Further pr discussions with the lone gunman now in charge!

[jeffgoldblum]

im hoping that @Atlusvuewill not mind me continuing her work, I have a feeling that there is more to discuss and come!

The thing is, nobody is surprised is Stacy Solomon, or anyone in a similar position, is doing business for profit. It's perfectly acceptable and it's what people do (although the ludicrous mark-up might cause a bit of comment). If Meghan was doing this as a Suits actor, it would be fine.

The problem is that Meghan is Royal-adjacent and is pushing that angle for all it's worth. And the expectation with royalty is that they don't blatantly go for financial profit. They're expected to be working for good in some way. So the Duchy products are sold, but they help promote organic farming practices and conservation, for example.

As Ever seems to be an effort to run a profitmaking business under the guise of promoting wellness and happiness, and of teaching skills to improve people's lives. This is actually quite a clever concept: probably the loosest possible interpretation of the idea of do-gooding service that we associate with royal projects. Meghan is Lady Bountiful, handing out tips and recipes to the grateful public, and graciously supplying the pancake mixes that will help you to achieve a better lifestyle. It requires pretty much nothing in the way of actual knowledge, skill, or benefit to others, while maximising the potential to benefit Meghan herself in terms of revenue and self-promotion.

But this airy suggestion of royalesque generosity gets blown away by any kind of rapacious profiteering. Which is why selling mass-produced items at a massive mark-up is not a good look.

But what is her ‘brand’ - is it royal?

Or is it anti-royal?

Who are her fans and her potential market?

I don't see As Ever as a royal brand she might herself have a royal title and that is it.

I dont see the problem with what she is doing, the Duchy provides the King and his heir an income.

Why should the wife of the spare be restricted to only being able to earn money only if it is somehow promoting some good cause.

I think once the heir has kids the spare and his wife can go life their live earning money since they are no longer next in line and especially if they are not working royals.

If she sells something with a high price point its no different to many other businesses. Its up to the buyer to decide if that is how much they are happy to pay.

I was just reading an article suggesting that the years are weakening that link and this may be why she is intent on coming to the UK again - to remind people of the link. Personally I think that's a bit of a dim idea but who knows🤷‍♀️

Following earlier marmalade discussions, I was prompted to make a small batch (1kg oranges gives 10 jars) and have decided to enter a jar to the annual Dalemain marmalade festival.

https://www.dalemain.com/about-the-festival

It's a bit of fun all in a good cause:

"To raise funds to go to Hospices in local areas or to Hospice at Home - Carlisle and North Lakeland. This charity provides high quality, palliative care and support to patients, family members and carers affected by life limiting illness.
Every penny of your home-made competition entry fee goes to charity because the competition is funded by sponsorship. We are indebted to our sponsors for their continued and hugely valued support.
Every year the Best in Show marmalade is produced and sold online and in our shop and at Fortnum & Masons, with a donation from every jar going to the winners nominated a charity."

Surely not? 😂 I would have expected it to be leather - hand scraped from a carcass then dried lovingly in the Californian sun before being dyed with natural dyes from plants and finally embossed by Meghan's own hand.

While I remain of the view (shared with other posters here) that marmalade should consist of clear jelly with peel (preferably slivers) and thought the As Ever fruit pulp variety wouldn't be acceptable, it looks as if it does meet the legal definition which is fairly flexible in terms of including fruit pulp, purée and juice.

"Legal Definition of Marmalade
Everybody has their own version of marmalade. Essentially, the dominant ingredient has to be citrus but to fit in with UK Trading Standards, this is the legal definition per The Jam and Similar Products (England) Regulations 2003.
A mixture, brought to a suitable gelled consistency, of water, sugars and fruit pulp, fruit purée, fruit juice, fruit peel or aqueous extract of fruit or any combination thereof, in every case obtained from citrus fruit, such that the quantity of citrus fruit used for every 1000 grams of the finished product is not less than 200 grams, of which not less than 75 grams is obtained from the endocarp.
Jelly marmalade is a marmalade which contains no insoluble matter except possibly for small quantities of finely sliced peel."

@Trimmernow

How about Aspiring middle income women approaching middle age. Fake it till you make it. Probably those who have a secrete longing for a trad wife way of life, while actually slogging it out in the real world making as much money as their useless husbands and having to do more than half the home/family work.

Her Brand is Meghan - a woman who refuses to keep quiet, who will try on all the hats and go with which ever fantasy she is longing for. Undecided but obviously successful. On the surface giving very few cares to what other people think.

It's like a fantasy for the downtrodden woman - working, making home, keeping quiet and making peace with the overbearing mother in law. Escaping from the confines of a difficult up brining, a controlling family and doing whatever the hell you want to do. All of it, in a beautiful mansion, with fancy clothes, perfect skin, makeup and hair, gorgeous jewelry and an adoring husband and healthy children.

Anyway, I shall be entering mine in the “Clear Seville Marmalade, a clear jelly with or without peel” section

Torn between a jar with not so much peel or a jar with more peel.

Given they have hundreds of entries I wonder what they do with all the left over marmalade after the judges have tested it? 🤔

Why should any woman keep quiet?

Lots of people will if they can try lots of things based on what they feel their dream is or what it is they think they want to do whether thats in a business sense or regarding hobbies and yes to a certain degree lots of people dont care what people think most only truly care what their friends and family think.

End of the day its your life to live it how you want to, if you want to try lots of things then find a way to do it because you dont get another life.

That looks great @ShamedBySiri!

On the surface giving very few cares to what other people think.

On the contrary. I can't think of anyone who cares more desperately about what others think than Meghan. Her life is an endless series of clap backs about the most trivial slights.

That is why I carefully said on the surface. I think she is trying to project the happy, secure in control don't give two hoots as long as i am true to myself image.

Not that she was living it, or even successfully projecting it. But some people will lap it up and aspire to it I am sure, especially when the information the receive has been filtered to re-enforce an existing opinion or viewpoint.

Siri, both jars look great. Can you enter both? The question of how much peel is the right amount varies from person to person. In my case, it would even depend on the day, as to which of those I'd opt for.

Do you add ginger to your marmalade? It's so easy to do, and so, um, elevating. Probably the marmalading equivalent of flowery sprinkles.

What is there really to 'aspire to' though?

Yes she's pretty and lives in a big house. So what? So do thousands of other women. There is no warmth, no soul to her 'brand'. Just a few random white label products thrown out there. Even her Insta promotions are odd. Rarely talking directly to camera, not even any pseudo authentic glimpses into her lifestyle. Just her slopping out overpriced bland 'spread' to the background of twee 50s music, with the occasional shot of the back of her children's heads. I really don't see what the appeal is. If you aspire to a rich lady lifestyle, surely there are any number of influencers out there doing it much better?

Why are my thoughts going straight to that advert I hate, Emma Watson promoting Prada Paradoxe? "Never the same, always me". Hate the strapline!

I don’t think anyone has said they shouldn’t earn money any way they like. I’d be interested to see any links to posts you’ve seen that I’ve missed that say they shouldn’t.

But using the conferred title of Duchess, rather than her actual name, is breaking the Sandringham agreement. That agreement provided them with a year’s grace to establish themselves commercially outside the royal institution. There are a million ways they could have done that as private individuals with everyone’s blessing.

Firstly , Harry has not been the spare since George was born.
Secondly, I have no problem with H and M earning money but drop the titles .
Be authentic ….

Stacey Solomon seems to have a very firm grasp of who her followers are and what they will buy. I'm not sure Meghan does.

Ooh @ShamedBySiri that marmalade looks amazing.

But that's your opinion, its not something you may aspire to but others are different.

A big house in a beautiful location, sunshine, time to focus on your interests, a devoted husband, opportunities to rub shoulders with the elite, enough money to enable you to provide the very best for your children, time to make the children's breakfast, lunch box, and enough help with the boring things in life that in your spare time from super mum you can run a business, make a podcast etc.

There are lots of things to aspire to, or to envy if you don't look too deeply. Not everyone will, in fact I would argue that in our current insta world surface with no depth is taking over.

Do I aspire to be like her. No. I am happy with who I am and what I have thanks. But that doesn't mean that others will not want a little bit of that life.

A big house in a beautiful location, sunshine, time to focus on your interests, a devoted husband, opportunities to rub shoulders with the elite, enough money to enable you to provide the very best for your children, time to make the children's breakfast, lunch box, and enough help with the boring things in life that in your spare time from super mum you can run a business, make a podcast etc.

Funnily enough Meghan herself used to tell the world that she couldn’t just live that kind of life, that she needed to be able to create a balance between the excess and glamour and purpose-driven work like visiting refugee camps in Rwanda!

But that's your opinion, its not something you may aspire to but others are different.

But my point isn't that I personally don't aspire to her 'lifestyle'. Obviously others are different. That's a banal observation.

My point is that there are many thousands of attractive women who live in big houses and have lots of time on their hands. I know several such women myself. I bet you do too. It's really not that rare.

Aside from the fact that the whole lifestyle influencer thing peaked at least a decade ago, I'm not sure what Meghan really adds to this very dated genre. As I said, we don't even get 'curated' peeks into her lifestyle. No interactions with the kids or the 'devoted' husband. Meghan rarely even speaks directly to her audience. It's all very cold and soulless.

Anyway, I guess the proof of the spread is in the eating. Are people really ordering 'As Ever' items in large numbers? I doubt it.

@IcedPurple something is still drawing enormous amounts of attention to her and that in itself is a draw to many people.

I don't know anyone with the amount of wealth and connections that Meghan has or tells us she has. So she cannot be compared to anyone in my social circle.

Don't get me wrong, I doubt there are enough people who genuinely aspire to be like her to make her business a success. But the buzz will create curiosity sales of every new product and there will be staunch supporters (glimpses of some on here) who will keep things ticking over so that it's not a huge failure. Just a bit of a limp biscuit, and as she is buying low and selling high her profits will be far better than her big Royal competition at Highgrove who I have always believe do really invest in duchy organics etc.

MN is the ONLY social media I am on, so I don't get the influencer thing at all really, it goes over my head. So due to mainstream media 'following' her she is in a slightly different competition to those on the past peak social media I would imagine, and could target dinosaurs like myself who are wondering what all the fuss was about.

It is interesting that everything we know about her has been told to us by her, not demonstrated, as you say, we see no, or few interactions to see that Harry adores her, but she tells us so often that I have picked up on it.

In short, I don't really know what i am talking about! But I could see her appealing to some (maybe a few in my social group of a certain 'type') who would like to put a posy of flowers in a jam jar that had a label with her name on.

But the buzz will create curiosity sales of every new product and there will be staunch supporters (glimpses of some on here) who will keep things ticking over so that it's not a huge failure.

I'm as unconvinced by the existence of 'curiosity sales' as I am by 'hate watching'. How many people are going to order a very ordinary looking pot of 'spread' out of 'curiosity'? You can't sustain a business like that, especially in the current economy.

her big Royal competition at Highgrove who I have always believe do really invest in duchy organics etc.

I don't see how Duchy Organics are her 'competion'. They don't even operate in the same country! And trotting around the house plopping flower sprinkles on everything and anything isn't very 'royal'.

So due to mainstream media 'following' her she is in a slightly different competition to those on the past peak social media I would imagine, and could target dinosaurs like myself who are wondering what all the fuss was about.

Her only market is America. Is mainstream media there really following her to any great degree?

She only has a little over 4 million followers on Instagram. That's really not much at all. Big time influencers like her mates the Kardashian Jenners have follower counts in the tens or hundreds of millions.