Meghan Markle Gushes Over Prince Harry Becoming A Father: 'It Was The Most Beautiful Thing To Watch'
Nov. 18 2021, Published 10:29 a.m. ET
Even though they have been together since 2016, Meghan Markle is still smitten with her husband, Prince Harry. While on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show, the former actress, 40, discussed how her children's book, The Bench, came to life.
"I wrote this originally just as a poem for my husband on Father's Day, and it was about my observation of him and being a dad, which was the most beautiful thing to watch and that was really the intention of it," she told the comedian. "Once it was shared with a couple of friends and people that we are close with, they said, 'This resonates for me too because it feels really inclusive and there's representation and it's just a sweet love story between a family.'"
"I said, 'Let's turn it into a children's book,' and I made sure that all of those pieces of it — especially the softer side of masculinity, the softer side of fatherhood [were in there]," she continued. "I tried to include it all in there and made sure everyone felt they could see themselves in these pages because I remember I was a little girl and you didn't always see someone that looked like you, and I thought that was really important — to have everyone's story unfolding on these pages for them."
In the book, Meghan's kids, Archie and Lilibet, in addition to Harry, 37, are included in the illustrations — something Archie noticed!
"On that first page when you see our dogs, he goes, 'That is Pula, that is Guy!'" she shared.
In May, the TV star announced her latest venture.
"The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born," she said in the press release from publisher Random House Children's Books. "That poem became this story."
"Christian [Robinson] layered in beautiful and ethereal watercolor illustrations that capture the warmth, joy, and comfort of the relationship between fathers and sons from all walks of life; this representation was particularly important to me, and Christian and I worked closely to depict this special bond through an inclusive lens," Meghan said. "My hope is that The Bench resonates with every family, no matter the makeup, as much as it does with mine.”
