Meghan Markle once gave a very thoughtful gift to one of her neighbours in a gesture that is only just resurfacing.

Meghan Markle is known for her thoughtful gestures (Image: Getty)

Meghan Markle may have been dubbed a “local villain” alongside her husband, Prince Harry, by some of her Montecito neighbours recently, but there have been other accounts of her neighbourly nature that paint a very different picture.

The Duchess of Sussex has come under scrutiny recently after Vanity Fair posted a damning report with various bombshell claims against her.

One of the claims featured unnamed residents of Montecito, the California suburb Meghan and Harry live in. They slammed the couple and accused them of making the area a tourist hotspot with surging house prices.

However, other neighbours of the Sussexes, including various big Hollywood names, have praised the duchess for her sweet gestures.

Oprah Winfrey raved about a gift Meghan sent her last year and said she loved it so much that she even added it to her annual “Favourite Things” list, which was released last November.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were dubbed ‘local villains’ by Montecito residents (Image: Getty)

The gift in question was a luxury bodycare set gifted by “her neighbour Meghan” and made by another beauty guru who also lives in Montecito and is a friend of the duchess’s.

It was from Tatcha’s Hinoki line and consisted of body milk, body wash, and body oil, all scented with the brand’s Forest Awakening Essential Oil Blend.

Oprah wrote of her gift: “This is a favourite Favourite Thing — with the scent of a forest sent to me by my neighbour Meghan. If you were to come to my house, you’d see this body wash, body oil and body milk right by the tub.”

That’s not the first time Meghan made a thoughtful gesture to her friends and even colleagues.

Last year, the duchess gifted around 50 of her homemade jam jars to various friends to promote one of the products set to hit the shelves when her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, launches.

Oprah Winfrey also lives in Montecito, California (Image: Getty)

Some of the lucky few A-listers to have received Meghan’s jam include close friend Abigail Spencer, Chrissy Teigen, Kris Jenner, Tracee Ellis Ross and Delfina Blaquier.

Elsewhere, former staffers for the couple revealed the thoughtful gifts they received from the duchess in a US weekly cover story which was published after the “Duchess Diffcult” allegations made by the Hollywood Reporter.

One former employee said: “When I adopted my dog, the next day, I had a luxury brand leash and new collar on my doorstep.”

They added that new parents at Archewell – Harry and Meghan’s charity – are understood to receive brand-new gifts and other stuff from the couple “like unused car seats and baby items they no longer need”. Another current staffer told the outlet: “Meghan will do things like: ‘You mentioned on the call your skin is bothering you… I put together a kit for you.'”

Other employees claimed the duchess would allegedly give staff “a basket with fresh flowers, fresh fruit and fresh eggs” following meetings at their Montecito home.

While the Duke and Duchess have not responded to the latest Vanity Fair claims, insiders have claimed they find them “distressing”.