Meghan Markle’s ‘luxury’ jam boots sales…for the King, A terrible number to generate revenue for the King.

The launch of the Meghan Markle’s brand of jams has had the unintended side effect of boosting sales of the King’s own range of preserves.

The Duchess of Sussex unveiled the first product of her new brand, American Riviera Orchard, with friends and influencers posting Instagram photos of a jar of her strawberry jam.

It is the first part of her attempts to launch her business empire and may have taken some inspiration from her father-in-law King Charles III.

 

His Majesty began selling products such as jam from the Duchy of Cornwall estate in the 1990s, and has continued to sell produce from the gardens of his own private home in Highgrove.

And with the renewed publicity on the Duchess of Sussex’s preserves, Charles’s own brand appears to have seen a jump in sales from royalists who have done so in such great numbers that one item sold out.

+12
View gallery

Sales of King Charles’s Highgrove brand of preserves may have jumped due to the announcement of his daughter-in-law’s business. Pictured: The King attending the Easter Mattins Service at Windsor Castle

+12
View gallery

The King’s Highgrove Organic Strawberry Preserve was shown as being sold out for a short while on Wednesday

+12
View gallery

Meghan Markle unveiled the first product of her American Riviera Orchard brand to be jars of strawberry jam. Pictured: The Duchess of Sussex at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge in Wellington on April 12

+12
View gallery

Meghan has sent samples of the jam to her friends and influencers. Pictured: Showing the strawberry jam in a basket with lemons, Tracy Robbins said: ‘Thank you, M!’

The monarch’s Highgrove Organic Strawberry Preserve was shown as being ‘sold out’ on the estate’s website on Wednesday, hours after the launch of Meghan’s own brand of strawberry jam.

However, there is good news for those eager for a taste, as more 340g jars of the flavour were put on sale for £6.95 each on the Highgrove Gardens website on Thursday morning.

Other flavours sold by the brand include marmalade, rhubarb and ginger, raspberry and blackberry, and English damson.

While profits from Meghan’s business endeavours go to herself, any excess money made as part of the Highgrove brand is donated to charity.

On the Highgrove Gardens website, it describes the strawberry preserve as bringing ‘the taste of summer to your plate’ and ‘quintessentially English’.

‘A mouth-watering combination of plump ripe strawberries and tangy lemon, it’s perfect paired with cream or butter on warm scones or as a filling for a classic Victoria sponge,’ it adds.

‘Carefully cooked by hand in small batches to an original Highgrove recipe, the strawberry jam is bursting with fruity flavours.

‘Traditionally packaged, the label on the glass jar features a specially commissioned woodcut design that captures the natural beauty of the gardens at Highgrove.’

Royal fans can’t get enough of the produce it seems, with one writing on X: ‘Back in stock. Just ordered a few goodies…including jam…for Father’s Day.’

Another added that it was ‘absolutely fantastic’, writing: ‘I have just decided to buy some myself. They have an online-shop’.

Meghan Markle’s new strawberry jam bears a resemblance to the produce of her father-in-law’s brand, with influencers and friends sharing photos of the product online on Wednesday.

The Duchess sent out 50 jars of the preserve to the likes of fashion designer Tracy Robbins and Argentine socialite Delfina Balquier, who promptly posted it on their Instagram Stories.

+12
View gallery

Fashion designer Tracy Robbins posted a picture of the jam, which had the logo for American Riviera Orchard and ‘Montecito’ underneath. The label also had the words ’17 of 50′

+12
View gallery

Delfina Balquier also posted a photo on Instagram and said: ‘Strawberry jam makes me happy’

+12
View gallery

Delfina Balquier’s video also showed the strawberry jam spread on a piece of bread

+12
View gallery

The brand’s logo is written in fine gold script above the word ‘Montecito’ – where Meghan lives

Mrs Robbins and her husband Paramount boss Brian Robbins are friends with the Sussexes and invited them to the Bob Marley film premiere in Jamaica in January.

The couple are also friends with Ms Balquier, who is married to Prince Harry’s friend Nacho Figueras – with the four together at a charity polo match in Florida last Friday.

Mrs Robbins posted a picture of Meghan’s jam, which had the American Riviera Orchard logo and ‘Montecito’ underneath – the celebrity enclave in California where Harry and Meghan live in a £12million home. The label also had the words ’17 of 50′.

The photo on Mrs Robbins’s Instagram Stories showed the jam in her hand, and she said: ‘@AmericanRivieraOrchard Breakfast, lunch and dinner just got a little sweeter.’

Showing it in a basket with lemons, Mrs Robbins added: ‘Thank you for the delicious basket! I absolutely love this jam so not sure I’m sharing with anyone. @American RivieraOrchard Thank you, M! #MontecitoGoodness #AmericanRivieraOrchard.’

Ms Balquier posted a similar picture on her Stories, saying: ‘Strawberry jam makes me happy. And I love your jam, @AmericanRivieraOrchard.’ Her label said: ’10 of 50.’

The post also showed some of the jam spread on a piece of bread.

The Duchess is expected to officially launch American Riviera Orchard later this spring, with a source telling People magazine last week: ‘Meghan finds the name American Riviera Orchard perfect. It feels authentic to her.

‘She can’t wait for the website to launch. She is excited about her latest, personal venture. This is something she’s been wanting to do for a while. She is excited to share her style and things that she loves.’

+12
View gallery

Charles and Camilla taste jams and pickles while visiting Chester University in July 2007

+12
View gallery

Charles and Camilla look at products at a Waitrose store in London’s Belgravia in 2009. Jam was added to the Duchy range in 2010 when the supermarket took on the exclusive licence

+12
View gallery

William and Charles at Home Farm, Highgrove. Charles founded Waitrose Duchy Organic with its first product in 1992, a biscuit made from wheats and oats grown organically on this farm

It comes after the Duchess launched her new business venture on March 14 with an Instagram teaser.

A vintage-style video of Meghan cooking and arranging white hydrangeas and roses was posted to the new American Riviera Orchard Instagram account.

The brief video was set to Nancy Wilson’s I Wish You Love and closes with the brand’s logo written in fine gold script above the word ‘Montecito’.

Limited information has been released about American Riviera Orchard but a trademark application filed on February 2 this year showed the company wishes to offer downloadable and printed recipe books, table wear, textiles, and jams and marmalades, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

By comparison, King Charles first began selling products from the Duchy of Cornwall estate in the 1990s – with jam added to the range in 2010 when Waitrose took on the exclusive licence.

Prince William took on the Duchy estate after Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022, and Duchy organic strawberry jam is now sold at Waitrose stores for £2.80 a jar.

A portion of sales is donated to the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund – and the Waitrose Duchy Organic has generated more than £40million for this since 2009.

Waitrose Duchy Organic was founded by Charles with its first product in 1992, a biscuit made from wheats and oats grown organically on Home Farm at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.

The Duchy Organics range is now the UK’s largest own-label organic food and drink brand and includes more than 300 products including fruits, vegetables, meat and beer.

The King continues to sell products through his own personal Highrove brand.