Meghan Markle’s mum Doria Ragland has inspired a new novel.
After it was reported last year that Meghan Markle’s Doria Ragland would be spending Christmas with the royal family, one author was inspired to write a novel based on the Duchess’s mother.
Author Jasmine Guillory’s new romance novel Royal Holiday is inspired by the 63-year-old and sees protagonist Vivian (who happens to be a 63-year-old LA-based yoga teacher) head over on holiday to England and fall in love with the fictional monarch’s private secretary.
The New York Times bestselling author, whose new book will be released on 1st October, admitted that she was inspired to write the book when someone wrote the idea on Twitter.
In response to a story about the Queen inviting Doria over for Christmas, librarian Margaret Willison wrote on Twitter: ‘Having read this news, I [now] NEED a charming romance about the single mother of a new Duchess falling in love with an appropriately aged royal retainer while spending Christmas at Sandringham’.
Author Jasmine responded to the post, writing: ‘I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE’.
And now the book, which is being published by Penguin, is set to come out soon.
‘Vivian was a single mom when she raised her daughter,’ Jasmine told Oprah magazine, ‘she worked hard all of her life and never really had time for anything but her daughter and her family and work, and I wanted her to find love, and someone who values her for how great she is.
‘In Royal Holiday, this is the first vacation she’s had in years, and I loved both giving her a real fantasy experience, and also exploring her emotions around relationships and work and family.
‘And I really loved writing her love story with Malcolm!’
The novel’s blurb expands on the storyline, reading: ‘She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality.
‘Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour – until now’.
