The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 10: August 2024 -

[Alison H]

This new chapter is an extension of what has always been my love language, beautifully weaving together everything I cherish.

Sorry to laugh, but sometimes it's very easy to see why Meghan found it difficult to settle into life at Windsor. Can you imagine talking to a load of Old Etonians and Army veterans about your "love language"?

 

[Hallo girl]

Is this instead of American Riviera or an add on.

 

[Marengo]

I think the new name is much better, the other one sounded pretentious. This one simpler & thus an improvement. The reasoning seems sensible. It is indeed surprising they were able to keep the new name a secret and considering all that has been leaked I can understand why the Duchess feels exited about that!

Still not a fan of the cutesy talks in the camera but I suppose this is what the carreer will be and this is how influencers talk, as if they took some happy pills -which I am sure they do not- and are adressing toddlers in a kindergarten. I suppose it is less cringy than Countess Eloise´s empty-headed influencing-narcisism. In her defence she is at least 20 years younger.

To go from a royal duchess and 3rd woman in the realm to one of the gazillion influencers is perhaps not the carreer move that was anticipated in 2020 and must be humiliating. We can respect therefore the gracious way she is introducing and managing this project. It is great that she is focussing her energies on something constructive and forward-looking. I am glad she is moving on. Let's hope it will be a success.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

The Duchess of Sussex today shared news about her new brand "As ever":

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on Instagram: "Some of you may have heard whispers about what I’ve been creating. In two weeks, my series on @netflix launches — but there’s something else I’ve been working on. I’m thrilled to introduce you to As Ever — a b

meghan on February 17, 2025: "Some of you may have heard whispers about what I’ve been creating. In two weeks, my series on @netflix launches — but there’s something else I’ve been working on. I’m thrilled to introduce you to As Ever — a brand that I created and have poured my heart into. ‘As...

www.instagram.com

In this narration The Duchess of Sussex spoke of "since my days of creating The Tig".
What is The Tig?

 

[Ghost]

In this narration The Duchess of Sussex spoke of "since my days of creating The Tig".
What is The Tig?

Her blog before becoming the fiancee then the bride then the wife of Harry. She closed it sometime in spring 2017, some six months before the engagement.

I read somewhere that there’s a clothing brand or retail chain named “As ever”. We’ll see.

 

[Hallo girl]

Her blog before becoming the fiancee then the bride then the wife of Harry. She closed it sometime in spring 2017, some six months before the engagement.

I read somewhere that there’s a clothing brand or retail chain named “As ever”. We’ll see.

I hope the clothes fit properly, all remarks aside, I genuinely hope this works then they can make an honest living, no more talk of receipts and journals. Or never signing an nda.
There will be a core customer base which will be a starter, it remains to be seen if the products sell to a wider audience.

 

[Mbruno]

To go from a royal duchess and 3rd woman in the realm to one of the gazillion influencers is perhaps not the carreer move that was anticipated in 2020 and must be humiliating. We can respect therefore the gracious way she is introducing and managing this project. It is great that she is focussing her energies on something constructive and forward-looking. I am glad she is moving on. Let's hope it will be a success.

To be fair, back when Meghan was in the UK and Queen Elizabeth II was still alive, Meghan was not #3, but more likely #6 in the order of precedence, as she was outranked by the late Queen herself and by Camilla, Sophie, Anne, and Kate. Had she stayed in the UK though, it is correct that she would now rank #3 in precedence below only Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales.

Being #3, however, or much less #6, is not enough for Meghan, and that is why she left. She strikes me as someone who won't take anything other than #1, which is how she feels like now in her own personal realm in Montecito. In reality, however, as you said, she is only one among many influencers or celebrities in California or the USA at large and, by far, is neither the most influential, nor the most valuable one.

In any case, a few media outlets that cover US entertainment news have reported that Netflix claims to be very confident about Meghan's new cooking/lifestyle show. I wouldn't read too much into it as TV /streaming executives often say that before a show is released (it is bad publicity to talk down your own content when it has not been made public yet), but I guess we will see in two weeks. I feel like this show might be a "make-or-break" moment in Meghan's post-UK career.

 

[Ghost]

Only The Queen, Camilla and Kate. But yes, she struggled with the hierarchy.

 

[muriel]

I hope the clothes fit properly, all remarks aside, I genuinely hope this works then they can make an honest living, no more talk of receipts and journals. Or never signing an nda.
There will be a core customer base which will be a starter, it remains to be seen if the products sell to a wider audience.

I certainly join you in wishing Meghan well in her professional endeavours. Lets hope she can find some professional satisfaction in a career independent of bashing the BRF.

There is enough demand for quality products, well priced and sold with authenticity. Lets hope Meghan can deliver on these counts. And I do hope her brand is not so sullied by her behaviour in the last few years as to turn people off the products.

 

[soapstar]

I read somewhere that there’s a clothing brand or retail chain named “As ever”. We’ll see.

Yeah, there’s a NY clothing brand with the name “As Ever.” I’m really surprised she didn’t research this before putting up a website. Especially since this is the same issue she ran into with ARO.

 

[Ghost]

I wish her well. As artificial her new clip is, I have the impression that it’s much, much closer to her true persona than any other previous enterprise of her, ARO included. That pretentious story on the ARO account was insufferable, her clip today is quite nice.

 

[muriel]

Yeah, there’s a NY clothing brand with the name “As Ever.” I’m really surprised she didn’t research this before putting up a website. Especially since this is the same issue she ran into with ARO.

Do we know if she has been able to secure the patents for "As Ever"?

 

[soapstar]

I believe it’s still pending.

 

[Hallo girl]

To be fair, back when Meghan was in the UK and Queen Elizabeth II was still alive, Meghan was not #3, but more likely #6 in the order of precedence, as she was outranked by the late Queen herself and by Camilla, Sophie, Anne, and Kate. Had she stayed in the UK though, it is correct that she would now rank #3 in precedence below only Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales.

Being #3, however, or much less #6, is not enough for Meghan, and that is why she left. She strikes me as someone who won't take anything other than #1, which is how she feels like now in her own personal realm in Montecito. In reality, however, as you said, she is only one among many influencers or celebrities in California or the USA at large and, by far, is neither the most influential, nor the most valuable one.

In any case, a few media outlets that cover US entertainment news have reported that Netflix claims to be very confident about Meghan's new cooking/lifestyle show. I wouldn't read too much into it as TV /streaming executives often say that before a show is released (it is bad publicity to talk down your own content when it has not been made public yet), but I guess we will see in two weeks. I feel like this show might be a "make-or-break" moment in Meghan's post-UK career.

Regardless of how successful this venture is did they not set out to be producers and content providers ,

 

[Marengo]

I imagine they did but like the carreers of many people, this one too seems to have setbacks, twists and turns. That is nothing to be ashamed about IMO. It seems an honest way to make a living and indeed much more healthy than looking back and complaining about the past.

 

[iceflower]

Yeah, there’s a NY clothing brand with the name “As Ever.” I’m really surprised she didn’t research this before putting up a website. Especially since this is the same issue she ran into with ARO.

If they hadn't used asevernyc As Ever as their website name, it would have been easier for them now.

The Duchess of Sussex was able to choose asever.com, I guess it's Lilibet she is pictured with.

As Ever

Save your seat at the table.

asever.com

 

[Mbruno]

Only The Queen, Camilla and Kate. But yes, she struggled with the hierarchy.

If we go by the strict order of precedence, wives of sons of the monarch and daughters of the monarch outrank wives of grandsons of the monarch, so both Sophie and Anne had higher precedence than Meghan.

However, I admit that the official precedence was not observed towards the end of the Queen’s reign.

 

[Mirabel]

Who paid for the Sussex hotel stay and the private jets?

I asked the same question several days ago, but no one seems to know who covered their expenses. Perhaps a wealthy donor? Or they were covered by the charity?

 

[shady lady]

Yeah, there’s a NY clothing brand with the name “As Ever.” I’m really surprised she didn’t research this before putting up a website. Especially since this is the same issue she ran into with ARO.

She could have called it "As Ever, Meghan" I suppose, which would have tied in with the name of her lifestyle programme.

IMO the best bet would have been to have come up with a little-used word a la Goop, or something unique. I still think "Sour Grapes" would be a winner if she went into wine

 

[Hallo girl]

I asked the same question several days ago, but no one seems to know who covered their expenses. Perhaps a wealthy donor? Or they were covered by the charity?

The competitors pay their own way so maybe they did too.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Still not a fan of the cutesy talks in the camera but I suppose this is what the carreer will be and this is how influencers talk, as if they took some happy pills -which I am sure they do not- and are adressing toddlers in a kindergarten. I suppose it is less cringy than Countess Eloise´s empty-headed influencing-narcisism. In her defence she is at least 20 years younger.

If Eloise set the bar - then I agree. Other than that, I have rarely seen somebody with an Ego so full of themselves coming up with so many cringeworthy contrived phrases of empty content. The video is just bad acting, not good enough if you aim to push for the domestic goddess throne.

My problem is that I don't believe a word she says - and this is not because of the past. There is zero authenticity. Just jumping on trendy subjects what zillions of influencers already do better and with a lot more humor or creativity. I only see a completely exchangable person (celebrity) who 'opens up' her 'secrets' that in reality nobody cares about, perhaps apart from anyone who lives in a bubble. The super rich clientele she so desperately hopes to impress are usually business-conscious enough to see through the charade and fakeness and will stay away since the royal touch keeps wearing off and the lack of substance becomes more and more obvious.

 

[soapstar]

If they hadn't used asevernyc As Ever as their website name, it would have been easier for them now.

The Duchess of Sussex was able to choose asever.com, I guess it's Lilibet she is pictured with.

As Ever

Save your seat at the table.

asever.com

Yep, she was able to get the domain because they added NYC.

I think that is Lilibet. Since Meghan is promoting a lifestyle brand, I imagine we’ll continue to get little glimpses of Archie and Lilibet on her website and instagram.

Clothing is one of the things that Meghan included in the ARO trademark. But since there is already an As Ever clothing line, I wonder if Meghan will be able to sell any apparel? Tote bags and t-shirts are easy money for lifestyle brands, so I can’t see Meghan not wanting to sell them. I guess she could get around it by using “As ever, Meghan.” But then why not just call her company that?

She could have called it "As Ever, Meghan" I suppose, which would have tied in with the name of her lifestyle programme.

IMO the best bet would have been to have come up with a little-used word a la Goop, or something unique.

Agree about using a unique name. I’m just confused as to why she would name her company after one that already exists.

To be honest, I really think she should have gone back to using The Tig. I liked the name. It was unique and it fit her. Plus since she already trademarked it, she would have been able sell wine, clothes, cooking supplies, etc. without any issues. Just seemed like it would have been much easier than whatever she’s dealing with now.

 

[moby]

Fascinating how the branding always comes before the goods, in Meghan's ventures. I watched the video, with full awareness of my biases towards her, but goodness I couldn't finish it. It was just too cringey.
Also amazed how, back in the day, they were big news. A brand launch would have been all over the place but now, I only found out she has a new thing when I logged in here. How times have changed. As always, or should I say, as ever, I wish her success. As someone here rightly said, it's an honest way to make a living, and I hope they continue refraining from bashing the RF and playing victims.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Fascinating how the branding always comes before the goods, in Meghan's ventures. I watched the video, with full awareness of my biases towards her, but goodness I couldn't finish it. It was just too cringey.
Also amazed how, back in the day, they were big news. A brand launch would have been all over the place but now, I only found out she has a new thing when I logged in here. How times have changed. As always, or should I say, as ever, I wish her success. As someone here rightly said, it's an honest way to make a living, and I hope they continue refraining from bashing the RF and playing victims.

I couldn’t finish watching it either - very cringey. I’m struggling to describe the tone but I can’t find the words…but her assumption seems to be that those of us watching will be as “thrilled” as she says she is.

I really really hope that there is an audience for her new show as well as customers for whatever she decides to sell - they need a win. “Jam is my jam” -

 

[tommy100]

Ahhh so this explains why the show was postponed. Given they have changed a product name after filming I doubt it was to do with the LA fires at all but to allow reediting to include the new brand name. The fires were just a convenient excuse.

 

[GondorHasNoPants]

Does this mean ARO is now completely abandoned?

I wish her the best, but I hope she has all her trademark ducks lined up for this one. Someone mentioned there's a clothing firm with the same name? Does this mean she'll have to stay away from selling clothes?

Also read that her logo with the palm tree and two birds is strikingly similar to the coat of arms of a small town on Mallorca. Let's hope coats of arms are not covered by trademarks!

Porreres - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Hallo girl]

To be fair, back when Meghan was in the UK and Queen Elizabeth II was still alive, Meghan was not #3, but more likely #6 in the order of precedence, as she was outranked by the late Queen herself and by Camilla, Sophie, Anne, and Kate. Had she stayed in the UK though, it is correct that she would now rank #3 in precedence below only Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales.

Being #3, however, or much less #6, is not enough for Meghan, and that is why she left. She strikes me as someone who won't take anything other than #1, which is how she feels like now in her own personal realm in Montecito. In reality, however, as you said, she is only one among many influencers or celebrities in California or the USA at large and, by far, is neither the most influential, nor the most valuable one.

In any case, a few media outlets that cover US entertainment news have reported that Netflix claims to be very confident about Meghan's new cooking/lifestyle show. I wouldn't read too much into it as TV /streaming executives often say that before a show is released (it is bad publicity to talk down your own content when it has not been made public yet), but I guess we will see in two weeks. I feel like this show might be a "make-or-break" moment in Meghan's post-UK career.

Regardless of hierarchy or order of precedence , I think Meghan was seen by the British public as up there with Catherine and The Late Queen, even before Camilla.
Times have changed that has all gone.
I watched the Netflix documentary just recently and after watching the first couple of episodes I could really see where Harry was coming from with regards privacy for his children and not having them out on display for the public and the paps. Times have changed there as well.

 

[soapstar]

Also read that her logo with the palm tree and two birds is strikingly similar to the coat of arms of a small town on Mallorca. Let's hope coats of arms are not covered by trademarks!

The town is considering taking legal actions. From the DM:

Civic bosses in the sleepy Mallorca village of Porreres are reportedly considering legal action against the Duchess of Sussex, 43, after accusing her of copying its traditional coat of arms for the logo of her newly revamped luxury brand, As Ever.

Both images bare a striking similarity to one another: each features a single palm tree with two birds hovering on either side of it.
…
Mayor Francisca Mora told local newspaper Ara Balears the likeness is 'surreal', and that the town hall is deciding whether or not to take legal action against the Duchess.

She added: 'I don't know if she visited some agritourism sites and saw the coat of arms, because the photo on her website is taken from Mallorca.'

 

[muriel]

The town is considering taking legal actions. From the DM:

Oh dear. Looks like another bit of IP was not secured before launch.

 

[zarat]

The Duchess of Sussex today shared news about her new brand "As ever":


Perhaps I'm little biaised against Meghan but when I think about this new name only one thing comes to my mind. And precisely another name- what about "Flop as ever"?