FICKLE Meghan Markle has to keep reinventing herself while clinging to her royal links – and she is shamelessly using her kids for clout, an expert claims.
The Duchess of Sussex announced a shock name change for her American Rivera Orchard lifestyle brand today.
Announced less than a year ago, the project is now called As Ever, ahead of its official launch to tie in with new Netflix cookery show With Love, Meghan next month.
In her Instagram announcement, the duchess, 43, said the change meant she was no longer “limited” to selling products from the part of Santa Barbara where she grew up.
But she failed to touch on the trademark issues that have dogged the launch, with officials saying she cannot have exclusive rights to “American Rivera” going forward.
Royal author Hugo Vickers told The Sun: “I think there’s a lot of sort of jumping in and then rethinking.”
He said this reflects much of the ventures Meghan and Harry, 40, have undertaken since stepping down as working royals in 2020.
“It’s always this sort of rebranding of themselves, and reinventing themselves so that they’re always in view of the public…” he explained.
“It does all seem a little bit…how do you put it? Incredibly commercial. It’s obviously aimed at marketing. But from what I read, all this has happened quite suddenly.
“There’s lots of applications being put in and things being registered, and so forth. I think it’s all a little bit sort of done on the hoof, to be honest.”
Today’s rebrand announcement video – filmed presumably in the Sussexes’ garden in Montecito – features Harry’s voice playfully telling his wife at the start “it’s recording” before she giggles.
Mr Vickers, pointing out the duke also featured briefly in the brand’s introductory video, said he’s still essentially the main draw.
“I was going to say ‘product placing’, but ‘Meghan placing’, I mean, we watch her because she’s married to Prince Harry,” he said.
“That’s the reason we watch her, and really the only reason, to be quite honest.”
He added: “I rather wonder what will happen if ever the day comes when she doesn’t need him. But that’s all in the future.
“I’ve said this a million times, but that is why we watch them – because he is Prince Harry…he’s put her on the map.
“She was quite well known before she got involved with him. But she’s extremely well known as a result of having married Prince Harry. That’s what it’s all about.”
The As Ever website also features a rare photo of their daughter Lilibet, and Mr Vickers said this, unfortunately, feels like a commercial decision as well.
“I’m personally rather against people using their children for advertising purposes, especially when their children are officially members of the Royal Family,” he said.
“They’ve been given princely titles. So, once again it’s exploiting the royal side, and also…we don’t often see the children. In fact, do we ever see them full on?
“We see the back of the head, occasionally, or we see a hand, or we see something. It’s all rather tantalising.
“It’s been like that right since the start. So I suppose that when they do appear it’s like gosh, there they are, they exist.”