This week, the Duchess of Sussex launched her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder. This is her first podcast through Lemonada, after the Sussexes were dropped by Spotify in 2023. The COAFF pod has come in the middle of so many new projects for Meghan. In the past six weeks, her Netflix show (With Love, Meghan) debuted and broke the top-ten most viewed in multiple countries (including the US and UK); she launched As Ever, her instantly sold-out product line; and she also debuted her ShopMy page, which will likely earn Meghan thousands in commissions. In addition to all of that, Meghan has blitzed the media with positivity and a “let’s keep it moving” attitude. She’s looking ahead, she’s not letting the hate machine narrate her moves, and this has all been an extremely successful pivot.
But you have to understand, the British media still believes that they alone can narrate Meghan’s life and career, and they believe that Meghan is still seeking their approval in some way. She is not. It’s shocking how no one over there can admit that: “actually, Meghan doesn’t give a sh-t about how the British media screams and cries about what she’s doing.” They’re like, she must care! She must want our advice! She deserves all of our mockery because she dared to leave us for her own sanity! Well, the BBC published this long-read analysis of “what Meghan is doing wrong/what can she do to save herself” and it’s just bizarre. They’re trying to pretend that her 2025 hasn’t been hugely successful already?
People want royal gossip, not jam! “The problem is that people are much more interested in the royal gossip than they are in learning how to make a jam.” The Countess of Sandwich gets to the crux of what she sees as the Duchess of Sussex’s rebrand dilemma. As an American woman who married into the British aristocracy back in 2004, the countess knows firsthand the challenge of slipping between two cultures. When I first spoke to her about this – long before “Megxit” – she was positive that Meghan would win over the nation. “Having this American optimism and this go-get attitude, that is what you guys kind of like about us, right?” she told me. Seven years on, the countess remains optimistic about Meghan’s progress. “As an American, I look at her and I think she’s a hustler. She’s taking these opportunities, using them as stepping stones to get to where she wants to go.”
People are only obsessed with Meghan because of her connection to the Windsors: According to Evan Nierman, a US-based public relations guru: “Whatever she does to distance herself, it comes back to Buckingham Palace and her relationship with the Royal Family.” Mark Borkowski, founder of the UK-based Borkowski communications agency, also believes that whatever Meghan does next, it will always be filtered through “the royal lens”. “Even when Meghan is launching jam or Harry is speaking about mental health, the coverage returns to the same question: are they thriving or failing in their post-royal life?”
The Sussexes’ tell-all era is over: One source who has worked with them described this [tell-all period] as “brave and idiotic”. With that chapter behind them, it was natural that they would focus on new income streams that don’t involve talking about the Royal Family. But as Mr Nierman, founder of Red Banyan Public Relations in the US, puts it: “She’s trying to stand out on her own, but she has this level of notoriety and fame that is inextricably linked to the Royal Family.” Much of the response to Meghan, positive or negative, “is driven by her marriage to Prince Harry and her ties to the Royal Family”, argues James Crawford, managing director of PR Agency One. “That connection shapes how everything she does is received.”
Sally Beddell Smith wonders why Meghan didn’t relaunch The Tig: “What mystifies me is why not relaunch The Tig,” she says, referring to the lifestyle website that Meghan once ran. It had brand loyalty and was easily identifiable. She did it well. It was snappy, it had a reason to exist. It could have really given her a leg up. Why not reignite it?”
The Sussexes braced themselves for criticism: And yet negative responses will not have surprised Prince Harry and Meghan, according to people who work with the couple. They were, I’m told, braced for criticism. And there were positive responses too, particularly outside the UK. “Some international press praised the show’s warm, feel-good tone and visual polish, seeing it as a natural return to Meghan’s pre-royal lifestyle roots,” points out Mr Crawford. “Likewise, her brand has been well received in some quarters for its positioning and premium aesthetic.”
Harry is Meghan’s spare!! For royal author Sally Bedell Smith, it’s no longer just about where Meghan pivots next, but how Prince Harry fits into that. “Do they scale back and live in a more modest way? Does Harry throw himself into the cause of helping veterans and do things in a quiet way and at a lower key?” With a pause she adds: “He’s now a spare to his wife.”
“Whatever Meghan does next, it will always be filtered through ‘the royal lens’.” Two things. One, of course everything will be “filtered through the royal lens” when royal reporters are the ones trying to narrate Meghan’s existence even though she’s been living back in California for five-plus years. They’re only quoting people whose whole raison d’etre is tying the Sussexes to the Windsors. Two, none of these people ever stops and asks themselves if Meghan being seen through the royal lens goes in a different direction – as in, Meghan is seen as the “anti” to the Windsors, and people support her specifically because of what she endured and survived (and because of what those horrible people are still actively doing to her). That’s why I refer to it as Meghan’s monarchy-destroying jam – the Windsors and their media screamed, cried and threw up over Meghan’s jam, like the jam represented an existential threat to them. Meghan’s fans were like “bet” and bought out her entire product line in less than an hour, they turned WLM into a hit show and they’re turning her podcast into a chart-topper too.
Photos courtesy of Lemonada, Netflix.
Sally needs to retire. She trashed Diana now she is doing same to Meghan. And she makes deranger type comments about their marriage. None of her business about how they live their lives.
Notice she is asking “Do they scale back and live in a more modest way? That Montecito mansion is eating away at them. They cannot stand it that H&M’s standard of living is superior to how they lived in the UK.
So The Tig “had a reason to exist”, but Meghan’s other work doesn’t? How does that quote even make sense? People aren’t supposed to move on and start new things, because there was something successful in their past?
Meghan is The Tig and The Tig is Meghan. It’s ridiculous to think that the same folks who enjoyed The Tig would not also follow Meghan’s other ventures. In fact, she will gain even more followers from people like me who never heard of The Tig. These folks with their bitter ex-lover shtick are really getting old. And tiresome.
And didn’t she shut down The Tig when she thought she was going to be full time Royal. That could not work at the same time. Then realized what a bunch of nut jobs they were. That she and Harry made the family decision to step down and move forward in America.
As Ever is a new beginning for her and honestly. I like that company name the best. I know how awful internet trolls are. You change one letter in The Tig you know what they do…..
Sally should leave them alone. It’s none of her business. And she needs to stop with the deranger talk
Sadly needs exposure and money. Clearly she needs to hustle and this is her way to monetise her hate.
The more those gutter rats talk the more successful Meghan will be and the more folks will question their obsession with her. Meghan has so long ago moved on. The minute she stepped back on California soil, it was over for those folks, she was home again. This new generation is mocking and calling those folks out daily. I so love how they are being called out in the real world. This article is royal speak, nothing more.
It could be seen in the opposite way the royals are seen through the Sussex lens, the ones that got away and are self supporting, why are the rest not following suit, ah but they are hug black kids cosplaying Meghan and Harry, Launching (ES) H&M are the gold standard
Exactly, the Left-behinds will always be clinging to the Sussexes coattails and so will their sycophants in the press. That Sally Bedwad Smith is just pissed because she knows that she will never get the time of day from either of the Sussexes.
“Megxit” is all one needs to know in order to see where the Beeb is going with this. Harry told the Beeb in *2005* that he wanted out.
“People want royal gossip, not jam!”
People do want jam, otherwise the As Ever products wouldn’t have sold out the way they did. The only ones wanting royal gossip are the Left-Behinds of the BM and the Delulu Derangers. The rest of the world has moved on. After all, it’s been more than 5 years.
And of course they’re trotting out all the usual suspects again — Borowski, Sally Beddell Smith. Aren’t they Has Beens at this point, or aren’t they more like Never Wases outside of the UK?
The Countess of Sandwich is a fine one to talk. She spent three seasons on a reality TV show to help support the family estate. So why shouldn’t Meghan sell jam instead of royal gossip? And people seem to want her jam which is actually a spread.
I was surprised she said that when all she does is hustle herself to keep their family home. I wonder if she says what they want her to say to stay relevant. I’ve also wondered how those aristos treat her. She’s an American nobody and what I’ve learned is they only approve of people in their circle. Poor girl.
“Meghan is seen as the “anti” to the Windsors, and people support her specifically because of what she endured and survived (and because of what those horrible people are still actively doing to her)“
This is exactly why everything Meghan does is so successful imo so many of us empathize with her trauma because we have lived through abuse of our own and the BRF institution is extremely abusive.
Precisely. Those of us old enough who saw what they did to Diana see their repetitive abuse again and again of those who try to leave.
Did they think the millions of people who mourned around the world at Diana’s death disappeared all of a sudden once Chuck married the Rottweiler?
We remember. They want us to forget. Never again. Diana left and died because of Chuck and the rats derided her “elevation to sainthood.”
No, we saw the level of state-sanctioned abuse directed at Diana, now at Meghan. The public are not fools.
This is BS, she was a working royal for two years, and had been involved in lifestyle work and philanthropy for years before that. They are trying to tie her success to them which is why they want to filter it through a ” royal lens”, because her and Harry are they most visibly accomplished. It’s why everytime they mention the Invictus Games they mention he started it as a working royal as if that has anything to do with it’s intital or continuing success. The people quoted are either royalists or PR people being paid for a specific perspective.
They also absolutely are bothered by the fact that she isn’t trying to get their approval. One review of WLM actually complained that the recipe directions were in Imperial and not Metric. Like that’s odd for an American. And they don’t want to acknowledge as I have said plenty of times that people support them in spite of the royal connection not because of.
Is Lazy a spare to Willie?
As for this:
“One source who has worked with them described this [tell-all period] as “brave and idiotic.”
Not brave enough BBC – too much of a coward to name the source? Wow. 🙄
Agree with the points the rats try to reinsert themselves into the Sussexes’ lives after destroying their royal life in the UK.
Nobody cares about your guilt trip rats. Truly.
Of course everything Meghan does will be “filtered through ‘the royal lens.'” Because britmedia has a contractual obligation to plump up the monarchy in the press (BRFCo & Assoc). And since Meghan briefly worked for BRFCo and took off with the prince they had no use for, other than as foil for the exalted ones, britmedia has a contractual obligation to demean her along with her “spare” husband. But some of us were Meghan fans way before she met Harry, and we filter out the majestical monarchy crap.
The only ones filtering her through the royal lens are the British press, derangers and royalist. The rest of the world which is vastly larger see the shit she was put through for just being a biracial woman. The can all crawl back under their pure white rocks and rot.
Not super related but here’s a plug for the As Ever team. I send an email yesterday telling them I loved the shortbread cookies but didn’t like the tea because of the anise flavoring. I got a personal reply from a team member who mentioned they also had a toddler and related to my “toddler helping” comment, andf that they would pass my comments about labeling the tea more specifically to the operations team.
That’s the kind of customer service that builds lasting relationships and brand loyalty for me. I can already tell that she has a good team in place. Compare her professionalism to the” 40 hours a month my grandfather knew your grandfather at Eton” KP team, and it’s night and day.
That is why it was a great idea to start small for her. People were complaining about why she didn’t supply more for sale, but if you start small, you can make better adjustments for the future after getting feedback from the limited number of consumers. Feedbacks like yours can be implemented quickly because she doesn’t have a long lasting inventory.
Its nice to hear good things about the As ever team. I didn’t get to try any of the teas, just the jam. I’m really curious as to whether they’re going to re-stock the same items or have a whole new collection. Hopefully with the tea labelled with your suggestion. I’d like more of the same jam though. Maybe some new flavors too. Any jam following the raspberry one will have some high standards to meet.
I’m so glad you were able to contact them. I’m sure they appreciated your positive approach – a compliment and a helpful suggestion.
“…and that they would pass my comments about labeling the tea more specifically to the operations team.”
All the ingredients of As ever products are clearly listed at individual product page under “INGREDIENTS”. (Next to “ABOUT”, just click “INGREDIENTS” to see all the ingredients.)
Yes, I noticed that later when I went back to the site. I think, with the split-second haste to order before everything was sold out, people might not have taken the time to click on other tabs. Perhaps it’s a minor thing with a few customers during an introductory launch, but if enough are having the same issue, they might just put all the ingredients right up front.
Interesting. Looked at Yogi Lemon Ginger tea in the cupboard — it has ‘Organic Licorice Root’ as ingredient. Yogi Ginger tea also has licorice root. Yogi Mango Ginger tea has licorice root and fennel seeds. I can’t taste licorice root or fennel in any of them. And I love black licorice and anise, used to sit in aunt’s garden and eat anise seeds. Celestial Seasonings Lemon Ginger tea does not have anise or licorice in ingredients.
Whether pro-monarchy or anti- monarchy, nobody will ever forget that Meghan married the son of the King. Meghan is one person, the British monarchy is 1,000 years of imperialism, colonialism, massive wealth and influence (never mind how unimpressive is the current bunch). And with Meghan’s fortunes rising and the RF’s influence waning, it’s a story that begs to be written – it’s practically a theme out of Proust.
I don’t get the last bit from “royal historian” Sally Smith. H&M should scale back and live more modestly? Scale back from what? More modestly than what? And she wonders if Harry will throw himself into the cause of helping veterans – has she even heard of the Invictus Games?
Yeah the whole “scale back” thing is bizarre. I interpret it as a combination of misogynoir — specifically, the idea that women who are not white are not allowed to have or enjoy nice things — and the monarchist notion that it is disrespectful to the royal family to have or aspire to anything as nice or nicer than what the royal family has. Which is why they always told Meghan she had to be “50% less” when she lived in the UK, and also why they complain about the beauty and luxury of the Montecito estate as if the Sussexes should be ashamed to live in such a gorgeous, well-appointed home instead of proud.
Derangers are upset that Harry and Meghan are not living in poverty and counting pennies. They are upset that their lives are rich- in material wealth, in love of family and and loyal supportive friends, and in international esteem outside of Salt Island. They don’t understand working as a team, success, hard work, and the importance of giving others a helping hand. These people must have miserable lives, because happy, successful people who live fulfilling lives would have no time for such a degree of negativity.
The extra weird thing about this jealousy is that nobody can ever compete with the RF when it comes to material possessions. The richest people in the world might have the money to acquire treasures, but they don’t have the lifetime to match the quantity the RF have amassed over generations of political power.
So why begrudge Meghan her relatively modest home and life? Yes, she has nice things, but not anything particularly awe inspiring or radically different from other celebrities in her area – no towers full of jewels or estates that form their own ecosystem. She’s got a house and a garden and some cashmere sweaters – how is that a challenge to the monarchy’s wealth?
@Eurydice – Actually Sally Smith is not a “historian,” but, with her blinkered view of current affairs, she should be ashamed she hasn’t made better use of her Columbia Graduate School of Journalism MS.
Any Proust recommendations?
Sorry, “royal author.”
There is really only one Proust recommendation – his magnum opus “In Search of Lost Time” – 6 volumes and thousands of pages. It’s a profound work that can take a long time to read and digest. There are many themes, but the one that reminds me of the RF is how things change with time – the aristocracy deteriorating and the middle class rising, people who were considered nobodies become celebrities and people who were once considered the top of society can just fade away.
“In Search of Lost Time” 6 whole volumes! — perfect for a procrastinating retiree.
Please tell me the countess of sandwich has an insta full of sandwiches. Sorry, I know that’s childish but I kept getting stuck on the name. It’s kind of awesome. And that’s about all that stood out to me from this long and over-wrought handwringing from the BBC. Their ramblings about Meghan are even more childish and silly than me giggling over a name.
I thought the countess of sandwich was going to get huffy that Meghan stole her jam sandwiches! How dare she have jam when I’m the Queen of sandwich!
Luckily she wasn’t too huffy. I had to look it up and that’s really her name.
Yes, it really is! The Earl of sandwich is quite an old title.
““The problem is that people are much more interested in the royal gossip than they are in learning how to make a jam.”
This is why they are mad. She’s not name dropping them. She’s completely blanked them. They wanted to be able to yell at her for using the RF to make money. They can’t believe she is doing this well without including them. These people are clearly not on Threads because all I’m seeing are women inspired to copy her recipes. I myself bought beeswax which is currently melting in my wax warmer.
Exactly. They wanted her to be fergie running around doing what she could for money while begging to be invited back to events. I’m not here to tell Meghan what to do but I truly hope she blanks that family and that island for the rest of her life.
I expect something better from the BBC, it used to be one of the most respected TV companies in the world. If you wanted to know what was really going on you listened to the BBC.
I too used to trust the BBC. Now it seems like the vast majority of British journalists are Meghan-haters, and I can see no other reason but racism.
History won’t be kind to these people.
The BBC runs propaganda for the Windsors. It is no longer a trusted news source for many reasons.
It went down massively in quality and objectivity once BoJo got into power but the rot had started earlier.
The BBC, the Economist and the FT used to have the blue ribbon standard in journalism, no longer. And the test has and is, their treatment of the Sussexes.
British journalism is in the doldrums. It’s entertainment masquerading as faux news.
I think it started going down when they allowed the newsreaders to express opinions on subjects, before that Richard Baker and Robert McDougall read the news deadpan and the only lightness was at the end of the news program when sometimes they had a light hearted good news story.
It’s interesting that some in the royal media now think that The Tig was successful and worth doing that wasn’t the case when Meghan was a working royal. And as I said on an earlier post about Harry, the British press seem to want to pick and choose when to claim Meghan as royal. It’s clear that the British press are obsessed with her and are desperate for her to acknowledge them.
BBC article is kinda wishy washy. Why not say that the problems lies in the tabloids who paint Meghan as a liar, a bully and a thief. If Meghan is a divisive and controversial figure it is the tabloids who made her so. They dehumanise her.
Come to think of it. What did Meghan get out of being a royal for 18 months or so. She is landed with a massive security bill of $2 million per year for the rest of her life and the cost can only grow.
The tabloids rats now work at the BBC.
BoJo was a tabloid rat…and he became PM 🙄
When people share Meghan’s old pics from her IG on reddit, people always comment that they don’t understand why she left that life for Harry. She had an almost perfect life. She could find a nice man if she wanted to be a mom. That shows how much Meghan loves Harry that she didn’t run when the tabloids started destroying her reputation when their relationship got public.
How vicious and disgusting for British media to say that Harry is Meghan’s spare.
Yup. They miss the point that their is a partnership of equals – salt and pepper, they complement each other unlike so, so many other royal couples.
The Countess of Sandwich?? LOL These people are psychotic. Shame on the BBC for publishing this drivel.
Don’t you mean “filtered through the royal racists”?
The BBC is using an awful lot of words just to say that the media and monarchy will be riding Meghan’s coattails forever.
@Nanooo – 💯👏 perfect comment!
Yes, they “will be riding Meghan’s coattails forever.”
Writer whose income depends on selling royal gossip claims that people are more interested in royal gossip than whatever a successful new company that sold its entire inventory in less than an hour is selling.
Aside from the usual and deliberate misrepresentation of how successful 2025 has been for Meghan, the BBC – and the UK media in general – seriously underestimate how much money Harry and Meghan actually have.
They are not going to have to “downsize”; do they think Meghan went ahead with the purchase of their estate without careful analysis of the annual running costs, security etc? No disrespect intended to Harry, but he’d never had to really consider money; yes, Chuck kept him on a tight leash but he was always going to have accommodation and security whereas Meghan never had that guarantee. She had to save and invest, carefully considering her future plans and investing accordingly.
So no, as much as the institution and media fantasise about them having to move into a 3 bed home with only one en-suite, a family bathroom and a powder room it’s not going to happen.
When they left, the whole UK media was acting like they are gonna live in a small apartment and got enraged when they bought their beautiful home. They are still fantasizing about H&M going broke any day now. Meghan became a millionaire before meeting Harry. Even Harry lived a frugal life for a Prince with a limited budget from his father. Financial-wise, they seem on the same page, which enables them to make good decisions. They are not Andrew & Fergie who were always in debt to someone.
“….I think she’s a hustler. She’s taking these opportunities, using them as stepping stones to get to where she wants to go.”
That ENTIRE article was nonsensical, but that stood out for me. What? To quote the brilliant Inigo Montoya: “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.” Taking opportunities and using them as stepping stones to get where you want is called “WORKING for a living,” something that the Royal Family and their flunkies have no concept of.
All my life, I’ve taken “opportunities” (aka, “jobs”) as “stepping stones to get where I want” (the ability to have a roof over my head, food to eat, etc.) so I guess I’m a “hustler,” too? I’ll take it.
Well, like it or not (and the rota hate it), Meghan IS royal — she’s the wife of the king’s son. She’s also a Nigerian princess (which the rota really, really hate).
I just had to laugh at the Countess of Sandwich (lol that this is a real title … England is such a weird place) and her reference to Meghan’s “go-get attitude.” It’s go-getter, Countess.
Of course M&H both are filtered through the royal lens….in the UK and by an over inflated self important and narcissistic British media! Too bad for them that the UK is a has been country with a corrupt bews media that is irrelevant to the rest of the world and does not understand that obvious point. Meghan is playing in a much bigger sandbox for a pot of money that dwarfs what is available if she were focused on the Uzk. Case study in why the sun set long ago on the zbritish empire and Meghan hardly gives them a thought… not because she is bitter but because she has foung greater opportunities for fulfillment and wealth almost everywhere else.
They don’t acknowledge that M is and has been a successful entrepreneur way before she became part of that firm. It goes back to the British culture of, unless you were born wealthy or associated to wealthy people you cannot be a success on your own, and have to stay within your “own” class. With American culture, entrepreneurial mindset has been taught to us since kindergarten, and that anyone can be successful and move up if you work hard. I remembered me and my siblings trying to sell candy bars, magazines, even had our own lemonade stand when we were still in elementary school. One of the reasons why the U.S. has the most startups in the world and no one has come close. The other side of the pond doesn’t understand this concept, and can’t fathom it. Even now they’re trying to associate themselves to Ms success 🤦♀️ thinking they’re the ones that made her.
Interesting how the Sussexes LEFT Spotify, causing people there to lash out angrily, and now all of a sudden the tabloid narrative that they were “dropped” by Spotify appears to have taken hold – even after it had been dismissed.