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Who knew a candle could cause such a stir? Hot on the heels of Prince Harry and Meghan’s much-publicised Australia jaunt, on what would have been Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday, the Duchess of Sussex did something that reportedly left Prince William “stunned”.
She spruiked two $AU89 candles for sale on her As Ever lifestyle website – products that were “beautifully crafted” by Meghan herself, and tellingly “named in honour of her children’s birthdates”.
It wasn’t the fact that the former Suits actress was flogging candles on her website that drew consternation – for indeed royal fans have already been lapping up the outfits she wore on the couple’s Australian tour via the OneOff fashion discovery site for which she is an investor.
No, what has irked onlookers and, reportedly, the Palace, is the fact that Meghan was naming her children in order to make a commercial play at all.
“No. 604 named for Princess Lilibet’s birthdate, is floral and radiant with notes of amber, water lily, and santal,” As Ever declared on its Instagram page.
“No.506, named for Prince Archie’s birthdate, is warm and grounding with notes of ginger, neroli, and cashmere.”
Along with the candles, there was a simultaneous release of a Signature Chocolate Box offering “”soft caramel centres finished with safflower sprinkles”.
Followers were urged to sign up to the As Ever newsletter to find out more.
Now, an insider tells Woman’s Day, such a blatant move is “very much the kind of project” that the late Queen “feared would blur boundaries so significantly” when Meghan and Harry first mooted the idea for a “half-in, half-out” role that would see them combine royal duty with commercial profit.
“Charles is not thrilled that his grandchildren are being used to peddle candles. William’s stunned they would take such a risk – even if Archie and Lilibet’s names aren’t on the packaging, it will be in the press release and on the website,” the source shares.
Indeed, while Meghan was spuiking candles on social media, William and his wife Kate, the Princess of Wales, were preparing to carry out a series of royal engagements in tribute to his grandmother, and her service to the nation.
“Seeing ‘Prince Archie’ and ‘Princess Lilibet’ on some Shopify website has left bile in the mouths of some of the Royals.”
“Up until now, some of Meghan’s candles have been inspired by events like her wedding, but she’s always careful to keep identifiers on the website only,” the source adds.
“She’s pushing the boundaries of how far she can go in using her kids’ names with a cunning little loophole.”
The insider added that while the naming of the candles appeared to be “Chanel-inspired”, it could be argued Meghan was “monestising” her family’s royal status while “technically keeping the actual products neutral”.
“It’s a classic Sussex sleight-of-hand but she’s pushing her luck harder than ever,” the source goes on. “At $64 a pop, she’s playing a dangerous game. If she thinks losing her Duchess title is bad, it may not have occurred to her the worst-case scenario – she’s risking Archie and Lilibet having their titles stripped too.”
