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Before Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, she was an actor who played the character Rachel Zane on the legal drama Suits and ran her lifestyle blog The Tig. Once she wed the prince Meghan became a working royal but 19 months after saying “I do,” she and Harry stepped down.

In order to become “financially independent” once they moved across the pond, the Sussexes pursued new projects and business ventures, and for Meghan one of those was children’s book author. But according to other authors, that was easier said than done for Harry’s wife as she had no idea what she was doing and “got pushed to the front of the line.”

Here’s what they said about the unfair treatment the inexperienced duchess got.

Writers claim Meghan doesn’t understand the ‘practice’ and ‘discipline’ needed to be a children’s author

According to Express, several children’s authors “have taken an issue with the duchess one day choosing to become an author, seemingly thinking it would be a walk in the park.”

Meghan Markle holding her children's book while in the Harlem section of New York City
Meghan Markle holding her children’s book while in the Harlem section of New York City | Gotham/GC Images

In 2021, Meghan released a children’s book titled The Bench. It sold 3,212 copies in its first week compared to No. 1 book The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman which sold 28,383 copies in the same time period. There were also rumors floating around that Meghan bought a percentage of those books herself to gift to her friends and donate, however, those reports have not been confirmed.

Nielsen BookScan noted that only 8,000 copies of The Bench have been sold in the U.K. since its release. This led to The Guardian dubbing Meghan’s first attempt at children’s literature a “flop” as it “made a lot of headlines but didn’t sell at all well.”

That coupled with the fact that the former working royal was paid more than $600,000 for the 40-page book hasn’t sat well with some children’s book authors like James A. Lyons who said: “I sent out 180 queries across three manuscripts over four years. Non-celebrities face hundreds of rejections and not a fast-tracked ticket to the front of the queue.”

Author and poet Joshua Seigal also gave his thoughts on the subject saying: “These celebrities do not need any more money or exposure, but plenty of genuine writers do … Writing for children is an art. It requires skill, practice, and discipline. I work really hard on my art, and it’s quite galling that people seem to think it is something that’s easy to do.”

Another author slams all celebs who promote ghostwritten children’s books as their own

Meghan Markle attends the Kids’ Reading Hour at Kids’ Area in Nations’ Home during day seven of the Invictus Games in Duesseldorf, Germany
Meghan Markle attends the ‘Reading Hour at Kids’ during day seven of the Invictus Games in Duesseldorf, Germany | Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation
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Another author Katherine Rundell has also had it with “celebrities who put their names to ghostwritten children’s novels,” adding, “We would be shocked if you put your name to a concerto you hadn’t composed; we would find it supremely embarrassing if you signed a painting you hadn’t painted.

“It poisons the water. It makes it harder for parents and teachers to find great children’s fiction, and it makes children’s fiction look like something cheap and thin, instead of what it is a literature with its own strangenesses, its own rigors, its own power.”

In 2023, Meghan’s husband became a published author as well with his memoir Spare for which he employed ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer.

It’s not yet known if the duke or duchess plan on releasing more books in the future.

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