"Ridiculous", "hypocrite" ... Meghan Markle's children's book is already undergoing a flood of criticism
In The Bench, a children's book to be published on June 8, the Duchess of Sussex talks about "the special bond that exists between a father and his son", in reference to the relationship between Prince Harry and their 2-year-old boy, Archie. A theme that has sparked some eyebrows among the experts of royalty.
"She's entering a slippery slope," said Penny Junor. The royal biographer was indeed puzzled about the upcoming publication of the first children's book written by Meghan Markle. In The Bench, illustrated by Christian Robinson and to be published on June 8, the Duchess of Sussex actually evokes "the special bond that exists between a father and his son", and this, through "the gaze of a mother". A work inspired by a poem written by the former actress on Father's Day, in which she pays tribute to the relationship between Prince Harry and their little boy Archie, 2 years old. And which was not unanimous with the experts of the royalty. In question ? The strained relationship between Meghan and her father Thomas Markle; but also the tensions which remain between Prince Harry and Prince Charles.
Meghan Markle Is Officially a Children's Book Author https://t.co/l0WcWDly6n
— Harper's Bazaar (@harpersbazaarus) May 4, 2021
"Beyond parody"
"It's very easy to talk about the relationship between father and son when they started two years ago," said Penny Junor in the columns of the Sun on Tuesday, May 4. Problems arise when children grow up - as discovered by Meghan with her father and Harry with Prince Charles. So it's strange to have done that (writes this book, Editor's note). ” Words supported by British journalist Angela Levin, biographer of Prince Harry. "Once again there is this form of hypocrisy on the part of Meghan and Harry saying what to do, without applying it to themselves," she lamented. I don't know how you can write a book about a little boy, a son or a father, when you haven't talked to your own father for years. It's extraordinary." An adjective also used by the royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, stunned by the Duchess's choice to “highlight the relationship between fathers and sons”.
The announcement also made the heyday of Piers Morgan, the famous columnist of the show "Good Morning Britain" who had resigned in a resounding manner after being accused on his show of "not liking" the Duchess of Sussex. Remained as a contributor to the Daily Mail, the latter declared the book "inappropriate". "Despite Mrs Markle's seemingly limitless thirst for attention and her tendency to commit acts of gigantic hypocrisy, this seems to go beyond parody," he wrote. Before continuing: "Let us not forget that Mrs Markle brutally disowned her father Thomas and refuses to have anything to do with him (...) The mere idea that Meghan Markle provides advice on the relationship between the fathers and their children is absolutely ridiculous (...) ”
A stalled relationship
A professional point of view shared by many Internet users. "She refuses to be reconciled with her father and her husband has also rejected her own father and his family ... bunch of hypocrites," said one of them. “Who's going to read a book written by someone who can't even build a relationship with their own father?” Another surmised, lamenting the use of the Duchess's nobility title as a signature for the book. Not to mention the accusations of plagiarism, which have since flourished on the social network. Some Internet users have indeed argued that The Bench was strongly inspired by The Boy on the Bench, another children's book dated 2018, and by Corrinne Averiss and Gabriel Alborozo.
*NEW COLUMN*
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 4, 2021
How the hell can Meghan 'I hate royalty but call me Duchess' Markle preach about father-child relationships when she's disowned her own Dad, and wrecked her husband's relationship with his?https://t.co/pY9gJKfbFG pic.twitter.com/AnXACnDdui
Others have claimed that the similarities between the titles and illustrations of the two books are intriguing. Allegations brushed aside by ... Corrinne Averiss in person. "Reading the description and excerpts from the Duchess's new book, this is neither the same story nor the same theme as The Boy on the Bench," the author wrote on her Twitter account on May 5, 2021. I see no similarity. " Between accusations of plagiarism and feedback on Meghan Markle's damaged relationship with her father, the Duchess's work is already creating a stir, a month before its release.
Absent from his daughter's wedding in May 2018, Thomas Markle had caught her off guard by participating in a fake paparazzade, five days before the ceremony. The publication in the columns of the Daily Mail of a letter, written by Meghan Markle and sent to her father, had completed the fire in February 2019. Since then, their relationship has been at a standstill. Despite the controversy surrounding The Bench, the Duchess of Sussex hopes the story "will resonate with every family, whatever its makeup, as it did for her".
