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Meghan Markle pays tribute to her best friend’s late son in a video unveiling her “As Ever” lifestyle rebrand, but her royal dig steals the show. The Duchess of Sussex teased the launch of her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard in April 2024, sending out limited edition jams from the brand to 50 of her celebrity friends. Since then, her plans for the lifestyle brand seemed to reach a dead end, with little progress made in officially launching it. Additionally, the star found herself caught up in a trademark dispute over the brand’s name, leading to a major setback. With the premiere of her Netflix cooking show around the corner, Markle has seized the opportunity to revive her brand, rechristening it with a new name.
The actress-turned-royal shared a video on February 18, announcing the rebranding of her lifestyle business from American Riviera Orchard to As Ever. In the video, Meghan Markle donned a white shirt and blue jeans, enjoying the comfort of her beautiful garden in her Montecito abode.
Meghan Markle Pays Tribute to Her Best Friend’s Late Son With Necklace
Eagle-eyed fans were quick to observe the red 14-carat Heart of Gold pendant necklace nestled on her neck. The $3200 piece, also owned by lifestyle guru Gwyneth Paltrow pays tribute to Meghan Markle’s best friend Kelly McKee Zajfen’s late son George, who died in July 2022, at nine years old.
Following her son’s demise, Zajfen collaborated with the luxury jewelry designer The Gold Album to launch the Heart of Gold necklace, donating 15 percent of its sales to the Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles. Many considered Markle’s necklace choice a display of her obsession with Paltrow who is also friends with her and Zajfen. The 43-year-old reportedly gained inspiration from Paltrow for some of her biggest projects like the lifestyle brand, and her previous lifestyle blog, The Tig, which she gave up after marrying Prince Harry and joining the British royal family.
Markle Takes Swipe at Royal Family in Rebrand Video
Meghan Markle could not resist referencing her previous lifestyle blog in the video, in what many consider a swipe at the royals, saying,
“As Ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting, and gardening. This is what I do. And I haven’t been able to share it with you in the same way for the past few years, but now I can, so as things are starting to trickle out there, I wanted you to hear it from me first.”
Meghan Markle’s apparent dig at the royals quickly dominated the media, sabotaging her efforts to support her best friend Zajfen’s endeavors via her video while announcing the rebrand. Fans called out the duchess’ penchant for finding a way to sabotage important things by creating controversy around her brand, from the announcement of American Rivieria Orchard last year to her latest video unveiling the rebrand, As Ever. One Reddit user noted,
“This is her trying to spin her flop. She jumped the gun with ARO, announcing it to upstage the Diana Awards, she didn’t have the trademark for it.”
Meghan Markle Under Fire For Spinning the Narrative Around Trademark Dispute
Notably, the Suits alum’s bid to trademark the name American Riviera Orchard failed after the authorities denied her exclusive rights to the name since it was a commonly used place name. However, Meghan Markle appeared to completely overlook the trademark dispute in her latest rebrand video, claiming instead that she opted against ARO, in favor of As Ever because she realized that the former name restricted her to only things “manufactured and grown in this area.” Netizens condemned the duchess for intentionally feigning ignorance in the video, deeming it an attempt to gaslight the public. One Reddit user wrote,
“We supposed to forget that she was forced to rebrand due to trademark issues? Yes! She is gaslighting the public and ghosting ARO.”
Another fired,
“She makes everyone who promoted ARO a joke. We already know it’s a mess, but such a joke and embarrassment! Rebrand after Rebrand. Who in the industry will buy it this time?”
A third user noted that claiming the name American Riviera would limit her products to things produced in the area was illogical. According to the netizen, ARO was simply a brand name, and in no way determined what she chose to produce or sell under the brand. Notably, the mother-of-two looks forward to including a line of products like tablecloths, skincare products, jams, blankets, scented candles, diffusers, cutleries, and gardening tools in her lifestyle business. While Meghan Markle’s As Ever brand won’t officially launch until Spring, the budding lifestyle Queen reportedly used several products from her brand throughout her upcoming Netflix series, With Love, Meghan which debuts on March 4.
