Meghan Markle faces criticism over As Ever holiday promotion

Meghan Markle has faced criticism from royal commentator Tom Sykes over the promotion of her lifestyle brand As Ever's holiday collection, including a chocolate advent calendar created with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés.

Meghan Markle has faced criticism from royal commentator Tom Sykes over the promotion of her lifestyle brand As Ever’s holiday collection, including a chocolate advent calendar created with Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés.

Sykes, an editor at large at The Daily Beast’s Royalist, said Meghan was “selling a life she doesn’t actually live in” by promoting products linked to the couple’s former home in Montecito, California.

“I think right now the presence of the kids is about creating this fantasy perfect domestic life, which we’re seeing with the advent calendar is clearly trying to sell,” Sykes said.

He also questioned the use of imagery associated with the family’s California home after Meghan and Prince Harry moved back to Britain in August.

“It’s clearly trying to say, we have this lovely, lovely life, our beautiful house. It’s so perfect. We can’t wait to get back there for Christmas. But people are not stupid. They’re looking at that and going, ‘But you don’t live there… so none of this makes any sense’,” Sykes said.

Meghan’s As Ever holiday collection includes a limited-edition advent calendar containing 24 handcrafted chocolates. The calendar was created in collaboration with Compartés and features imagery inspired by the Sussexes’ Montecito home and garden.

In an Instagram post promoting the collection, Meghan reflected on her childhood and described an early interest in business.

“When I was about eight years old I started my own business making handmade scrunchies I sewed on my grandmother’s Singer sewing machine and sold for $1 a piece,” she wrote.

“I sold Girl Scout cookies, had lemonade stands, worked in a frozen yogurt shop and had countless other jobs. My entrepreneurial spirit was always there.”

Meghan also thanked her As Ever team and said she was proud of the brand’s growth as it introduced its holiday collection.

“As I pinch myself looking at how this brand has grown, and as we introduce our holiday collection, I feel very proud, and grateful,” she wrote.

“A huge thanks to my team at @aseverofficial. So proud of what we are creating together. Thanks for helping bring this vision to life.”

The advent calendar is priced at $148 and is the latest in a series of collaborations between As Ever and Compartés.

Meghan has not publicly responded to Sykes’s criticism.