Meghan Markle is said to be releasing a cookbook in 2026 (Image: NETFLIX)
Bookshops around the world are currently oversaturated with celebrity and influencer cookbooks, yet Meghan Markle has decided to jump on the trend and release her own this year – if she does so, she’ll be making a huge mistake. Her public identity in 2025 saw her reinventing her persona as a host and ‘trad wife’, but it would be wise for her to think twice before adding a cookbook to her growing portfolio of brand experiments.
The success of a new cookbook, depend on trust and growing popularity. New authors I admire, such as nutritionist, Emily English, bring culinary expertise as they have a long-standing and visible relationship with food. With the Duchess of Sussex, cooking has never been a central or credible pillar of her public life.
Unlike chefs who build careers through kitchens or in the modern era, post and teach repetitively on TikTok, Meghan’s connection to food has appeared trivial, primarily as an accessory to lifestyle branding.
Here are four main reasons why it could be disastrous for Meghan Markle to release a cookbook this year…
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1) Meghan wants to be taken seriously as a philanthropist
Releasing a fun cookbook filled with hosting tips takes away Meghan’s expressed desire to be taken seriously as a change maker and a philanthropist.
Publishing a cookbook could undermine that goal by reinforcing a gendered expectation that influential women eventually retreat into the domestic sphere as a ‘trad-wife’, packaging homemaking as empowerment.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation, recently announced it is rebranding to Archewell Philanthropies, suggesting the couple’s desires to fully focus on their current ambitions such as creating safer digital spaces and creating responsible AI development.
A spokeswoman for Harry and Meghan about the name change said: “This next chapter allows Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to broaden their global philanthropic efforts as a family, with meaningful reach and maximum impact, grounded in the same values, partnerships, and their commitment to show up and do good.”
Meghan often had celebrity and skilled chefs on her Netflix show (Image: NETFLIX)
2) Meghan hosted more experienced chefs on her Netflix show
Meghan proved to her audience that she wasn’t the most skilled person in the room when it came to cooking dishes. This is why she had a variety of skilled chefs on her show to help her make dishes. When she did cook alone without a professional, her dishes were incredibly basic, such as the single-skillet spaghetti with tomatoes. She was often seen on her show admittedly creating or crafting things for “the first time”.
Michelin-star chef, Clare Smyth (and someone who cooked for the royal wedding) guided Meghan in preparing halibut, highlighting fine dining techniques. Roy Choi, the “godfather of food trucks”, also appeared on the show and shared his wisdom.
We musn’t forget how Meghan was widely mocked on social media for holding canning tongs upside down in promotional photos for her lifestyle brand, As Ever.
She appeared to grip the metal ends instead of the rubber handles meant for holding hot jars, leading to accusations of inauthenticity and a lack of basic kitchen knowledge.
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3) Meghan could be seen as jumping on the next celebrity trend
The public is quick to understand when a celebrity might be cashing in on the latest trend rather than producing something which has taken years’ worth of effort. A Meghan Markle cookbook would risk being perceived not as a labour of love, but as another attempt to repackage relatability, which is an image that has proven difficult for her to sustain.
Meghan’s luxury products could appear inaccessible to most readers, too. Currently, her candles cost just under £50, and her bottles of wine are priced at £26 each, leaving many fans wondering what price mark a cookbook could be set at. If it was priced at a high level, perhaps readers would expect to create impressive recipes, rather than basic hosting tips.
One dish Meghan made on her show was a simple fruit salad (Image: NETFLIX)
4) Meghan’s personal story has been told..and retold…
With any book release, there is also the issue of “narrative fatigue”. Meghan’s public story of being an actress on TV show, Suits, briefly being a senior working royal, and being married to Prince Harry is not new information anymore.
A cookbook, inevitably infused with personal anecdotes and lifestyle philosophy, would likely recycle these same themes.
Instead of feeling fresh, Meghan’s recipes and tales could feel redundant, offering more of the same reframed idea through recipes that function primarily as metaphors for “authenticity and healing”.
Dining and Cooking