Meghan Markle appeared to offer an olive branch to her father-in-law as she wore a bracelet gifted to her by the King, in her first public appearance since the royal racism row was re-ignited with the release of ‘mouthpiece’ Omid Scobie’s book.
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, stepped out in Santa Barbara on Monday wearing an array of casual luxury including Princess Diana’s watch, and a Bentley & Skinner diamond tennis bracelet – a gift from the King worth at least £4,900.
The piece, which was first worn on the eve of her wedding to Prince Harry, was first created by royal warrant holders Bentley & Skinner, features ninety-two round brilliant-cut diamonds.
Meghan last wore the bracelet publicly during a hike in May, and prior to that it hasn’t been seen since 2022, lending even more significance to her choice to wear it out today, perched on top of her Cartier Love Bracelet.
At first glance, it would be easy to miss the piece which sat on her wrist over the more solid bangle, but the glint of diamonds quickly gave it away.
It may be a sign of peace between the warring Windsors after Scobie’s new book Endgame named Charles and the Princess of Wales as the two royals who allegedly expressed concern about the colour of Prince Archie’s skin before he was born.
Meghan Markle appeared to offer an olive branch to her father-in-law as she wore a bracelet gifted from him in Santa Barbara on Monday
Harry and Meghan are said to be ‘desperate to get back into the royal fold’ and recently reached out to Charles for his 75th birthday.
Meghan wore the Bentley & Skinner bracelet, believed to be a gift from King Chalres
The Bentley & Skinner diamond line tennis bracelet (pictured on Meghan in May 2018) features forty-eight round brilliant-cut diamonds weighing seven carats in total, worth at least £4,900
The bracelet, made by royal warrant holders, is 2 carats in total and set in white gold
The bracelet, which was was last seen publicly wearing in May during a hike in California, could be the Duchess’s subtle nod to her family, 5,000 miles away.
Her appearance comes as Scobie, who has been seen as the unofficial spokesman for the couple, is still struggling to deal with the fallout from his new book.
An initial draft of the book, given to Dutch translators, named the two senior members of the royal family – King Charles and The Princess of Wales- who Meghan said told of their ‘concerns’ about the colour of her son Archie’s skin, while she was pregnant.
Meghan first made her allegations about the conversation in her televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, in March 2021.
Harry and Meghan issued a statement saying it was not the late Queen or her husband Prince Philip, but have refused to name the members of the royal family who made the comments.
Scobie’s book marks the first time they have been named.
And despite the author’s denials, his UK agent did send a draft manuscript of Endgame naming the two ‘royal racists’ to be translated into Dutch, it has been claimed.
The revelation exposes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘cheerleader-in-chief’s’ weasel words that he ‘never submitted a book that had those names in it’.
A source told The Times United Talent Agency had earlier sent a draft version of the book to publisher Xander Uitgevers which contained the names.
However, a final proof of the 400-page tome was later sent but it is understood the translator had been working from an earlier draft.
Buckingham Palace is mulling whether to take legal action after King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named as the senior royals who allegedly remarked about Archie’s skin colour before he was born.
Mr Scobie, 42, has refused to apologise to Charles and Kate for the embarrassing mishap which resulted in the explosive book being removed from the shelves in the Netherlands.
The under-fire author has shrugged off criticism claiming the names were ‘known for a long time’ while putting the blame at the Dutch publisher’s door declaring: ‘I never submitted a book that had those names in it.’
Yet Dutch translator Saskia Peeters insisted Charles and Kate’s names were in the book.
Speaking to from her home in Arnhem on Thursday, she said: ‘As a translator, I translate what is in front of me.
‘The names of the royals were there in black and white. I did not add them. I just did what I was paid to do and that was translate the book from English into Dutch.’
The second translator, Nellie Keukelaar-van Rijsbergern, then told The Sun: ‘We are professionals and we’ve done this for years, both of us. It’s unfair.’
Mr Scobie’s initially blamed a ‘translation error’. Anke Roelen, managing director of the publisher Xander, said a rectified edition of the book would be back on shelves on December 8 and simply blamed ‘an error’ for it being pulled.
The Sussexes have declined to publicly defend their relatives, and these latest snaps mark the first time Meghan has emerged since the naming of Kate and Charles.
As well as the bracelet, Meghan opted for thousands of pounds worth of accessories on her outing.
The 42-year-old looked sporty in her New Balance sneakers, leggings and long-sleeved t-shirt
She held her phone in one hand as she strode towards her waiting SUV
The mother-of-two was wearing her favourite Krewe sunglasses in the bright Californian sun
Alongside black leggings and a plain black top, the former actress wore a new pair of £78 New Balance trainers and a green baseball cap.
She paired this with a pair of Krewe sunglasses, which she’s worn before and cost £250.
She then clutched her iPhone 14 Pro in a £180 Bottega Veneta phone case.
She added a touch of glitz to the outfit by wearing her mysterious pinky ring, which was made by celebrity jeweller Lorraine Schwartz and is reportedly worth an estimated $62,000.
It comes as Scobie claims he ‘never submitted a book that had those names in it’, which his Dutch translator denies.
A source told The Times that United Talent Agency had earlier sent a draft version of the book to publisher Xander Uitgevers, which contained the names.
However, a final proof of the 400-page tome was later sent, but it’s understood the translator had been working from an earlier draft.
It comes after as the book has already dropped out of Amazon’s top 100 current bestsellers list despite a blitz of publicity in the first week of its release.
The title currently sits 139th in the UK bestseller book charts based on Amazon sales, which are updated hourly to reflect recent and historical sales of every item.
The former Suits actress appeared at a Los Angeles gala last month and said she had exciting new projects in the pipeline, and was looking forward to sharing more details when she could
Meghan optimised casual luxury as she walked through Santa Barbara clutching her phone
Meghan kept a very low profile amid news of the latest royal racist allegations that has rocked the palace recently
Endgame has fallen more than 100 places in three days having been at 14th as recently as last Friday. On the day of its release last Tuesday it was ranked 77th.
The book is now in the table behind children’s titles such as the Beano annual, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Stick Man; biographies from Britney Spears, Matthew Perry and Chris Kamara; and cookbooks from Mary Berry, Rick Stein and Tom Kerridge.
In the same Amazon list in the US, Endgame was at 235th today – below The Very Hungry Caterpillar; the Jeopardy! 2024 calendar; and a Paw Patrol sound book.
Amazon says its lists are a ‘good indicator of how well a product is selling overall’ but ‘doesn’t always indicate how well an item is selling in relation to similar items’.
The book’s falling performance comes despite a huge amount of media coverage as well as TV interviews conducted by Scobie for the BBC and ITV in the UK and ABC in the US.
Meghan kept it casual as she walked though Santa Barbara in trainers and black leggings
Meghan and Charles were previously close, with the King even walking her down the aisle when she married Prince Harry. The pair are pictured in March 2019 at the Commonwealth Day service
The original ‘racism’ claim was made in the Sussexes’ infamous 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview
A copy of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame on display inside a book store in London last Friday
The author has also given interviews to publications including The Times, Evening Standard, Independent, Tatler, People, Elle.com and Paris March.
Meanwhile the book was not on prominent display at London’s oldest bookshop, Hatchards on Piccadilly – with only one copy put aside on order, reported The Guardian.
The newspaper added that about 14 copies were stacked on a table near the entrance of the nearby Waterstones, but there was ‘limited interest there too’.
The Sussexes have not commented publicly on the race row but a source close to Meghan said ‘it was not leaked to Scobie by anyone in her camp’.
It also emerged yesterday that the Dutch edition of Endgame quoted a source close to the Sussexes who branded William ‘heartless’ – another inflammatory passage that is not in the UK version.
Referring to claims that the Prince of Wales secured a flight to Balmoral without Harry when the Queen was dying, the translation cited the source as saying: ‘It was heartless to deny him the chance to go to Scotland to say goodbye to his grandmother. This was not the time to be petty.’
A ‘family source’ also claims that William ‘purposely ignored’ Harry when the Queen died and ‘didn’t want to help’ him, according to the Dutch edition.
It said: ‘He was, and is, still angry because Harry revealed private issues… He thinks that is unforgivable.’
The Dutch version also refers to the King’s ‘cash for honours’ scandal last year, with a ‘source’ saying ‘people inside the institution are concerned that ‘more stories will follow’.’
None of these claims appeared in the English version, The Sun on Sunday reported.
It comes after Meghan admitted under oath that she authorised a senior aide to brief Scobie for his earlier book about the Sussexes, called Finding Freedom