The Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to temporarily move to the UK for at least one school year. Their children are already enrolled in a British school and will begin attending that school in September. We learned all of this yesterday, when People Magazine and several British outlets all broke the story at 5 pm EST. There was something I missed in all of the hubbub, because I was so focused on the shock of it all: Meghan still plans to operate As Ever. From People Mag:
While the family’s longer-term residential plans remain unclear, PEOPLE understands Meghan will continue leading As Ever from the couple’s international bases, while Harry will be able to spend significantly more time supporting U.K.-based charities and patronages.
Yeah, As Ever has been sending out promotional emails this week, and Meghan just introduced a new seasonal jam flavor (blackberry) this month. Incidentally, I got my blackberry jam last week and I ate some last night, completely shellshocked by this news. So, Meghan plans to continue As Ever at least. It would be hysterically funny if this move back to the UK was at least partially about Meghan prepping As Ever’s international launch.
Considering the As Ever brand is so tied to California, I wonder if Meghan will gently expand the imagery and vibe around As Ever. One of the ways she could do that? By having a home in the Cotswolds, one of the most lush and beautiful parts of the UK. The Sussexes have emphasized that they’re maintaining their Montecito mansion, and they’re buying or leasing some place outside of London. A lot of people are theorizing that they’ll end up based in the Cotswolds. I also think that would make a lot of sense, more sense than having a place in Windsor or Norfolk or wherever. Originally, back in 2017-2018, they leased a home in the Cotswolds as well. Like, that was their original plan, to have a country home in that area.
Oh, and Meghan better maintain her personal Instagram AND As Ever’s Instagram. If they force her to give up her personal IG, I will be very upset.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram and As Ever’s Instagram.
I hope they thought this because Uk and Europe is not that much market friendly in usa. I don’t know I’m sad meghan mental health was good in usa but this time I hope she gets lots of support.
I would think she’s had enough experience to be clear about her boundaries before moving back (for her own protection as well as that of her children).
The first time she moved there, she was naive, eager to please and very willing to be accommodating. Now, she is a mother, has faced a firestorm and, for all intents and purposes, has told an entire royal family and their media attack dogs where to shove it while building a life and independent finances the left behinds could not imagine was possible. EVERYONE who has ever left the British royal family has been left exposed to the media and dependent on the generosity of others for their survival. Everyone. Except Harry and Meghan.
Maybe they’re only going back for a year. Maybe they are acutely aware that George has a plan for his future, but Charlotte and Louis are the next Harrys if things don’t continue to change. And William has zero imagination.
Them being there will benefit next year’s Invictus games preparations and everyone knows they can and will leave if the mayo people (royals) or their attack dogs in the media start cutting up.
I wouldn’t do it, but Meghan loves Harry and they both have some damn sense. There’s plenty behind the scenes that we don’t know (and never will).
@Yup, Me — thank you!
I wrote a long comment on another one of these articles, saying pretty much the same thing, although you put it better.
That comment got eaten. Now I am ok with that. You covered it.
Can they force a private person ( is she even a UK citizen?) to give up her Instagram? It’s not like before when she was a working royal.
Nope. The only way the palace could have any control at all is if the Sussexes were half-in/half-out. But The Firm messed up by refusing to play ball, so that ship has sailed, lol!
Precisely! They can’t MAKE her do anything.
M learned her lesson well from those criminal abusers and she’ll never trust them again. And she said as much in their Netflix docu: that her one regret is trusting them when they said they would protect her.
Nevah! Again.
There God after 6 years they haven’t learned anything, no spokeperson clear statement, explaining why. Just let news write about them, patheic. I honestly believe Meghan lives in the cloud probably why she could marry a man like Harry. your friends warned you, married him the family clearly they didn’t want you, racism, misgyongy. Your mother in law having dinner with people who abused you on a daily. All of this for a man who couldn’t affort to provide for you, his father a king that currentley pays for his brother and clearly does not care for the safety of you or your children. But hey love wins and all of that
Camilla is stepmother in law. Diana would have been her mother in law.
They don’t owe anyone an explanation of why they are moving back to the UK.
Exactly
Can I live in the clouds with her then? A hot husband and who adores her. Cute children and dogs. Close friends. A house in Montecito, Portugal and now the uk. Please please can I live in those clouds too.
yes you can whilst having dinner with your step mother in law, who later on would have dinner with piers, clarkson, and we can all read the newspaper tomorrow and be shocked
I can stand a horse for an hour or two if it means the rest of my life is fulfilling.
This past year their comms team has been phenomenal at dealing with attacks and nonsense spewed at them. So them not releasing any statement tells me they don’t think they have to clear anything up.
They are not our mules and they don’t owe us anything.
Midnight, I agree.
Actually that negative comment above got me thinking, if this is a deliberate comms tactic on their part, rather than a leak from the Palace or whomever, then what is the benefit to them to let it come out this way, instead of making a formal announcement or even dropping it on Instagram?
And immediately I can see potential benefits. The first wave of the news was diffused by surprise and doubt if it was even true. The second wave is everyone’s first reactions, still softened in its impact by lingering questions.
So the immediate ability of the tabloids to determine the most horrible take on it possible and then harden that into the mainframe of the narrative, is blunted, because while they’re all still scrambling about whether it’s even really happening, people are forming their own opinions.
Second, by not making a formal spokesperson announcement, or even dropping it on Meghan’s Insta, they avoid getting tagged with the “Oh, they think they’re so important, why do they think we should care? Obviously they’re trying to set up a rival court! Treachery!” Instead, the news broke without their fingerprints visibly on it, so they avoid taking that category of crap.
There’s probably more, this really isn’t my field. But it’s interesting to think about it from this viewpoint.
I’d guess first out of the gate is expansion to English speaking countries (Australia, the UK and Canada) because H&M have a handle on all three countries and their media. Then the rumoured expansion into housewares….
Then Meghan has to accept her Emmy…
Then she supports the Oscar run for Cookie Queens…
She’s going to be a busy bee for at least the next six months, all of which she can handle with Zoom calls and her usual travel..And she’s still repped by WMA so who knows how much other stuff she’s got in the pipeline ; my bet is something fashion related…
Then Inviticus UK! And that’s not even including her own charity work!
I’m sorry to say I fear that being forced to give up her IG will be the least of Meghan’s problems.
Same.
I never had any doubts about AsEver. I’m sure she’ll fly home to do promotional shoots etc. My question is what happens to her personal IG? Is she going to continue to post on it or she going to be quiet for the time she is in the UK and only post when she’s in the US? How visible is she going to be in the UK?
Why would she give up her IG? The Palace has no hold over her. They don’t come back as working royals. She simply has to adjust her working hours for her FaceTime meetings.
As for the dogs, they will bring them. Remember when they went on vacation in Canada? The Queen famously said “they won’t come back, they took the dogs”. Taking the dogs on a private plane for their move makes sense if they intend to stay for a year.
Archie will miss his chickens, I hope for photos of a lush English garden with flowers, veggies, and chickens. David Beckham has just that in the Cotswolds, hopefully H&M found a nice secluded estate offering all that, too.
I think she would want to protect her privacy in the UK as much as possible. I’m doubtful that we’re going to see IG posts while she’s in the UK because she won’t want to give away their location. That’s why I have questions about continuing to post as she does in the US. Of course when she’s back home in the US she will post as she does now.
I think her British IG posts will be similar to her American IG posts. She always posts well after the fact & gives nothing away.
What happens to her bees? Are all the pups going too? IDK – I struggle to imagine Meg doing well in GB – she is SUCH a Cali girl (I’m a former Cali girl, and if you like low humidity, cool evenings, view of the ocean while sitting on a steep hill, farmers markets year round, fresh organic produce, and outdoor activities all year…I don’t know how you’re going to flourish (for 1,264f reasons) in GB). I…really hope this is what they both want.
I’m wondering if they’re going to bring the dogs or leave them behind for a year?
I think they’ll bring the dogs over. They did when they left for Canada in 2019.
I wonder if that was more to keep the dogs safe? Weren’t there some incidents of Gus or one of the other dogs getting injured while they were away/out? I don’t think that same risk is present in Montecito.
That being said, if it’s a year I can’t imagine them not bringing them.
Then again, three days ago, I couldn’t imagine them ever moving back to the UK. So what do I know?
I’ve probably bored everyone here atp with the stories of my jam connoisseur father and his LOVE of As Ever (80 year old who knows less than zero about the FR or royal intrigues. or who Meghan even is, vaguely aware of Harry), but point being As Ever is a GOOD product. Yay that EU and Brits get to finally try it!
I’m very happy for Harry and Meghan. I don’t need to be on a “team” or like them because they are being mistreated and are the “victim” in a fight. I want them to be happy, at peace, and successful. I think it’s great that they are retuning to the UK. Harry and Meghan are kind, incredibly charismatic, and friendly people. They and the littles will have a lovely time wherever they live in the UK. British people are not the UK press, they’re not the Royal rota.
Well said!
Beautifully said! But no, I for one will never get bored with stories about your jam connoisseur father!
Definitely not bored about your dad! Plus, agree with the rest.
Well, since it appears you enjoy my dad’s As Ever reviews, a few of his favorites : )
Best for toast- Strawberry jam (raspberry close second)
Best for cod marinade- apricot jam (recipe available upon request haha)
Best for salmon marinade- orange marmalade (recipe available upon request haha again)
Orange marmalade also makes an amazing cod marinade, but it’s more overpowering, so kind of depends on how you like your cod, it’s not for everyone
My dad is EXTREMELY picky about jams, he will tell me “did you use a different apricot jam, I don’t care for this one as much”. So, when I say he LOVES As Ever jam products, the man really does!
Damn! Your father is some consumer researcher, in his own way. Impressive.
Now this is the kinda content I’m here for. Has he tried the. BlackBerry yet?
@Jais- No, we haven’t done the blackberry! I asked him and he said he doesn’t like blackberry jam generally, so I doubt we’ll be trying it lol.
One edit- for just toast- he prefers the raspberry, but for pb&j (toasted or not), the strawberry is way superior. I am considering trying an apricot chicken breast marinade, but I need to look up recipes first. Will report back if we have more recipe successes!
Cod makes THE best fish and chips! I can’t buy the jam so I can’t test these out, but i will! I think chicken would go well with apricot too. I make a lower sugar apricot chicken and it’s delicious.
As a private citizen, I don’t see how she could be forced to give up her IG account. Cotswolds seem a good guess as I believe their friend Ellen Degeneris with wife Portia De Rossi live there.
I think it’s likely they’re going to be staying at one of Ellen and Portia’s properties in the Cotswolds.
This scares me. It’s one thing now, but when William takes over? My god. They are way braver than me.
Of course, she’ll keep running As Ever – Meghan is a planner. As for her IG, the UK is beautiful and a part of her family’s heritage and I’m sure she’ll be showcasing that.
Yes, the UK is beautiful but …but UK nature belongs to Kate!! How is Kate gonna post her season videos and shampoo commercials when Meghan does that 1000x better. LOL fun times ahead.
Ha!!!! This made me chuckle 😂 How DARE anyone else photograph *nature*? 😂
Well I foresee her keeping her insta and using it to promote as ever. I’m more curious about the productions they have for netfix, book adaptations and that polo one? I’d imagine they can still do that from the uk though. I don’t think people realize how much production has left California. A lot of it’s left Atlanta too. And a whole lotta of it is now based in the uk just saying.
And H&M through Archewell are executive, not line producers so it’s not like they have to be on set every day… They can do it from anywhere
@jais – the industry has evolved a lot. Many legacy studios have been collaborating with content creators/internet influencers – these days they are the new media moguls. Disney made a historic decision a few weeks ago to let independent content creators use Disney content. I wouldn’t say production left California it’s evolved to more independent content creators. And verticals have been growing, like fast. Actually M would have been perfect for this.
I’m worried about As Ever and her instagram and her making herself small again. I think it will really depend on why they are moving. If there is any deal in place with Charles, I see less/no instagram and end of as ever. Given that he only just found out I’m hopeful this is fully their own choice and because they want to and not a have to. Unless that is a lie, and Charles was part of this, then I’m worried, because it will mean control.
Her jam is actually very good by the way.
At this point, I guess we have to see. I now wonder if this is why she didn’t continue her podcasts or the Netflix show. She knew she wouldn’t be able to do them if they moved. What a mess.
Im glad to hear that. Looking forward to some As Ever UK flavors like black currant, damson, chutneys and lemon curd with the English country-side featured prominently in the advertisements.
The hand-wringing there will be if Meghan launches As Ever in England! How dare she compete with the king’s jams?!
But I hope for the sake of British celebitches she does, because her jam is the jam.
I said this on another post but I have to wonder if they would consider living on Charles Spencer’s property Althorp. It would make sense. It’s located Northampton, which is 75 minutes outside of London. But also close to a large town and if they were living on the grounds they would have security.
I think expanding into Cotswold or European imagery is a good idea (the French wine country!) Since the business is basically a branding operation (she doesn’t make the jam or wine herself) she really can run it from anywhere.
Once more for the slow learners at the back: no, M isnt out there cooking up her products in her kitchen then bottling/packaging & labeling them herself.
But you’d best believe the formulae are her IP.
You know what, I get that even the dull and ignorant, they too have their opinion but Jeebus Christus!
Ccd m.
Rlejswg
I hope she can continue. California has given M the freedom to grow and be creative with her business in a way I’m not sure she’d have in the UK. When it comes to entrepreneurship, the U.S. is often much more supportive and flexible. We’ve already seen how M was treated over there as she became more successful, it was very toxic for her. But at the same time, I don’t see them voluntarily moving back unless it’s completely on their own terms.
And HM moving back on their own terms is a narrative the derangers would hate as that would mean they became even more successful.
Her business is based in the US. What’s the UK got to do with it? People run international businesses all the time. The weirdness around h and m is a lot.
Well I am sitting here in the EU and hope she sells here, hoped for that from the beginning.