Just days after Meghan Markle teased her audience with a sneak peek of her lifestyle brand, sending numbered jars of her strawberry jam to 50 influencers, Buckingham Palace's official store revealed its own regally crafted strawberry preserves.
Last week, Meghan relied on her prominent circle to showcase images of the artisanal American Riviera Orchard Jam arranged amidst a bowl of lemons. Today, in a video shared with their 557,000 Instagram followers, Buckingham Palace's official account presented its own rendition of the delectable spread.
Perhaps pointedly, it was accompanied by music from Mozart's Dissonance Quartet. The reel proposes four quintessentially British ways to serve the product, proudly emphasizing its exclusive use of the finest British berries. While Meghan's American Riviera Orchard merchandise features a logo noted by many for its striking resemblance to her royal crest, Buckingham Palace's iteration proudly bears the authentic insignia in gold on the side of each $4 jar.
Priced at $395 and available for international shipping, the royal coat of arms adorned with the motto of the Order of the Garter translates to "Shame on him who thinks evil of it." No pricing details have yet been disclosed for Meghan's jam, nor is there confirmation of mass production. However, branding experts have drawn parallels between American Riviera Orchard's aesthetic and that of the highly exclusive celebrity food brand, Flamingo Estates, renowned for selling jars of LeBron James or Julianne Moore honey at an astonishing $250 each.
In its post, Buckingham Palace helpfully stirs the pot, suggesting that customers enjoy their jam on a scone as part of a cream tea, on a crumpet with quason, or on toast. The subtle sting in the tail of this sweet post appears to have not been lost on its many viewers. One of the top comments so far reads, "Buckingham Palace over monogram any day. Is it just me that loves the subtle shade?" wrote one fan, while another commented, "I'm dying at the timing of this ad." and added, "This is what a consumer wants to see, not some elegantly disguised jam where the label on the glass container costs more than the product itself."
Meghan Markle's limited launch of the first American Riviera Orchard product unexpectedly boosted her father-in-law King Charles's rival jam, as royal followers stock up on the sweet condiment in anticipation of strawberry preserves. Sales of Charles's High Grove organic strawberry preserve skyrocketed after a few select influencers began promoting Meghan's version on social media.
Meghan gifted 50 pots of the product to the chosen few but hasn't announced when it would be available to the public. With the teased release, some royal followers may be stocking up on the king's jam to put the duchess's and the king's products in a head-to-head test. Meghan's brand is driven by a central California identity, its name a reference to Santa Barbara's designation as the American Riviera.
Charles's lifestyle brand, High Grove, by contrast, is named for the king's private residence in Gloucestershire, England, and practically sells English heritage in its advertising. On the website, Charles's jam is described as a quintessentially English strawberry preserve packaged with a specially commissioned woodcut design that captures the natural beauty of the gardens at High Grove on its label.
