It’s widely believed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have maintained friendships with the York princesses, Princess Eugenie and Beatrice. One could argue that Prince Harry and Eugenie have always been especially close friends, and Eugenie and Meghan reportedly get along pretty well. The Sussexes allowed Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank to sublet Frogmore Cottage back in the day, and I believe the Sussexes spent a week or so in Portugal with the Brooksbank family over the summer. Well, funny story? Apparently, Meghan gave Eugenie and Jack a copy of her children’s book, The Bench, and inscribed it to them personally. That copy is now for sale on eBay.
Meghan Markle was facing a new humiliation on Friday morning after a personally inscribed copy of her much mocked children’s book, The Bench, apparently abandoned by Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, turned up for sale on eBay with a £19,999 ($26,400) price tag.
The seller is Drive Easy’s Signed Books, a London-based dealer in signed and inscribed copies. Buyers unwilling to front up the full amount are invited to spread the cost over 24 monthly payments of £943.29 via PayPal. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to a charity supporting disadvantaged children in education in Thailand. This has internet sleuths trying to figure out who might be trying to salve their conscience. The listing has now gone – potentially sold. Unsigned copies of the book can be bought online for around £2.
What makes this one special is the handwritten message inside. Dated 2021 and addressed to “Eug and Jack,” it salutes the bond between a father and his son, declares “I wrote this poem at Frogmore,” hopes that Eug will feel “the same love there with her guys,” and is signed off with Meghan’s looping signature.
The seller claims the book was a personal gift to the couple following the birth of their first child (August was born in February 2021), and describes it as a presentation copy that has been read but not heavily, with only minor scratches and creases. Sounds about right. The listing does not undersell the artefact, saying it is “an extraordinary, undeniable record of modern royal history,” of interest to collectors and museums alike.
Eugenie and Jack moved into Frogmore Cottage in November 2020 and left in 2022. So it seems likely this was a housewarming present from the absentee landlady.
The Bench, which, according to its carefully curated origin story, began as a Father’s Day poem for Harry and was published in June 2021, was panned when it came out. The Telegraph called it a “semi-literate vanity project.” The New York Times headline called its rhyme “tortured.” And the Irish Times went to town on the final line, in which “alone” is chopped down to “’lone” to make it fit. “The book ends with a word that isn’t a proper word,” its reviewer wrote, adding that this was fitting for something that wasn’t “a proper picture book either.” The Daily Mail reports that it sold just 3,212 copies in its first week in Britain.
The rumor mill has gone into overdrive. There are three explanations. The first, and to be fair probably the least likely, is that Eugenie decided to sell it herself. Even by the standards of the venal and grasping Yorks, that would be pretty shocking stuff.
The second is forgery. The inscription has not been independently verified, but it seems very unlikely. Why would a forger include the stuff about Frogmore? And the flourishes and the signature match handwritten notes Meghan has previously published
The third, and most likely, is that the book was simply left behind at Frogmore Cottage when Eugenie and Jack moved out, and was picked up by a staffer when the place was cleared. There is a long history of royal knickknacks finding their way to market.
This is embarrassing for all involved, right? It’s also sort of funny – this kind of sh-t happens in families all the time, regifting or selling someone’s gift. It’s the most “the royals are just like us” thing to happen in a minute. Meghan gave them a copy of The Bench and hoped they would enjoy it. Instead, Eugenie and Jack barely read it to their kids and (most likely) left it behind as they switched houses a few times in 2022-23. I agree that it sounds unlikely that Eugenie would sell it to a dealer or personally give it away. It was probably misplaced and Eugenie just forgot that the book even existed in the first place. Or it was stolen? Which is a solid possibility, in my opinion.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Eugenie’s Instagram and Archewell.
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- Royals and celebs head to Oswald’s. Featuring: Princess Eugenie Where: London, United Kingdom When: 05 May 2023 Credit: Blitz Pictures/INSTARimages **USA AND AUSTRALIA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Royal Family attend day two of Royal Ascot 2024 at Ascot Racecourse on June 19, 2024 in Ascot, England Featuring: Princess Eugenie of York When: 19 Jun 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- Day five of Royal Ascot meeting Featuring: Rory Bremner, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 21 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
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- Day five of Royal Ascot meeting Featuring: Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank Where: Ascot, United Kingdom When: 21 Jun 2025 Credit: Cover Images
I don’t think the Sussexes are that close with the Yorks anymore, and likely haven’t been for at least a couple of years. This just confirms it. If they were close the book would have been kept, especially since Eugenie just had a baby.
The royal staffer theory Sykes posits seems most likely, but it wouldn’t be out of character for the Yorks to sell it. I can’t imagine they have much money coming in nowadays.
If the Sussexes were in Portugal, it seems likely they would have hung out with Eugenie and Jack, but maybe they just like Portugal. I’m sure the York girls are under a lot of pressure to ally with Charles and William.
The third theory is quite possible, but I also agree with your theory. A housekeeper could have easily taken it while they were packing to move and Eugenie didn’t realize it wasn’t with their other children’s books.
No matter how it happened, I think it’s disgusting (though unsurprising) that it’s calling this “Meghan’s humiliation.” Meghan has absolutely nothing whatsoever to feel embarrassed or “humiliated” about — if anyone should, it would be Eugenie. Of course that’s how the BM will frame it, but it’s so wrong.
Also, if someone were auctioning a children’s book I wrote and signed for over $25,000….I’d take it as a compliment!
It’s valuable because it belonged to a York Princess, sure, but the seller recognizes its real value is because it’s a book written by Meghan and signed by her!
@lorelei Absolutely! Meghan has nothing to be ashamed of in this situation.. I don’t know how the book ended up on eBay but that has nothing to do with Meghan, and she still must be in high demand and very relevant if someone is paying that price for her autographed book 📖..
Fergie running out of money???
I wouldn’t be surprised if Eug gave it to Fergie to sell for some quick cash. That sounds more likely to me, as close as she is to her mother. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Fergie would sell it/have someone sell it for her, in a nano-second
In a toxic family full of narcs and abusers, anyone not actively resisting the abuse eventually becomes one of the flying monkeys for the abuser(s) whether on purpose or by accident.
Following this train of thought, I wouldn’t be surprised if Fergie stole it
Sounds like a very Fergie thing to do.
THIS
agreed – insane that it’s framed as meghan’s humiliation. it’s almost like meghan’s triumph – her book and her signature are worth such a large amount of money. and then some combination of staff or people connected to eugenie are trying to benefit from it (or it really could be a fake).
the same tabloids making fun of them for it are probably also trying to buy it and thus bring up the price just to put the pictures in their paper.
This positively SCREAMS Fergie.
The first thing that crossed my mind—and it seems obvious—is that someone stole the book from them; after all, a copy with Meghan’s dedication could fetch a high price.
Suggesting anything else is idiotic and irresponsible. Despite her background, Eugenie is a rather private and refined person who would never do such a thing; you’d have to be a total yahoo—or a thief—to do that.
First thing that crossed my mind, which I also think is obvious, is that it’s a fake. Which would explain its disappearance from the site so soon, eBay made them remove it.
That is certainly possible… But if my theory holds true, Eugenia herself could have withdrawn the book—having not even known beforehand that it had been taken from her home. Both scenarios are plausible, yet the media and certain commentators seem to relish accusing Eugenia of intentionally humiliating Meghan. It is as if people delight in such accusations, just waiting for someone to humiliate another person. It’s awful…
Okay but let’s celebrate that price tag. If Meghan’s signature rakes in the sterling and the Yorks know it, that means the whole BRF is secretly aware of her popularity.
@Molly, I know, I love it. And it reminded me of how years ago, Kate donated a “hamper” to one of her patronages for an auction, and either it didn’t sell at all, or it did, but for a super low price.
I used to work in fundraising and we had auctions like that one, and if anything like that ever happened, we had contingency plans for some of the volunteers to bid on it so as not to embarrass the donor, a fellow parent at the school.
That’s nice, @Lorelei, that contingency plan.
Not sure why Psycho Sykes thinks this is ‘humiliating’ for Meghan. And he doesn’t mention the fact that the book was on the NYT bestseller list for for a number of weeks (three?), etc. He really does seem to get a buzz out of imagining her mocked and humiliated. Some sort of sexual perversion, perhaps?
I put Psycho Sykes in the same category as Jeremy Clarkson.
As a Sussex fan, the category goes without saying.
I’m sure you can find him out in the cloakroom with Piers and Jeremy, having a wank.
The kindest interpretation is that they are trying to keep the gravy train rolling. Or perhaps they’re just terrible people.
This is embarrassing but I don’t think its embarrassing for Meghan – she gave it as a gift, and Eugenie and Jack did…something else with it. Left it behind, gave it away, put it up for sale, who knows. Its not a good look for Eugenie, especially given how the public perceives the Yorks as it is.
Yeah, I don’t think it’s embarrassing for Megan at all. It was a sweet gift. For Eugenie though? Yeah it’s not great. A gift ending up on eBay for sale looks crass and another example of crass associated with the York name is not a great headline by any means.
We are sane people here so it’s obvious that it isn’t embarrassing to Meghan, but unfortunately she’s surrounded by a lot of lunatics only wanting to profit off of her and they’ll say absolutely anything in order to do so. It’s gross.
I think a staff person found it/took it with the double bonus of “humiliating” Meghan and making Eugenie look like a tacky York grifter. That person most likely then sold it to someone else for some quick cash, who in turn listed it on ebay.
This is it. Selling a book gifted by Meghan is embarrassing for Eugenie not for Meghan. And do we see Fergie pressuring her to do it for money? Sure. Or maybe it was stolen.
Either way it’s the yorks who should be embarrassed.
MightyMolly, excellent point. And I like the theory that Fergie did it. Let’s conflate both theories and say Fergie stole it from Eugenie’s house. And yes, Meghan is a BFD in England. I attribute BFD to Vice President Biden on a hot mic talking to President 0bama about the president’s health care plan. Lord, I miss those days!!!!
We are sane people here who realize that obviously it’s not embarrassing to Meghan, but so many people just believe any nonsense they read. And if they’re predisposed to dislike her, this kind of crap just feeds into it. It’s so awful.
The only people who should be embarrassed here are Eugenie and Jack. I’m not discounting that it could also be a forgery. Those derangers do a lot of crazy things to get Meghan’s attention.
If true ( and it’s a big if) this is mortifying for Eugenie and Jack, but I don’t see how it’s humiliation for Meghan? I’d be hella embarrassed if a gift someone had inscribed to me specifically was sold – it would be one thing to pass it along or quietly donate it, but selling it?
Maybe it’s Fergie (or Andrew) trying to get some cash. If it’s a staffer, that is also a bad look for the Windsors. Are they paying their people so little that they have to resort to this? Should future guests at the palace make sure never to leave anything lying around for fear it makes its way to ebay?
Meghan is pretty much the only one that comes off well – she gave a thoughtful, sweet baby gift to her husband’s cousin who was staying at their house. Also, a gift that other people seem to want if (as this article states) it’s priced at nearly £20000 from the expected £2. Ain’t nobody trying to pay thousands of pounds for anything the left behinds have made, that’s for sure.
I’d be embarrassed to do that, regifting is one thing but selling a gift? I dunno, doesn’t feel right. Granted, once you give somebody something it’s theirs to do whatever they want with it & you keep your trap shut, but still. IF true–also agree it’s a big ‘if’–maybe Eugenie checked with Meghan on this? And Meghan said, sure, go ahead, whatever you need to do.
If they thought they could do it without anyone finding out, they were out of their minds. People literally spend their days trolling the internet to find any possible shred of information about Meghan that they can spin negatively.
The last line says it all – “There is a long history of royal knickknacks finding their way to market.”
According to the housekeeper’s diary, Charles and Diana used to put their unwanted items in the incinerator to avoid situations like this.
That is so smart!
@Monlette, that is so smart, and I bet that the Sussexes already take similar measures.
Sounds wasteful to me.
That is so smart. I bet Meghan takes similar measures.
I actually don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Fergie knicked it.
And this is in no way a humiliation for Meghan. The racism of these deranged British writers — they so desperately want her to be humiliated. It’s gross.
Says more about Eugenia than it does Meghan
I think Eugenie gave it to Fergie, who needs money and sold it. And I bet Fergie’s daughters give her other stuff she can sell until her next book brings her millions.
If someone wants to shell out that kind of money for that kiddie book just to get Meghan’s signature, good on them I suppose. I mean, the packing slip in an AsEver shipment has a card with her signature in it. This makes the Yorks look grasping but whatever. The way this book was reviewed was insane. The same with her products. The Cut had to have a major taste test of her apple butter and you could tell it was just meant to drag her (it’s delicious btw). They just want a reaction from Meghan and she’s ghosting the UK so far. I approve and hope she continues to ignore their BS.
Or was the book seen by a mover in the top of a box of books and it ‘fell out’ in the moving van? Sadly things disappear in house moves, that’s how a box of expensive toys plus a dollshouse ‘disappeared’ on a move between cities when I was a kid. The book probably was removed from eBay when it was pointed out that the seller wasn’t the owner?
I fail to see how it’s a humiliation to Meghan.
More like an humiliation to Eug and Jack (and/or Fergie) assuming they want a continued relationship. But T.Sycko can’t frame his story any other way than ‘Meghan-bad’ even though this collector’s piece of her work with her signature has been valued at $26.4K.
Oh no! A copy of my children’s book signed by me is going on eBay for £19,999!
I’m such a loser, so totally humiliated!!!!
I’ll never sign another of my books again before giving it to someone, knowing they can get £20k for it!
lol. I’d be like: Where’s my pen!!!! Ok, You get a book, and You get a book, and…
That would actually be a huge moneymaker for Meghan, but I absolutely understand why she doesn’t do it. So many people would pay more for a personally inscribed copy, and Meghan would likely donate the proceeds (the author Elin Hildebrand charges more for her autographed books; not sure if she donates proceeds or not, but she does drive a lot of traffic to the small independent bookstore on Nantucket). But with Meghan, somehow they would end up turning it into a shitshow. Not worth it. Sigh.
This is not a humiliation for Meghan nor for anyone else. If you’re a parent, you know how much kid paraphernalia can accumulate very quickly. The book was likely among many books in the nursery and probably the parents forgot it was specially inscribed and donated it with a score of other books that the kids outgrew. Also, reading a book multiple times does not mean it will necessarily get damaged or show a lot of signs of wear. I have a box stuffed with well-read children’s books in great condition in my attic that attests to that. Yes, the book may have been pinched, but it also might’ve just been in a donation pile, and that doesn’t mean it wasn’t read or appreciated when the kids were young. Probably the Brooksbanks do not worship the Sussexes as celebrities so they didn’t think to forever preserve the book in a custom-made velvet lined glass case mounted on the wall. As usual, it’s a commonplace nothingburger of a “story” that is meant to humiliate and bully Meghan.
The Brooksbanks recently had a new baby. Getting rid of books and toys the children outgrew makes no sense.
I go with the theory that it was stolen when they moved and sold by someone of the staff or movers. It is known the staff gets paid a pittance, if they can sell something without getting caught, they will. A children’s book is not an antique or picture which would be missed easily.
In no way is it humiliating for Meghan, Tom Sicko wishes he could find something actually humiliating.
It’s embarrassing for Eugenie and Jack. Considering they are close to Meghan and Harry, I wonder how this happened, but I agree with some above, wouldn’t be surprised if Fergie isn’t behind this mess in some way.
‘There is a long history of royal knickknacks finding their way to market.’ Huh. So there’s a history of thievery amongst royal employees? Maybe pay them better?
As for the story, I’d want to see a screenshot of that. I checked the eBay.co.uk site, under the ‘sold’ category, and it didn’t show up. If it was there & taken down suddenly it’s possible somebody called them out & eBay made them take it down because eBay is getting better about fakes being put up for sale.
I too believe this book was stolen. Take a look at eBay. Her latest bookmark priced at $20 is being sold for $75-80. I suppose this is common. Dolly Parton dolls are selling in the 1000’s. It’s sad really for the people that want to buy and keep the item. Not resell it.
I despise people who do this, like ticket scalpers who buy up every concert ticket and then relist them immediately at ten times the cost of the ticket.
I tried to buy that bookmark for myself and it was sold out, but someone will profit from it. SMH
This is a puzzling. Speculations could be endless. I’m reminded of Archie’s well-chewed book when Meghan read a story with him for Save the Children.
Imagine if the story was the reverse – that man would’ve said Meghan was broke and looking for money.
These so-called royal reporters would rather look stupid to criticize Meghan, than smart to say the obvious sensible thing, which is; if a book written and signed by Meghan is selling for over 20k, that is super important. Regardless of the circumstances around how it got on eBay, the fact that it’s selling for that much makes Meghan’s stock soar. It just further validates her importance.