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MEGHAN Markle included Princess Diana's favourite flower in her children's picture book in a sweet nod to her late mother-in-law.

The Duchess of Sussex chose to feature forget-me-nots in newly released The Bench - as well as several other "little moments" dedicated to her family.

- Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest updates

The Duchess of Sussex featured Princess Diana's favourite flowers in her children's book
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The Duchess of Sussex featured Princess Diana's favourite flowers in her children's bookCredit: Getty
The forget-me-nots feature in the picture book The Bench
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The forget-me-nots feature in the picture book The Bench
Meghan littered her book with 'sweet little moments' dedicated to her family
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Meghan littered her book with 'sweet little moments' dedicated to her familyCredit: EPA

The book was released on June 8 - just days after her daughter Lilibet was born.

Meghan described it as a "love story" that was "inspired by the love that I see between my husband and our son".

And in an interview with NPR, she said she kept Diana and her future daughter in mind while writing the book.

"I think you can find sweet little moments that we hid in there – of my favourite flower, even my husband’s mom’s favourite flower, forget-me-nots," she added.

"We wanted to make sure those were included in there.

"There are many, many special details and love that went into this book."

It also features Harry and Meghan's rescue chickens.

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During the chat - her first public interview since giving birth on June 4 - Meghan also revealed the book was about "growing with someone and having this deep connection and this trust so that, be at good times or bad, you know that you had this person".

"I really hope that people can see this as a love story that transcends the story of my family," she added.

She also revealed she had bought Harry a real bench for his first ever Father's Day.

The duchess said: "As most of us do, you go, what am I going to get them as a gift?

"And I thought I just wanted something sentimental and a place for him to have as a bit of a home base with our son."

The duchess offered a glimpse into her family's life in LA
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The duchess offered a glimpse into her family's life in LA
The Bench was released on June 8
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The Bench was released on June 8Credit: The Sun

And Meghan gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse into her new life in the US and during the pandemic.

She said: "I often find, and especially in this past year, I think so many of us realised how much happens in the quiet.

"It was definitely moments like that, watching them from out of the window and watching [my husband] just, you know, rock him to sleep or carry him or, you know ... those lived experiences, from my observation, are the things that I infused in this poem."

The pictures in the 34-page book give a look into the Sussexes' "authentic" life at their LA home.

One illustration appears to show her holding Lilibet while Harry feeds the chickens with little Archie.

The two-year-old is said to be a big fan of the book, yelling "again, again" every time Meghan or Harry finishes reading it.

Meghan said: "Archie loves the book. He loves it, which is great because has a voracious appetite for books.

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"Constantly when we read him a book he goes ‘again, again, again!'.

"But now the fact that he loves The Bench and we can say mummy wrote this for you - it feels amazing."

Archie LOVES Meghan Markle's picture book and yells 'again!' after reading mum's book, duchess reveals
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