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Celebrity biographer Sean Smith will release a new book through HarperNonFiction where he will “set the record straight” about the Duchess of Sussex. Meghan Misunderstood will be released on November 12 2020 and will also be accessible in e-book and audio formats.

The synopsis for the new book states: “Meghan Misunderstood is a pioneering book that sets the record straight on the most talked about, unfairly vilified and misrepresented woman in the world.

“Meghan was eleven when she first advocated for women’s rights; a teenager when she worked in a soup kitchen feeding the homeless; a popular actress when she campaigned for clean water in Africa and passionately championed gender equality in a speech to a United Nations Women’s Conference.

“Even before she met Prince Harry, hers was an extraordinarily accomplished life.”

But the new title also discusses other aspects of her more recent public life, which she faced harsh scrutiny over.

“Meghan’s wedding to Harry was a joyful occasion, marking happiness at last for the Queen’s grandson who had captured our hearts twenty years earlier when he bravely walked behind his mother Diana’s coffin,” reads the synopsis.

“Theirs was a story that the screenwriters of Hollywood – where Meghan had made her name – could scarcely have imagined.

“The rom-com fantasy, however, soon turned into disturbing drama: any expectation of a life happily-ever-after was cruelly dashed by bullying tabloid newspapers and their allies, both on social media and within the walls of the Palace itself.

“Meghan was targeted for her gender, her race, her nationality and her profession.

“The abuse became so bad that seventy-two female MPs signed a letter of solidarity against the ‘often distasteful and misleading press’, calling out the ‘outdated colonial undertones’ of the stories.”

Mr Smith has written six Sunday Times bestsellers including biographies of Tom Jones, Kate Middleton and Robbie Williams.

He was depicted by the Independent as a “fearless chronicler”, who engages in in-depth research, going “on the road” to reveal the real person behind their public image.

Editor Zoe Berville finalised an agreement for global all language rights with Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown.

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Mr Smith explained that the ITV documentary released last year during her time in South Africa made him realise he wanted to write about Meghan’s story and her accomplishments in life.

The celebrity biographer said: “Last November, I watched the TV documentary in which Meghan Markle confided it was not enough to survive something, that was not the point of life.

“I immediately wanted to know how it had come to this: why was the most charismatic member of the Royal Family clearly so upset? Meghan Misunderstood is her story, her amazing journey.”

In the ITV documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, the Duchess opened up about the hardships of being in the public eye.

Of the British media’s portrayal of her, she told ITV’s Tom Bradby, “I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair and that’s the part that’s really hard to reconcile.”

“I’ve said for a long time to H—that’s what I call him—it’s not enough to just survive something, right? That’s not the point of life.

“You’ve got to thrive, you’ve got to feel happy. I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip.

“I tried, I really tried. But I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging.”

Of the new deal with the author, Ms Berville, said: “I’m thrilled to be publishing Sean’s latest work. Meticulously researched, expertly crafted and passionately argued, Meghan Misunderstood is riveting and thought-provoking in equal measure.”

HarperCollins imprint HQ is also releasing a Harry and Meghan biography, Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, in August.

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