Royals ‘won’t respond’ to Meghan Markle’s book after Megxit and Oprah drama

Senior royals won’t publicly discuss Meghan Markle’s new book but could read it privately, a royal expert has claimed.

The Duchess of Sussex’s picture book for children, The Bench, was released yesterday on Tuesday, June 8.

Inspired by husband Prince Harry and son Archie, the royal’s work focuses on the “special bond between father and son”.

After a slow start, it has crept up the sales charts and is now ranked 24 on Amazon UK’s top 200 bestseller list.

Brittani Barger, Deputy Editor of Royal Central, a US website focused on news about the monarchy, believes it will be relatively successful.

She told the Daily Star: “I expect the book to do pretty well. The Sussexes have a lot of supporters who will buy the book, and marketing should help with social media campaigns.

“Their supporters have done a lot when it comes to raising money for certain charities so I’m sure they will promote the book well and help its sales.”

However, Ms Barger does not expect public support from other Royal Family members.

She continued: “I don’t think any senior members of the Royal Family will publicly respond.

“They may read the book in private but I don’t think we were hear anything from them regarding the book.”

Tensions between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the monarchy have been high in the wake of Megxit, and seemingly increased after their Oprah Winfrey interview was broadcast.

Just days before Meghan’s book was released, publisher Penguin Random House [PRH] got into a dispute with Britain’s biggest book shop Waterstones.

PRH has limited how much credit they can offer to the chain, limiting how many books they can buy.

Waterstones afterwards removed PRH books from its displays, which could have an adverse effect on sales.

The book was released just days after Harry and Meghan announced the birth of baby daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.

She was born on Friday, June 4, and is now settling in at home with the Duchess of Sussex.

She and Harry said they felt “blessed” and thanked fans for their “love and prayers”.

Lilibet, one of the Queen’s childhood nicknames, is a tribute to Her Majesty.

Journalist Omid Scobie – who wrote Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom – said they got Her Majesty’s support first.

He tweeted: “A Sussex source says that the Queen was the first family Harry called after Lilibet’s birth and during that conversation, he shared the couple’s hope of naming their daughter in her honor.

“Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”