Meghan Markle Wears Gift From King Charles Amid Royal Book Controversy

Meghan Markle wore a conspicuous accessory on Monday in the midst of the royal family feud. Photographers for PEOPLE spotted Markle wearing a diamond tennis bracelet gifted to her by King Charles III as she ran errands near her home in Santa Barbara, California. They wondered if this was a sign of improvement between Markle and her father-in-law.

Markle was dressed casually on Monday in a sweatshirt, sneakers, baseball cap and sunglasses, so the diamond bracelet on her wrist really stood out. The Duchess of Sussex got the accessory from Charles in May of 2018. She first wore it as she arrived at the venue the day before her wedding, then again at her first official royal engagement a few days later. Markle and Prince Harry reportedly had two conversations with the king on the phone last month, breaking a long silence. However, after the release of the new book Endgame by Omid Scobie, she has not made any public comments.

Scobie’s new book is about Markle, Prince Harry and their exit from royal life. It already had some new revelations as written, but the real scandal came in the Dutch translation of the book. It contained information not in the original – described by the publisher and Scobie as an “error,” though many readers speculate that it may have information omitted from earlier drafts.

The biggest bombshell in the Dutch translation is the claim that it was King Charles and Kate Middleton who raised “concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born.” Markle revealed that those conversations had happened back in 2021, but declined to name names.

Sources at Buckingham Palace told reporters that they are “considering all options” when it comes to this mistake, indicating that there might be legal action against Scobie or the publisher. Meanwhile, sources close to Markle said that she did not provide any new information to Scobie, including the written correspondence he references in his book.

Scobie himself helped report on the apparent progress between Markle, Prince Harry and the king last month. He told PEOPLE: “With Harry, there’s a reluctant acceptance that this is just who his father is. He would rather have that in his life than to cut it off completely. Hence, when they talk it is often [Harry] reaching out. And I was surprised to learn that even Meghan has some sort of correspondence with Charles, sending over photos of the children, although they’re not directly to him. So there is a willingness there.”

Endgame is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats. The royal family has not finished responding to the publishing error in the Dutch-language version of the book.