Meghan Markle Actually Wrote Her First Children's Book Long Before 'The Bench'

Duchess, philanthropist, actor, and two-time children’s book author? Just when we thought Meghan Markle’s beautiful children’s book, The Bench, was as exciting as a book debut could get, it seems the tribute to Prince Harry and their son Archie — which debuted at the top of New York Times bestsellers list — is actually not the first children’s book she’s penned. It’s just been revealed that as an 8th grader, she wrote her earliest work (at least that we now know of), titled A Face without Freckles… Is a Night Without Stars.

Yep: the future duchess wrote an adorable poem about her freckles — and it resides in the Library of Congress!

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Yesterday, Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, shared three photos of Meghan’s book on Twitter, and Markle’s fans couldn’t get enough. “Did you know Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, wrote a book in 8th grade titled, A Face without Freckles… Is a Night Without Stars,” Hayden tweeted. “She extols the wonder of freckles with drawings and verse. Meghan submitted it to the @CopyrightOffice in 1996.”

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One fan wrote on Twitter: “Thank you for sharing this national treasure, Meghan is an amazing writer!” Another commented: “This is more proof that Meghan has always been a creative, intelligent, articulate, and proactive person. Meghan is not a blank slate and thankfully her life has been well documented so we have proof that she’s always been a topnotch writer and speaker since she was a young girl.”

And yet another Markle fan made a follow-up suggestion for the Librarian of Congress: “I love that she knew about copyright in the 8th grade. She was always going places. Once she gets off maternity leave she should go visit the LOC and you can interview her.”

We love how Markle’s work has clearly an autobiographical bent — even from the beginning! The Bench is based on a Father’s Day poem she wrote for Prince Harry and it explores the bond between fathers and sons. “The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born,” the Duchess of Sussex wrote in a statement shared on her official Archwell page. “That poem became this story.”

Buy: ‘The Bench’ $18.99

The duke and duchess had their second child, daughter Lilibet Diana, in late May. The couple is now on parental leave, and hopefully enjoying the summer as a family of four.

Before you go, check out these stunning children’s books by Black authors and illustrators.

Launch Gallery: The All-Time Most Romantic Photos of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

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