she gathered the grandchildren of her best friend, Gayle King, to watch, as they were at her home for the holiday.

"I said, 'Wait until I can get the kids to come down to the pond so they can see you put the ducks in the pond.' And he goes, 'No, we're coming right away, we're coming over!'"

Moments later, Harry and Meghan Markle, 43, arrived at Winfrey's home with the mother duck and her ducklings in a box.

"As he opens the door, the mama duck flies out. And he's got all the baby ducks in a box," Winfrey said.

"We're chasing the mama duck who is in the front yard and has flown to the other side. We've got her ducks. Harry's running after, Meghan gets out, she's running after, chasing the mum, and trying to get her to come back to her ducks.

"And for like half an hour, we're running around with the ducks in a box. We have video. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen."

Meghan later shared a video showing the mama duck and her chicks crossing a driveway on their Montecito property, captioning it: "Wishing you a Happy Easter full of love... and surprises!"

Ripa commented that the ducks had "also hit the jackpot," having spent time with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and then Winfrey.

"They're like, 'Wait a minute, we show up at Prince Harry's house and now we're at Oprah's!' Excuse me. That duck knew what it was doing when it laid its eggs."

Winfrey attended Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018, and her friendship with the royal couple strengthened following their resignation as senior working royals in January 2020.

The couple moved to the US with their children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, purchasing a home near Winfrey in the exclusive Californian enclave which is also home to Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex agreed to a sit-down interview with Winfrey during which they shared their reasons for leaving the monarchy.

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Royal followers have been given further glimpses into Harry and Meghan's lives since the Duchess of Sussex returned to Instagram ahead of the release of her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, which debuted earlier this year.

The couple not only have chickens, but also have bee hives from which they source honey.

Season two of With Love, Meghan, is currently in production and due for release later this year.

Meghan also launched an Instagram account for her lifestyle brand, As ever, which has sold out of all items each time they have been released.

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