The setting is one that has by now become familiar to us: the garden of Meghan andPrince Harry’s Montecito home, where the couple have appeared on a number of occasions, most recently strolling hand-in-hand below the trees for a Time photoshoot. Yesterday Meghan appeared in a YouTube video for Brightly Storytime, briefly introducing the children’s book she wrote last year amid fall sunshine and lush greenery. “Hi, and welcome to Brightly Storytime,” Meghan begins. “I’m Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and today I’m going to read to you my book called The Bench.” The Duchess dressed down for the occasion in jeans and a pale blue shirt, accessorized by delicate gold jewelry including Princess Diana’s Cartier tank watch. The Bench is about the special relationship between father and son, as seen through a mother’s eyes. It began life as a poem inspired by the bond between Meghan’s husband Harry and the couple’s two-year-old son Archie. For Harry’s first Father’s Day, Meghan gifted him a bench affixed with a plaque that bore a few lines from the poem: “This is your bench/Where life will begin/For you and our son/Our baby, our kin.” Since then, the Sussexes have become a family of four: Lilibet Diana was born on June 4. As well as reading the story aloud, Meghan also takes a moment to read the dedication at the start of the book: “For the man and the boy who make my heart go pump-pump.” The story’s beautiful watercolor illustrations by Christian Robinson appear on screen as Meghan reads. At the end of the video, the duchess says, “I hope you enjoyed The Bench. I loved being able to share it with you. And now I hope you’re able to go and find your own special bench, or chair, or little quiet nook. Just a place that means something to you that you can share with someone you love.” During Harry and Meghan’s visit to New York, Meghan ((looking frankly incredible in an oversized red suit) visited a Harlem school where she read to students from The Bench while her husband sat cross-legged on the ground alongside the avid listeners. Meghan was also videoed hugging a student who broke down in tears, overwhelmed by emotion at the couple’s visit. Next up, Meghan’s $4900 Princess Diana-Inspired Handbag by Dior Sells Out After Brand Describes Her as the “Epitome of Dior Elegance”
