ROYALSMeghan Markle 'Didn't Set Out to Sabotage' Kate Middleton After Promoting American Riviera Orchard Jam During Princess' Return to the Spotlight
Meghan Markle was slammed online after Nacho Figueras promoted American Riviera Orchard jam on the same day Kate Middleton returned to the spotlight at Trooping the Colour. Royal watchers were outraged, as Kate's appearance on Saturday, June 15, was her first time in the spotlight in six months due to her cancer diagnosis.
Nacho Figueras shared a photo of American Riviera Orchard jam the day of Trooping the Colour.
"While I am sure the gift packages came with notes requesting social media coverage, you can’t tell Nacho Figueras what to do, so I think it’s certain the timing of his post was his own idea," a source told an outlet. "The larger point here is that the American Riviera Orchard campaign has been phenomenally successful and cost Meghan nothing."
"It is a textbook social media campaign. The only problem is that there still seems to be nothing actually for sale, so what is it all for? I guess we will find out," they added.
Meghan Markle launched American Riviera Orchard in March.
Fans took to Twitter to react to Figueras' Instagram Story.
"Try to steal the spotlight from the RF," one critic wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Yet it is still shocking and disgusting."
"Narcissism at its finest," a second person chimed in.
"No. Meghan can never outshine Princess Kate, not then, now, ever," a third added.
Kate Middleton is battling cancer.
This wouldn't be the first time American Riviera Orchard was ridiculed for their launch schedule, as Meghan returned to Instagram to tease the brand in March.
OK! previously reported Pandora Forsyth criticized the Duchess of Sussex for the "bizarre” timing of her launch, which occurred the same day as the Diana Awards, on Thursday, March 14.
“I thought as soon as it happened, surely this would be an event in both of their calendars," Forsyth told GB News. “I would have thought the Diana Award and the Diana Legacy Award would be something that is crossed over. I’m really surprised."
“Harry was involved in this for many years," she added. "It was only a few years ago he was up on stage with William. How times have changed."
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Despite American Riviera Orchard's Instagram account going live in March, the brand still isn't available to purchase.
"She is very upset about what is happening with this American Orchard Rivera, [and] she is not happy about how it has been received. The jam was a bit of a laughing stock, she sent it off to about fifty friends and only a few replied," Angela Levin told GB News.
"Everyone said that she is in a jam. It is not moving forward. She has had a lot of trouble finding a CEO to run it for her and she is having a lot of trouble finding a chef. Some of them have gone along to see how it is but they say she is so meticulous about everything," she continued. “She's so demanding and they don't really want that. These are chefs who have good jobs, and they're not people who are learning."
Meghan Markle branded Kate Middleton as 'formal.'
Levin later alleged that the Duchess of Sussex is struggling with the reality of being a businesswoman.
"So it's a bit of a stalemate, but she has got 150 things on her link, and she's applied for a global patent," Levin explained. "Some of the things [she will be selling] are fabric gift wraps, cocktail napkins, meditation maps, pillows for household pets, a whole range of things from A to Z."
"We'll have to see how she gets on. I think she's she's finding it much more difficult than she thought," she shared. "I think she thought she would sail in and everybody would think it was wonderful, which I think she does a lot about herself. But actually it's jolly hard work."
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Source spoke to The Daily Beast.
