Meghan Markle Uses Wedding Anniversary to Sell $64 Candles — and the Grifting Allegations Are Back
Critics argue Meghan Markle's latest move is part of a larger pattern, questioning whether she married into the royal family for personal gain.
Ever since Meghan Markle stepped down as a senior royal, critics have accused her of cashing in on her royal status to boost her business ventures. Now, her latest move, selling a $64 candle on As Ever's website, has reignited this debate, as she coincided the product launch with her wedding anniversary with Prince Harry. Unsurprisingly, many argue this is part of a larger pattern, long questioning whether the Duchess strategically married into the royal family for personal gain.
Markle's lifestyle brand marked her anniversary by promoting its Signature Candle No. 519, priced at $64. They captioned the Instagram post, "The feeling of warm sunshine and blue skies, surrounded by love and laughter. Celebrating 8 years of our founder @meghan and Prince Harry's love story 💌." The carousel opened with Harry and Markle riding through Windsor in a carriage, which was taken from above, and another with a photo of the Signature Candle. The product is a subtle nod to Harry and Markle's May 19 anniversary, with '519' referencing their wedding date.
Weighing in on Markle's savvy business move, royal reporter Wiktoria Gucia wrote for The Daily Beast, "While the Sussex wedding was watched by millions around the world and blessed with rare British sunshine, the big day was anything but smooth, and Meghan herself has since been open about the fact that both the wedding period and the aftermath were more complicated than the fairytale image the candle appears to be selling. It's a beautifully scented reminder that while memories fade and relationships fracture, Meghan's brand must always play on." She was likely referring to Markle's claims that Princess Kate made her cry before her wedding, and that she was never wholeheartedly welcomed into the royal family after.
Unsurprisingly, the Duchess of Sussex has been nicknamed a 'grifter' in the media for exploiting her royal connections for such antics. Perhaps one of her biggest critics, Megyn Kelly, smelled her alleged intentions ever since she exited the Firm. In an April interview with Sky News Australia, she remarked, "He's [Charles] had his son give up everything he gave the son for some loser grifter from Deal or No Deal." She claimed Markle "decided to wrest him [Harry] away from the royal family and everybody who took care of him and gave him every gift in the world."
This isn't the first time that Markle has leveraged a special connection to promote her lifestyle brand's products. An insider told Woman's Day that days before their son Archie's birthday on May 6, Harry allegedly expressed his concern after his wife named two $89 candles in honor of Archie and Lilibet. Chiming in, royal author Tom Bower cautioned that Markle's alleged plans could have detrimental consequences on her children's lives. He warned, "Meghan would just be commercializing herself and selling all her clothes and validating herself as a member of the family, and that would be, in my view, catastrophic."
