メーガン妃が絵本出版へ　父としてのヘンリー王子に着想

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】英王室を離脱したヘンリー王子の妻メーガン妃が、初の絵本「Ｔｈｅ　Ｂｅｎｃｈ（ベンチ）」を６月８日に出版する。夫妻の財団が４日発表した。ヘンリー王子と長男アーチーちゃんとの関係に着想を得て執筆したという。（写真はメーガン妃＜左＞とヘンリー王子）
　メーガン妃は発表文で「アーチーが生まれた翌月の父の日に、夫のために書いた詩が始まり。それがこの物語になった」と説明。「あらゆる立場にいる父と子の関係が持つ温かさ、喜び、そして安らぎ」を表現することを目指したとしている。絵は米国人イラストレーターのクリスチャン・ロビンソンさんが担当した。
　メーガン妃は現在、第２子を妊娠中。アーチーちゃんは今月６日、２歳の誕生日を迎える。
　王子夫妻は今年３月、米トーク番組司会者オプラ・ウィンフリーさんとのインタビューで、アーチーちゃんを妊娠中、ある王室メンバーが、生まれてくる赤ちゃんの肌の色がどれほど濃くなるかを尋ねたと主張。英王室を揺るがす論争を巻き起こした。メーガン妃は白人の父親と黒人の母親を持つ。
　ヘンリー王子は先月、エリザベス女王の夫で祖父のフィリップ殿下の葬儀のため、居住地の米国から英国に一時帰国していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/05/06-12:38）

Meghan Markle is to release a children's book titled The Bench inspired by her husband Prince Harry's bond with their son Archie, the couple's foundation announced Tuesday.
The book, illustrated by Christian Robinson, is out on June 8 as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, awaits the birth of her second child.
The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father's Day, the month after Archie was born. That poem became this story, Meghan said in a statement.
She said the book aimed to capture the warmth, joy, and comfort of the relationship between fathers and sons from all walks of life.
My hope is that The Bench resonates with every family, no matter the makeup, as much as it does with mine, she added.
Archie will turn two on Thursday.
Harry and Meghan, whose father is white and mother is Black, quit the British royal family and moved to California last year.
An explosive television interview they gave to Oprah Winfrey in March -- in which they claimed an unnamed royal had asked how dark their baby's skin would be -- plunged the monarchy into a major crisis.
Meghan, a former actress, also told Winfrey she was naively unprepared for life as a royal and had contemplated suicide while pregnant with Archie.
Harry recently returned briefly to Britain for the funeral of his grandfather, Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip.