How Meghan Markle Honored Prince Harry on Father’s Day

On Sunday, Meghan Markle appeared on NPR Weekend Edition to discuss her new children’s book, The Bench. In addition to discussing the book, the Duchess of Sussex also shared how she celebrated her husband, Prince Harry, on Father’s Day in 2019, per PEOPLE. Markle’s interview with the publication marked her first since she and Harry sat down with Oprah Winfrey this past March.

Markle said that in 2019, which marked Harry’s first Father’s Day, she wrote him a poem in honor of the special occasion (that poem would go on to inspire The Bench). She added that it wasn’t the only gift that she got him, as she also got him something that tied along seamlessly with her poem. The duchess said during the interview, which was recorded before she gave birth to the couple’s second child, daughter Lilibet, “As most of us do, you go, what am I going to get them as a gift?” She added, “And I thought I just wanted something sentimental and a place for him to have as a bit of a home base with our son.”

So, Markle got Harry his own bench for him and their kids to call their own. On the back of the bench, there is a plaque that showcases Markle’s poem, which reads, “This is your bench. Where life will begin/ For you and our son/ Our baby, our kin.” The Bench revolves around the relationship between a father and son, as it is based on the bond between Harry and the couple’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. But, Markle said on Weekend Edition that the message of her children’s book goes beyond that relationship. She said that it really comes down to the fact that The Bench is a “love story.”

“I often find, and especially in this past year, I think so many of us realized how much happens in the quiet,” she said. “It was definitely moments like that, watching them from out of the window and watching [my husband] just, you know, rock him to sleep or carry him or, you know … those lived experiences, from my observation, are the things that I infused in this poem.” The Bench was released on June 8, just in time for Father’s Day celebrations. Even though the book hasn’t sold as many copies as expected (in the United Kingdom, at least), it has still found incredible success on both sides of the pond.