Kate Middleton called a 'talentless' Meghan Markle 'copycat' over book reading initiative

Kate Middleton received criticism from fans of Meghan Markle following news that the former has agreed to read a children's book on TV to celebrate Children's Mental Health Week.

The Duchess of Cambridge partnered with CBeebies Network for the opportunity to read out loud one of her favourite books to read to her children Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte. She chose "The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark" by Jill Tomlinson, which tells the story of a baby barn owl named Plop who overcomes his fears with the help of others.

The book reading is an initiative from childrens' mental health charity Place2Be, of which Kate Middleton is patron. The royal's choice of book is timely given that this year the charity urges parents or guardians and their children to look back on how they have grown and how they can help others to grow.

Patricia Hidalgo, director of BBC Children's and Education, told Harpers Bazaar, "I couldn't be more proud to have The Duchess read a CBeebies Bedtime Story as we mark the 20th anniversary of our CBeebies and CBBC channels. It's such a special and relevant tale and perfectly represents this year's Children's Mental Health Week theme. I can't wait to see her deliver her own take on such a classic story and I'm sure our audience can't either."

Fans of the mum-of-three can listen to her read the book when "Bedtime Stories with the Duchess of Cambridge" airs on TV on Sunday, February 13, at 6:50 p.m. (GMT) on the CBeebies network.

Meanwhile, fans of Meghan Markle are not happy with the announcement and even criticised the Duchess of Cambridge for trying to be a "copycat."

One wrote, "Meghan reads to children, so copy Kate does the same" and another chimed in, "Meghan's copycat. But talentless." One more commented, "Kate at a cooking event. Kate reading a (someone else's) book. #copycat much... Just me? Am I just being mean?! Such a real pattern for how black/brown women do stuff for others to follow along and be lauded."

Last year, Meghan Markle read her own children's book "The Bench" for the Brightly Storytime channel. She also visited a school in Harlem to read her book out loud to eager second graders. For Archie's first birthday in 2020, she also read "Duck! Rabbit!" to raise funds for Save the Children organisation.