Almost as soon as promotional photos of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s, forthcoming children’s book hit the internet, the Duchess herself was hit with claims she plagiarized “The Bench.”
The author that commentators claim she copied, however, has stepped forward to defend the Duchess.
Markle announced the book, which will be available for purchase later this spring, yesterday. The story is reportedly about the bond between fathers and their children and is based on a poem Markle wrote for her husband, Prince Harry, on the occasion of his first Father’s Day.
“’The Bench’ started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born,” Markle said in a press release issued Tuesday. “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.”
Online critics, though, immediately noticed what they claimed were “similarities” between Markle’s book and another book called “The Boy on the Bench,” published in the United Kingdom.
“Meghan Markle’s new kids’ book is already getting panned before publication — with online critics accusing it of looking like a rip-off of another work already available in stores,” the New York Post reported.
“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 noted, per the Post.
“I’ll wager a bet that Corrinne’s book is in Archie’s collection. That’s where her idea came from. I don’t believe that this is all her own thinking or reflects her idyllic life whatsoever,” said another.
“Dozens of others soon complained on Twitter that the Duchess of Sussex’s book, ‘The Bench,’ didn’t only share a similar title to UK author Averiss’ 2018 book — but also similar artwork from Christian Robinson,” the outlet continued. Markle’s book features what appear to be watercolor paintings of children of different races and ethnicities with their fathers.
The revelations, which were not accompanied by evidence that Markle had lifted the storyline of her own work from the U.K. authors’ children’s book, prompted some of Markle’s critics to call for a boycott.
Corrinne Averiss, who wrote “The Boy on the Bench,” stepped to Markle’s defense, writing on Twitter that her initial observations of Markle’s project seemed to indicate it was focused on parental relationships, not relationships between children, like her book.
“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,” Averiss tweeted. “I don’t see any similarities.”
“The playground is packed with children playing, but Tom is sitting on a bench with his dad. He’s just not sure he’s brave enough to join in,” according to “The Boy on the Bench” publisher. “Tom can’t see a space for himself anywhere in the playground. Not on the slide, or on the roundabout or on the swings … But when a little girl loses her teddy, will Tom have the courage to help?”