The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have long been campaigning for safer online spaces, but one royal expert believes Meghan’s influencer brand could be at odds with their charity work
Since quitting their royal roles in 2020 and relocating to the United States, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have forged a new career path, with Meghan focusing on her lifestyle brand As Ever while Harry dedicates his time to various charitable efforts.
The Duchess of Sussex recently rebranded both her personal social media account as well as her business pages, giving her website and social media presence a fresh new look, as she continues to focus on delivering luxury consumables and homeware items to her dedicated fan base. A new profile picture now adorns Meghan’s Instagram page, while a video was also shared of the Duchess in a glossy look at her As Ever brand.
READ MORE: William and Kate ‘won’t want to live at Buckingham Palace’ despite £300million refurbishmentREAD MORE: Zara Tindall’s new royal role thanks to Prince William without ditching ‘civilian’ life
“Welcome to the World of As ever,” read the caption of the video. “What began with fruit from Meghan’s garden, simmered into preserves in her home kitchen, has inspired our curated collections to bring surprise and delight to your everyday.”
With Meghan serious about keeping her brand expanding and thriving, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes the online shake-up is key to any brand’s success.
Jennie told the Mirror : “I think she’s right to keep everything fresh and new. We all know that most people these days suffer from having the concentration of a gnat. It’s the world we live in and we seem to be constantly seeking change.”
“Since being an influencer and entrepreneur through her social media now seems to be her chosen career path, Meghan needs to take it seriously and keep her followers engaged.
“Judging by the numbers, people are more interested in her than the As Ever brand: she has more than four times the followers on her personal page. So she needs to keep on putting out the content to attract more business.”
While Harry’s main presence in his post-royal life has been his charitable engagements, Jennie believes Meghan’s focus is As Ever, in order to maintain her profile to amplify her voice and impact when speaking out on issues she is passionate about.
“We don’t seem to hear so much about Meghan‘s charity work these days,” Jennie said, “But the bigger her profile, the louder her voice can be in highlighting issues and campaigns she cares about.”
As for Prince Harry, it seems he is happier staying off social media and dedicating his time to campaigning for important causes – some of which he began when he was still a working member of the Royal Family.
Jennie said: “I think it’s unlikely that we will see Harry doing much in the way of promoting Meghan‘s business. To me, he seems much happier using his platform in much the same way he would have done when he was a working royal: visiting Ukraine, promoting his Invictus games and speaking out on topics like the digital world, mental health and anti-Semitism.”
And while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been vocal about their support for safer online spaces, the royal expert pointed out the contradiction between their campaigning, and Meghan’s sharing of both her brand and her personal life on social media.
“I suppose it’s somewhat ironic that his wife now pretty much depends on the digital world for her commercial success. But it’s where we are all at, and you can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” she said.
