Meghan Markle, 43, has sparked controversy after sharing a rare photo with her children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, on social media—coinciding with the launch of her new fashion brand, As Ever. The move has been criticized by experts, with some calling it “tacky and desperate.”
The Duchess of Sussex’s latest business venture, an online retail platform, went live shortly after she posted the heartwarming family image, ensuring significant attention. She also tagged herself in the post, further fueling speculation about her promotional strategy.
Royal author and journalist Phil Dampier commented:
“Nothing happens by accident, and she would have thought this through. She knows that putting a photo of her children out at the same time as her clothing line launch would get maximum publicity. It begs the question of whether Meghan is exploiting her two children, who remain in the line of succession. I’d expect the Palace to take a dim view of this.”
On the Instagram page of her As Ever brand, Meghan shared the image along with a dove emoji and the caption, “Every day is a love story.” Her personal account has 2.6 million followers, while As Ever has around 734,000.
Just an hour after the post, she introduced a “ShopMy” page, describing it as
“a hand-picked and curated collection of the things I love—I hope you enjoy them.”
Among the featured items are a £1,068 Heidi Merrick “Windsor” gown, a £600 pair of Saint Laurent sandals, a £400 necklace, and a £148 linen shirt. The platform includes commission-based affiliate links, with a disclaimer stating:
“Please note, some products may contain commissionable links!”
The Duchess, who recently expressed a preference for being addressed as “Meghan Sussex” in her Netflix series, hinted at further developments for her brand, saying there is “more to come.”
Former royal press secretary Dickie Arbiter noted that had Meghan been promoting her brand in the UK, she might have violated the terms of the Megxit deal, which prevents her and Prince Harry from profiting off their royal connections.
He criticized the strategy, saying:
“It’s tacky—everything they do is tacky. It’s a mixture of a lack of imagination and desperation. They left the UK because they wanted privacy.”
This latest business venture comes weeks after Meghan was forced to rename her American Riviera Orchard brand to As Ever due to trademark issues. Last year, she and Prince Harry also launched Sussex.com as a replacement for their Archewell website, despite previously being barred from using “SussexRoyal” under the terms of their exit from royal duties.
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