When it comes to style, makeup, and living like royalty, we will always consider Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle the authorities (as well as their female royal relatives, of course). But apparently, we can also count on them to recommend a few good books to add to our lists, too. It's no surprise that these two duchesses are well-read, and in the past, they've been willing to share their most beloved picks with the world.
For the Duchess of Cambridge, some of her favorite books came to light when she showed off her home office on Instagram in 2020 and a pile of them were stacked on her desk. The Duchess of Sussex has recommended some of her faves in blog posts on her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig, though Town & Country has rounded up plenty of her most loved books from her reading lists, too.
Kate tends to go for more classic reads from prolific authors like William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen, while Meghan seems to be all about more modern reads. Either way, these women both have pretty good taste in books as far as we can tell. Read on to find out what books Kate and Meghan most recommend. We can't wait to dive in.
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Kate's Pick: 'Sense & Sensibility' by Jane Austen
There's a good chance that many of us read this Jane Austen classic about the Dashwood sisters in our high school or college English classes, but there's no time like the present to give it a read, especially because Kate loves this romantic book. After all, who doesn't love a good love story?
Kate's Pick: 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte
Yet another classic book that can be found on Kate's desk. In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte writes about Heathcliff, an orphan who comes to live at the farm, his feelings for Catherine, and what happens when they know they can never be together because of their different social statuses.
Kate's Pick: 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' by Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'Urbervilles was published in 1891, and it remains relevant today — even relevant enough that it's one of Kate's reads. The book is about a young woman who leaves her poor family to claim the inheritance of a wealthy family who she's discovered she's related to. Things don't work out quite as her family hopes, though.
Kate's Pick: 'Middlemarch' by George Eliot
George Eliot's book, Middlemarch, tells the story of the lives of characters Dorothea Brooke and Tertius Lydgate as they live through 1830s England, a time when the country was truly transforming in everything from art to politics to social issues and beyond.
Kate's Pick: 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens
Chances are high that we all know the story told in Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. The story of Ebenezer Scrooge being visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future has been transformed into so many different iterations over the years, even modern ones.
Kate's Pick: 'The Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint' by William Shakespeare
Considering how into the classics Kate is, it's no surprise that she also has some of William Shakespeare's work on her desk! The Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint is a collection of some of the legendary writer's most famous poetry, and it's a great way to have so many of his poems all in one place.
Kate's Pick: 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, tells the story of a man (named Dorian Gray, obviously) who watches a portrait of himself change as he commits several major transgressions, and at the same time, he wants to keep that portrait hidden so no one will see what he has become.
Kate's Pick: 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Fans of mysteries (and all things Sherlock Holmes) are already plenty familiar with this one — and, it seems, so is the Duchess of Cambridge. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third story about Sherlock that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published, and it's no shock that it was wildly successful — both upon its release and in the years since.
Kate's Pick: 'The Odyssey' by Homer
Rounding out Kate's favorites is the epic The Odyssey by Homer. Going all the way back to 600s BC, it tells the story of a man named Odysseus as he journeys home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, and all of the obstacles (and adventures) that he meets along the way.
Meghan's Pick: 'The Paying Guests' by Sarah Waters
One of the books Meghan recommended on her blog was The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, which she compared to Downton Abbey — she had no idea at the time that she would live in England for a bit! She described it as both a crime thriller and a love story. Sounds like it's got something for everyone.
Meghan's Pick: 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' by Maria Semple
Another one of Meghan's recommendations included Where'd You Go, Bernadette? — a book that was later made into a movie starring Cate Blanchett — which is a funny and emotional tale about a woman who seems to disappear and her daughter who pieces clues together to try and track her down.
Meghan's Pick: 'The Little Prince' by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Little Prince might be officially classified as a children's book, but fans of this beloved classic might argue that it's really for everyone. In one of her old blog posts, Meghan wrote, "I have long been obsessed with this book, and specifically with The Little Fox. Even if I don’t revisit the entire existential text (masked as a children’s book), the chapter of The Little Fox unearths a truth in me that is always worth the check-in."
Meghan's Pick: 'The Opposite of Loneliness' by Marina Keegan
Another Meghan-approved book is The Opposite of Loneliness, which was published after its author, Marina Keegan, tragically died in a car crash at 22 years old, shortly after graduating from Yale. The book is a collection of Keegan's short stories and personal essays.
Meghan's Pick: 'I'll Drink to That' by Betty Halbreich
I'll Drink to That is a memoir by Betty Halbreich, who wrote about her life as the first personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman. In the book, she shares her experiences working with celebrities, socialites, and everyone in between over her impressive 40-year career, as well as her life outside of work.
Meghan's Pick: 'We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves' by Karen Joy Fowler
Meghan included We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves in her 2014 holiday reading list, writing, "Just trust us: the book about Rosemary, her vanished siblings, and the rest of her family, starts in the middle and then goes back to the beginning—twice— and will confuse you until everything makes complete sense."
Meghan's Pick: 'The Dud Avocado' by Elaine Dundy
The Dud Avocado is the story of a woman named Sally Jay Gorce who moved to Paris from America in the 1950s. Yes, this story has been done before (see: Emily in Paris on Netflix), but this a more classic version of an American going to Paris to find love and live to the fullest.
Meghan's Pick: 'How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are'
Another book about Paris to add to the list! A collaborative effort from authors Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas, How to be Parisian Wherever You Are is a compilation of different opinions about the way women from Paris live their lives, from the way they dress to their relationships.
