Although she's currently on maternity leave following the birth of baby Lilibet, a new interview with Meghan Markle, The Duchess of Sussex, has just been shared, and in it she reveals the 'easter eggs' she wove into her best-selling book, The Bench. The subtle, poignant references include not only a nod to her new daughter, but to her mother-in-law, Princess Diana, too.
While speaking on NPR's Weekend Edition program, The Duchess revealed that she'd deliberately added "special detail and love into this book" in the form of "Easter eggs or nuggets" that readers will find if they start "digging" for them.
"It was such a great idea that Christian [Robinson, the book's illustrator] had as well, once we had decided on what the benches looked like for each specific vignette, to have them all at the beginning and at the end of the book," Meghan explained.
She continued on to add, "So as a child, you could go 'Let me find each bench' and it’s this own little project and game, and all those little Easter eggs or nuggets that are tucked within the book."
On the topic of those more personal referencers, Meghan said, "There’s a lot, if people start digging... I think you can find sweet little moments that we’ve tucked in there, from my favourite flower, even my husband’s mom’s favourite flowers are forget-me-nots, we wanted to make sure those were included."
As well as the more subtle references to her loved ones, The Bench also contains some more obvious nods to the Sussex family too.
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The story is about the bond between a father and son, seen through a mother's eyes, and although the illustrations feature a range of different dads with their children, some bear a striking resemblance to Meghan's own family. The poem on which it is based was also written by Meghan for Harry as a Father's Day gift.
The Bench’s final illustration shows a red-haired man helping a young boy feed chickens while a dark-haired woman stands in a garden cradling a baby – this scene seems to closely mirror the Sussex family's appearance and lifestyle and looks like a reference to new baby Lilibet 'Lili' Diana.
We know the family love feeding their chickens, something well documented in Meghan and Harry's Oprah documentary, and there's more detail in the illustration that appears to mirror their life.
Meghan also dedicated the book to “the man and the boy who make my heart go pump-pump”, the first touching reference to the Duke of Sussex and their two-year-old son, Archie Harrison.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
