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The find on eBay was listed for a whopping $AU38,000, and appeared to have been a gift for Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.
It appeared to be a first-edition copy of children’s book The Bench – penned by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and inscribed with a touching handwritten message to her good friend Eugenie and her family.
“2021. Dear Eug & Jack, celebrating the special bond between father and son,” the note read. “I wrote this poem at Frogmore – I hope that Eug. you witness the same love there with you guys. All love, Megh.”
The Bench – published in 2021 – was memorably inspired by the bond between Meghan’s husband Prince Harry and their firstborn Prince Archie, now seven.
After Meghan and Harry moved out of Frogmore Cottage in 2020 to relocate overseas, the property became home to Eugenie, Jack and their son August for a while – which is perhaps where the gift was left.
The extraordinary eBay listing was quickly viewed tens of thousands of times within hours – and it garnered plenty of comments on social media – before it was deleted.
“Eugenie threw it out. Perfect. In the bin, just where the writer belongs, in the bin with it,” one person wrote on X.
“If anyone was wondering whether or not they’re still close,” another weighed in.
Shortly afterwards, it was reported that a “horrified” Eugenie had personally apologised to Meghan over the furore and insisted she had nothing to do with the book’s emergence on eBay.
“What mattered to her was making sure Meghan knew this wasn’t some deliberate snub,” a source told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice substack.
Now, sources tell Woman’s Day that Eugenie has found the whole saga “intensely embarrassing”, but suggest there could be more to the story – with the Princess keen to maintain ties to senior royals including King Charles and Prince William.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams previously told Daily Mail that Eugenie’s relocation to Portugal and the arrival of her third child, baby Adelaide, had helped “change” the public perception of her – and insiders suggest it may be a position she’s keen to maintain.
“[Meghan and Eugenie] haven’t seen so much of each other recently, but Eugenie’s making the excuse that it’s more down to circumstance and the fact they’re both so busy than any conscious decision on her part to end the friendship or even take a step back,” a source tells Woman’s Day.
“No-one is really buying that though, the growing consensus is that she’s anxious to preserve what she has with the royals and therefore being seen as too chummy with the Sussexes – and Meghan in particular – is not a good look in that regard.”
The source goes on to say there’s a feeling among Palace insiders that Eugenie “can’t continue to have the best of both worlds”.
“If she wants to stay on decent terms with the likes of William and Kate then she can’t be seen as this double agent type of figure,” the insider adds.
“There’s already been a lot of distrust and wariness about what she might be feeding back to the Sussexes in the way of gossip and information that she’s been privy to thanks to her royal connections. And now they’re back on UK soil there seems to be even more scrutiny on her as well as Beatrice.”
The source suggests that relations between Eugenie and the Sussexes may indeed have “cooled” although they say she “hasn’t totally cut ties”.
“For one thing there’s a lot of genuine fondness there, especially between her and Harry – he’s always been her favourite cousin and she dearly hopes he can mend fences with William and the rest of the family in time,” the insider says.
“The last thing she and Jack want is to alienate either Meghan or Harry in any way, so she’s walking an incredibly fine line right now.
“Eugenie knows that Meghan and Harry could prove to be invaluable allies if the rest of the family cuts her and Beatrice off down the line, especially if more horrible revelations emerge about their parents.”
That position, the source says, explains why Eugenie felt the need to smooth over the situation involving the book.
“It’s been an almighty mess and caused no end of annoyance for Eugenie at the worst possible time,” the source adds.
“She’s got her hands full with the new baby and this just blew up out of nowhere, she’s very upset.”
