WELL, the knives are out for The Duchess of Sussex, who has published a children’s book about father-son relationships.

And while my instinct is always to support all women and see the best in everyone, I’ll admit that with this, I’m floundering.

The book, The Bench, by “Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex”, will be published on June 8 and seems to be inspired by the bond between Meghan’s husband Prince Harry and their son Archie.

Meghan said it started as a poem she wrote for her husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born.

It doesn’t take a shrink to want to scrutinise why, of all the subjects in the world, she chose fatherhood for the topic of her first book.

Both Meghan and Harry have strained relations with their fathers. So, writing about such a happy one could well be a wish fulfilment exercise on Meghan’s part.

After all, she has cut her father out of her life and it appears Harry is heading the same way.

Choosing to write about this topic could be seen as a not-so-subtle message about what “good” fatherhood looks like.

Although the problem with kids, of course, is they grow up. All two-year-olds do what they are told (mainly) and are sweet and loving. It’s when they get older that parenting becomes tricky.

And it is when they get to adulthood that they — like Meghan and Harry — form their own opinions of their mums and dads and whether they are good parents or not.

Yes, sure, you might argue: Why shouldn’t Meghan write a sweet ode to the two loves of her life and the healing power of parenthood? Maybe she feels that by publishing this, she is offering hope to other lost souls?

It is unknown whether the proceeds of the book are going to charity. But if they don’t, using her royal title for commercial gain would seem slightly disrespectful.

And that is the problem with this book. Meghan claims she wants a life out of the spotlight and away from royalty. At the same time she is using her status and title to get a book published.

For someone who claimed she was silenced by the Royal Family, it looks hypocritical. Without her royal title, would anybody publish this book? I doubt it.

When you use the royal title, it comes with royal duties. You can’t drop the duties, slag off the family and still use and benefit from your rank. Or rather you can, but people won’t like it.

HAVE HER CAKE AND EAT IT

And the book — selected for Oprah’s book club this week in a reminder that friends stick together — is just one of a few different ventures Meghan and Harry have started since moving to the US and stepping away from royal duties to pursue an “independent” life.

They have their own charitable foundation, Archewell, Meghan voiced the Disney nature film Elephant, there is a podcast in which they aim to foster well-being and kindness — and then there is their Netflix deal, said to be worth millions of pounds.

And on the one hand, they have every right to do all of these things if they want to be independent. But almost none of these deals would have occurred if they were not royals. It all just looks a bit like she is trying to have her cake and eat it — which never goes down that well with the British public.

Both Harry and Meghan argue that they need to make their own living now they’ve been cut off from the royals. But they are millionaires already.

They have enough money to keep their family safe. They just don’t have enough money to do that and to live in a £20million house and spend thousands on clothes and fly in private jets, which I guess is why they want to make more. It all seems misguided and ill-judged to me.

And while I haven’t read the book, I do wonder if the last chapter consists of the father telling the son that he’s old enough to make his own money and then the son having a massive strop about it and going on a global TV show to moan about his lot in life.

WORKOUT? I STILL CAN'T WORK OUT KIM'S KIT

I HAD to laugh at the photos of Kim Kardashian “working out” wearing a face full of make up, a blonde wig and the skimpiest thong suit I’ve ever seen.

Just what you need for a workout, right?

Except for the fact that I suspect you would get done for indecent exposure if you went to the gym wearing that.

HERE’S A HOME TRUTH

WHAT an interesting development this week that some of the biggest firms, including the UK branch of Google and KPMG, have embraced flexitime. That really is a turn-up for the books.

Before the pandemic, working from home was code for shirking and sitting around in your PJs all day watching Loose Women.

But now, necessity being the mother of invention, employers have realised that people can and do work from home. Not only that, but they tend to be more productive – no commute time, they save money on lunch, travel and coffees and seem genuinely happier.

From an employer’s point of view, I am all for it. I think the ideal balance is probably two days in the office and three days at home.

Although there are some negatives to home working, some people have no quiet space.

People working from home tend to work longer hours – with no time wasted with office gossip.

Also, any young person starting a career will not have the same working experience being at home as they would being in the office.

Lots of people – me included – meet lifelong friends at work. And there is no substitute for Friday night drinks with the work crowd.

My prediction is that working from home will never fully catch on.

MODI’S CASE OF VANITY

IN August 2022, when India celebrates its 75th year of independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to open a new parliament resembling a triangular wedding cake, becoming a symbol of Modi’s much-vaunted “New India”.

It will include futuristic offices, an underground railway and an opulent mansion for the 70-year-old PM. Building work began last December, and despite last-ditch legal attempts to block it by many and this week, as a disastrous second wave of the pandemic continues to sweep through India, there are more demands for the project to be halted.

Despite the death and despair all around him, however, this shameless man insists that work on the new building must continue, calling the work an “essential service”.

The huge construction site has thus been exempted from Covid restrictions, along with supplying food and tending the sick.

I don’t know about you, but it seems outrageous that we (the UK taxpayer) are sending vital Covid care equipment to India, including 495 oxygen concentrators and 140 ventilators, when the Indian PM is spending millions on a vanity project, rather than funding hospitals and caring for his people.

This is why people get upset with foreign aid – the countries should be putting their people first, not their building projects.

FIRING SQUAD SHOCK

I’VE had a week to reflect on it now . . . and I’m still seething about the end of Line Of Duty series six.

Who would H be? The smug new AC-12 boss, the seemingly above- the-law Chief Commissioner?

No, it was bungling buffoon Detective Superintendent Ian Buckells, who’d already been banged up – a character totally undeserving of being H.

However, that said, I’m looking forward to series seven so they can clear up all the loose ends.

HAPPY ADELE’S TIE-D UP

I JUST love how happy Adele looks in the photos that she shared of herself on Instagram on Wednesday to mark her 33rd birthday.

It looks like she is having the time of her life being single as the caption with the photos said: “Thirty FREE”. She looks amazing, healthy and slim in the photos of her dancing in a tie-dyed dress.

She is one of the most talented women on the planet, so it’s great to see her looking so fit and healthy – and, most importantly, happy.

QUESTION, MARK…

I don’t know whether to feel sorry for or jealous of Mark Wahlberg.

He has packed on 20lb in just three weeks as he attempts to “put on as much weight as possible” for his role as a boxer-turned-priest in the upcoming film Father Stu.

On balance, I think I feel envious that he has a personal chef, Lawrence Duran, who says Wahlberg is eating “eight meals a day at about 7,000 calories” in order to achieve his extreme six-week transform- ation.

My envy is definitely informed by the fact that I find myself in the opposite situation, as I am getting ready to film a new series of The Apprentice – which means I am trying to lose weight.

Clearly, I’m in the wrong business.

Source: Read Full Article