Meghan Markle says she left 'Easter eggs' in her children's book, including a tribute to Princess Diana

• Meghan Markle included Princess Diana's favorite flower, forget-me-nots, in her children's book.
• "The Bench" was released on June 8, and is now a New York Times' bestseller.
• Markle spoke with NPR about the decision to leave "Easter eggs" in the book.

The Duchess of Sussex said she included "Easter eggs" in her debut book, including Princess Diana's favorite flower.

"The Bench," which started as a poem Meghan Markle wrote for Prince Harry on Father's Day, was released as a children's picture book on June 8.

Within a week of its release, the book became No. 1 on the New York Times' list of bestselling children's picture books.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with NPR, which was recorded ahead of the book's release and aired on Sunday, Markle said: "Just all of those little Easter eggs or nuggets that are tucked within the book - I mean, there's a lot."

"If people start digging, I think you can find sweet little moments that we've tucked in there from my favorite flower, even my husband's mom's favorite flower, forget-me-nots - we wanted to make sure those were included in there. There's a lot of special detail and love that went into this book," she added.

This isn't the first time Markle has used the forget-me-not flower to pay tribute to her late mother-in-law.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were pictured planting the flower with school children at the Preschool Learning Center in Los Angeles on August 31, 2020, the anniversary of Princess Diana's death.

Forget-me-nots were often planted in the Sunken Gardens in the grounds of Kensington Palace, Diana's official residence during her time as a member of the royal family.

"The Bench" is about a father and son's relationship as seen through a mother's eyes, and was inspired by Harry's relationship with their son Archie.

The illustrations in the book depict families of all different races, religions, and backgrounds.

Markle spoke about how she worked with the book's illustrator, Christian Robinson, to ensure the images were inclusive.

"We both started to explore even what diversity means when you look at it through illustration," Markle said in the NPR interview.

"And it's not just Black and white. You know, growing up, I remember so much how it felt to not see yourself represented. So any child or any family hopefully can open this book and see themselves in it, whether that means glasses or freckled or a different body shape or a different ethnicity or religion," she added.