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    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Meghan Markle Says She "Needed Her Girls" in Her Book and Included a Nod to Princess Diana

    In a new NPR interview, Meghan Markle revealed that her children's book, The Bench, contains several Easter eggs, including a nod to the late Princess Diana.

    By Kayleigh Roberts
    Published 21 June 2021 In News

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    meghan markle princess diana the bench
    (Image credit: Getty images)
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    • In her first interview since her sit-down with Oprah in March, Meghan Markle shared new insights about her best-selling children's book, The Bench. 
    • The Duchess of Sussex explained that the book was inspired by her 2019 Father's Day gift to Prince Harry, when she gave her husband an actual bench that included a plaque inscribed with a poem she wrote for him.
    • In the interview, which aired on NPR's Weekend Edition on Father's Day, Meghan also revealed that the book includes lots of "Easter eggs," including a tribute to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

    Meghan Markle is spilling some tea about her brand new, best-selling children's book, The Bench. 

    On Sunday (which was also Father's Day, appropriately), NPR's Weekend Edition aired a new interview with the Duchess of Sussex that happened to be her first since her and Prince Harry's high-profile sit-down with Oprah this spring.

    During the joint-interview with the book's illustrator, Christian Robinson, Meghan revealed several insider details about the book, like the fact that it was inspired by her real-life gift to Prince Harry for Father's Day in 2019 (a bench with a plaque containing a poem she wrote) and that she peppered the pages with Easter egg-style references for fans to find.

    "There are all those sorts of Easter eggs and nuggets tucked within the book," Meghan explained (per Hello!). "There's a lot if people start digging."

    One of the sweetest moments in the interview came when Meghan revealed that she asked Robinson to include sketches of her late mother-in-law Princess Diana's favorite flower, forget-me-nots, not just once, but throughout the book.

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    meghan markle the bench forget me nots

    (Image credit: Random House / Christian Robinson)

    "I think you can find sweet little moments that we've tucked in there, from my favorite flower, even my husband's mum's favorite flower, forget-me-nots, we wanted to make sure they were included in there," she added. "There's a lot of special detail and love that went into that book."

    And, if you're planning to dig through the book for more Easter eggs that Meghan hasn't specifically called out yet, she may have left you with a clue about what to look for.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

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    "I needed my girls in there," Meghan said during the interview, which could indicate that there are references to other important women in her life, like her mother, Doria Ragland, or newborn daughter, Lilibet Diana.

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    Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

    Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

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