Royal Family News: Meghan Markle’s Bench Book Inspiration

Earlier this month, Meghan Markle revealed that her first children’s book titled The Bench will be published on June 8. The story is about the bond fathers share with their sons as seen through a mother’s eyes. According to the Duchess of Sussex, the story started life as a poem she’d written on Father’s day after watching her husband and their first child playing together before she later developed it into a story for children.

Meghan Markle’s Inspiration For The Name Of Her First Children’s Book

It seems that the Duchess didn’t have to look far for inspiration when it comes to finding a suitable, and also personal, the name for her first children’s book The Bench. Remember the beautiful, though ancient, looking bench that the Duchess of Sussex, and sometimes Prince Harry, is often seen on that overlooks some beautiful greenery? Yep, that could be where the name of her book springs from.

Last Saturday, Meghan gave a pre-recorded video message for Global Citizen’s VAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World sitting on a bench in her backyard in Montecito, California. This led to speculations that she’d either been sitting on the bench when she started work on the book or that the bench was part of the inspiration in the writing of the upcoming book.

The book’s cover features a solitary brown bench overlooking a big tree with green leaves. Three birds feed in front of the bench, one sits on the tree, while one is soaring in the sky.

The Sussexes Other Famous Appearances Sitting On “The Bench”

Meghan and Harry have also appeared together on the bench during different occasions over the past year, starting with their first primetime TV appearance in September to celebrate TIME Magazine’s annual list of the world’s most influential people.

Meghan also appeared on the bench solo this December to pay respect to frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic for CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.

“The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born,” Meghan said in the press release for publisher Random House Children’s Books. “That poem became this story.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are also excitingly looking forward to meeting their first daughter who is due to arrive this summer. Fans are not only eager to meet the Sussexes’ second child, but they want to learn the name they’ve chosen for her: Diana jr., Philippa, a name no one can guess at?