Meghan Markle Is Being Accused of Plagiarizing Her New Children’s Book

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is thriving in California. She is set to welcome her second child, a daughter, any day now, and she is focused on her new, non-royal ventures, including her mega-deals with Spotify and Netflix.

Though Meghan is currently on maternity leave, she still has a slew of projects in the works, including the upcoming release of her very first book, a children’s book titled, The Bench.

Prince Harry’s relationship with their son Archie inspired the book, and it’s set to be released soon. However, that has not stopped critics from accusing the duchess of plagiarism.

Meghan Markle has written a new children’s book called ‘The Bench’

Meghan’s new children’s book The Bench is set to be released on June 8, just in time for Father’s Day by Penguin Random House. “Inspired by her own husband and son, The Duchess of Sussex’s debut touchingly captures the evolving and expanding relationship between fathers and sons and reminds us of the many ways that love can take shape and be expressed in a modern family,” the press release from the book reads.

The Bench will be illustrated by bestselling artist Christian Robinson and is Meghan’s very first published children’s book.  “The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born,” Meghan said in a statement via The Daily Mail. 

Meghan Markle critics are accusing her of plagiarizing ‘The Bench’

The book is not even out yet, but critics of the duchess are accusing her of plagiarizing her book from, The Boy on the Bench by Corrinne Averiss and Gabriel Alborozo also illustrated by Robinson.

“Before you run out and waste money on the book by Harry’s wife, read ‘The Boy on the Bench’ by Corrinne Averiss and Gabriel Alborozo … The original,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another added, “Blatantly plagiarized and that Markle’s work should be “boycotted.” “I’ll wager a bet that Corrinne’s book is in Archie’s collection,” the user said. “That’s where her idea came from. I don’t believe that this is all her own thinking or reflects her idyllic life whatsoever.”

The author of the book Meghan Markle is accused of plagiarizing just clapped back at haters

The Boy on the Bench is about a little boy named Tom who is not brave enough to join in with his friends on the playground and play; it has very little to do with his relationship with his father. The only similarity is that the books share an illustrator.

Now, Averiss who co-wrote The Boy on the Bench is speaking out about the plagiarism claims. “Reading the description and published excerpt of the Duchess’s new book, this is not the same story or the same theme as ‘The Boy on the Bench.’ I don’t see any similarities,” she tweeted.

It looks like that cleared all that drama up entirely.