Meghan Markle is following in the footsteps of another ex-royal, Sarah Ferguson, with her latest career move

• Meghan Markle has announced plans to publish her first children's book in June.
• Markle's post-royal career echoes Sarah Ferguson's, who has written 35 children's books.
• Ferguson was married to Prince Andrew from 1986 until 1996.

Meghan Markle's latest work project may have been inspired by another duchess and former working royal, Sarah Ferguson.

The Duchess of Sussex announced on Tuesday plans to publish her debut children's book, "The Bench," inspired by Prince Harry's relationship with their son Archie.

Years before Markle joined and left the royal family, the Duchess of York married Prince Andrew in 1986. The couple welcomed two children together, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, before divorcing in 1996.

Ferguson is now a well-known children's author, and even has a YouTube series, "Storytime with Fergie and Friends," which is dedicated to reading children's stories.

Both duchesses started their writing careers before leaving the royal family

Markle ran her own lifestyle blog, "The Tig," on which she published travel and food guides as well as personal essays from 2014 until 2017.

Her writing didn't stop when she became a senior working royal. The duchess penned the foreword for the "Together" cookbook in 2018, which includes recipes from women affected by the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017.

She also guest-edited British Vogue's September 2019 issue. The edition, entitled "Forces for Change," featured 15 women who were "raising the bar for equality, kindness, justice and open-mindedness" on the cover, the duchess said in a statement at the time.

Like Markle, Ferguson started her writing career long before leaving the royal family. Her first children's book, "Budgie, the Little Helicopter," was published in September 1989, three years after joining the royal family.

The duchess turned the book into a series, penned under the name "HRH The Duchess of York."

Ferguson has now written more than 35 children's books and plans to publish one book per month for the next 12 months, according to her publisher Serenity Press.

Markle uses her duchess title as part of her pen name, just like Ferguson

When Ferguson lost her HRH status after her divorce in 1996, she changed her pen name to "Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York."

Ferguson continued to use her status as a former working royal to promote her career, even naming one of her fiction books "The Royal Switch," published in 1997.

Markle has opted to use her title "Meghan, Duchess of Sussex" as her author name.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex technically retained their "HRH" titles after resigning from royal duties, but they have said they will not use them.

It is not unusual for former senior royals or non-working royals to continue to use the name of their house, which in Markle's case is the house of "Sussex" and for Ferguson the house of "York."

Representatives for the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of York did not respond to Insider's request for comment.