Battle of the Royal Jams: 'Not in King Charles' Nature' to Seek to Upstage Meghan Markle's American Riviera Orchard
King Charles III and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's 'jam wars' are back in the news as it was revealed His Majesty's 'nature' would prevent him from competing with his daughter-in-law.
Shortly after Meghan Markle launched American Riviera Orchard's strawberry jam in March, sales of King Charles III's own preserves of the same flavor went through the regal roof. But although both royals enjoy their own large fanbases, one of the two is not into directly competing with the other.
"I don’t think he would dream to do that, to take it away from her," royal expert Angela Levin shared to GBN's Nana Akua when referring to His Majesty's product line outselling his daughter-in-law's. "It’s not in his nature."
"Apparently she was keen to have a discussion with the King and it’s alleged that Prince Harry held her back," she added. "I don’t believe that bit. His Majesty doesn’t have a mobile and you can’t just get through to him. You have to go through aides and when he’s in a particularly bad mood, you can’t even do that."
Akua replied: "Meghan launched one of them during Trooping the Colour, and then she launched the other ones when we had the diagnosis of cancer and things like that. People don’t like that."
Levin further observed: "She does go into victim mode. I think she does feel it’s very unfair on her and she needs to find someone else because it’s not her forever."
His Majesty has long sold a line of organic products from his Duchy Originals line, starting when he was Prince of Wales in the 1990s. In 2010, his company went into partnership with Waitrose, a line of British supermarkets that sell the products. The King's Highgrove Organic Strawberry Preserve retails for roughly $8.60 and was reportedly sold out within minutes of Meghan's first announcement of her strawberry jam.
The ex-actress' first product from her brand, American Rivera Orchard, was likely promoted with so few jars of the jelly to "create hype," according to PR expert Megan Boyle.
"The suggestion that the jam has only been sent to 50 people creates demand and interest," she told an outlet. "It may have been a low-key launch, but it perfectly aligns with the softer and homely approach of those celebrities on the receiving end. Meghan will have put a great deal of thought into who receives a jar, and individually numbering shows that it’s limited edition, but also doesn't leave people feeling left out."
Fashion designer Tracy Robbins and Argentine socialite Delfina Blaquier advertised the jam on their Instagram accounts, as reported by The Royal Observer.
Harry apparently wants no part of the new brand's promotional campaign, which one royal insider says comes from "his many years of not selling or promoting himself to embarrass the Crown."
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