We chat with author Rebecca Armitage about The Heir Apparent, which is an irresistible modern fairy tale about a British princess who must decide between her duty to her family—or to her own heart.
Hi, Rebecca! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi there! I’m an Australian journalist based in the state of Tasmania (the little island down the bottom) who likes to write about royalty, power, fame and the media. I have a dog named Chino, who is a very poorly behaved German Shorthaired Pointer. He’s a character in my debut novel, The Heir Apparent.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Baby Sitter’s Little Sister series, specifically Karen’s Roller Skates. I love that the main character is such a complicated little tyrant who runs all over town lying and scheming. She was the first anti-hero I ever loved. To this day, I sometimes ask myself “am I being a total Karen Brewer right now?”
- The one that made you want to become an author: Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. I was named after this book so it has a very special place in my heart, but I didn’t read it properly until I was about fourteen. It is utterly perfect – part love story, party gothic horror, part murder mystery. I still keep a copy on my desk to this day and wish for one drop of DuMaurier’s talents.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Until The Red Leaves Fall by Alli Parker, which is about a young Japanese-Australian woman living in post-WWII Australia trying to ‘pass’ in white society – until she has the opportunity to tell her family’s story on the stage.
Your debut novel, The Heir Apparent, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Royals, intrigue, secrets, grief, romance.
What can readers expect?
It’s a little peek over palace walls to know what it’s really like to be a modern day royal, dodging the paparazzi, leaking against family members, trying to win the media narrative, and hopefully claim the throne. It’s a tender friends-to-lovers tale between a wayward princess and an Australian winemaker. But it’s ultimately a story about a young woman who needs to stop running from the past and decide what’s more important: her duty to her family, or her desire for freedom.
Where did the inspiration for The Heir Apparent come from?
I cover the British Royal Family a lot in my capacity as a journalist, and there was a moment during the festivities leading up to Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in 2018 when I thought to myself, ‘hmmm he seems very stressed or upset about something’. He was clearly thrilled to marry her, which left me wondering if there was something else going on. Obviously we now know that tensions were rife within the family and Harry was unhappy with the constraints of royal life, but that little moment in 2018 planted the seed that eventually grew into The Heir Apparent.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing the villain, Prince Richard, who is Lexi’s scheming, smarmy, ambitious uncle. If she choses not to take the throne that becomes hers when her father and brother die, Richard will be king. But Richard is a case study in the dangers of minor royalty. He is entitled and greedy. He has shady friends who keep him in the luxurious life to which he has become addicted. He is jealous of everyone who outranks him and is desperate for the throne. I had a lot of fun constructing such a flamboyantly awful character, but I also really enjoyed trying to explain this man, so while you’ll absolutely loathe him, you will also understand why he walked such a dark path.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The greatest challenge was my own lack of self confidence. I truly believed I would not be able to finish a whole book. I had the idea for The Heir Apparent in 2018, but didn’t sit down to write it until 2023 because I thought that I would write a few chapters and give up and then I’d feel like a failure. Finally, I decided that I needed to just give it a go, if only so the book could exist somewhere outside myself. So please learn from me and don’t delay chasing your dreams. You never know what can happen. I’ve just turned 40 – it’s never too late to try.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Once the book was done, I tried to get an agent for about a year without much success. But I also signed up for Literary Speed Dating, an event organised by the Australian Society of Authors, which puts emerging writers in Zoom calls with publishers and agents and gives them 2 minutes to pitch their book. After a couple of unsuccessful rounds, I got interest from a publisher, which allowed me to quickly get an agent. Once I signed with Gaby Naher, she took the wheel and completely changed my life in the space of about a week. I have been very, very lucky and none of this would have been possible if Gaby hadn’t seen something in me.
What’s next for you?
I am working on a second book. I also took a break from journalism, but will be returning in mid-2026, much refreshed.
Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up in 2026?
I adored Ghost Cities by Siang Lu – a beautiful and challenging book set in modern-day Sydney and ancient imperial China. I also highly recommend Gravity Let Me Go by Trent Dalton, which is about a journalist trying to hold his family together while he deals with the fallout of investigating a grisly murder. The Close Up by Pip Drysdale technically came out in 2024, but it’s stuck with me all year! It’s about a struggling novelist who is being menaced by her famous boyfriend’s stalker. In April next year, I highly recommend picking up Sally Hepworth’s latest book, Mad Mabel. And Holly Ringland will be publishing her latest, The World Beneath Her Feet, which will be sure to destroy me and put me back together again.
