Meghan Markle must have been aware of King Charles‘ Duchy Originals and Highgrove brands before she considered selling jams through her controversial American Riviera Orchard brand. But if we are to believe insiders, she reportedly wasn’t prepared for the monarch to launch even more products that would directly compete with her own.
If you’ll recall, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, soft launched some strawberry and raspberry jams under her new lifestyle brand a few months ago, which didn’t go down well with the public. So it’s not surprising to hear reports of her being “furious” about direct competition coming from someone else in the royal family!
Prince Harry Is Reportedly Holding Meghan Markle Back From Confronting King Charles
According to Ok!, an insider claimed that the former Suits actress is "furious" about King Charles launching new Highgrove products since she soft launched her jams, such as the recently-released organic Highgrove Royal Estate Honey. We bet she was also not happy about many other Highgrove products selling out, such as the Highgrove Organic Strawberry Preserve, for example, which reportedly sold out within minutes of Meghan's first strawberry jam announcement.
"She had no idea [about this] and now suddenly, as she sees it, there's a glut of his products on the market," the source reportedly told New Idea, as per Ok!, adding: "She's one step away from calling Charles about the clash but Prince Harry is holding her back."
The insider went on to say that the mom-of-two is "convinced" that Highgrove's preserves are a "deliberate attempt to curb her success." The source added: "She is trying to establish herself as a lifestyle mogul but now she's competing with a royal rival."
Royal Expert Claims King Charles Isn't Purposely Trying To Overshadow His Daughter-In-Law
The Duchess of Sussex reportedly *did* want King Charles to be involved in her new venture – but not like this! According to insiders, she wanted the King to support her brand and promote it, not serve as direct competition for it.
"Meghan is looking for support wherever she can get it," an insider previously spilled to New Idea, according to Ok!. "Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice are at the top of her list, but she is shooting even higher and would love to get King Charles to give his stamp of approval," they continued, adding: "Despite all the drama, Meghan does not see why they should not be able to drum up some support and backing."
However, if we are to believe royal expert Angela Levin, King Charles' new products *are* in fact a coincidence, as she believed he wouldn't purposely want to overshadow his daughter-in-law.
"Meghan is very upset about her jam jars. King Charles brought out jam from his place and she supposedly felt he was taking it away from her. I don't think he would dream to do that, to take it away from her," Levin said on GB News, adding: "It's not in his nature."
Speaking of overshadowing... Meghan herself was accused of attempting to overshadow King Charles' birthday parade – which also happened to be Kate Middleton's first public appearance of the year – when her friend Nacho Figueras unveiled her lifestyle brand's new range of dog biscuits plus a new jam flavor on the same day.
Meghan Markle's American Riviera Orchard Jams Are Not Well Received
From Meghan using her Duchess of Sussex title in its promo, to the timing of the product launches, and so much more, there's no denying that there has been a lot of criticism for the American Riviera Orchard brand.
"Meghan was in tears when the brand launched and her new jam was widely mocked for being expensive and nothing special," royal author Tom Quinn previously told The Mirror. "She has reached the point now where she thinks that anything and everything she does will be unfairly criticized."
"Like her husband, she feels that people are unfairly picking on her – she cannot understand why people don't admire her work," he continued, adding: "She is especially sensitive about any criticism of her luxurious lifestyle in the U.S. – from her point of view this is something to be admired not criticized."
