Good news for Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle’s rebranding of her lifestyle brand has left her surrounded by controversy. However, things are not all doom and gloom for Prince Harry’s wife.

Good news amid rumors

Nearly a year after launching her own lifestyle brand in March 2024, Meghan Markle caused a stir when she changed the name of her “brainchild” from American Riviera Orchard (ARO) to As Ever. Although the Duchess of Sussex did not make it public, European and American media revealed the reason was because Meghan could not register the trademark under her old name.

Meghan’s move ahead of the launch of the reality TV show With Love, pushed Meghan into a new round of controversy.

Meghan Markle faces backlash after renaming lifestyle brand. Photo: SplashNews.com.

Prince Harry’s wife has received a lot of negative reviews. Some say she is in a desperate situation, with no choice but to change her brand name before her official debut. Others say she has no identity, struggling to find a way to position herself but unable to find a unique, distinctive feature.

“There’s an identity issue, like who she was before she became a royal, who she wants to be after she leaves the royal family… It’s hard for someone to be authentic when they’re not really sure of themselves,” Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel said.

Not only that, the name that Meghan seems to like is being used for a clothing company that has been operating since 2015 in New York and New Jersey. The owner of the family company, Mark Kolski, criticized the 1981-born beauty for using their name.

Additionally, Xisca Mora, Mayor of Porreres in Mallorca, Spain, accused Meghan’s As Ever logo of copying the traditional coat of arms that has represented the village since 1370.

Amidst the controversy, Meghan received good news that her Instagram account surpassed 2 million followers, an increase of more than 100,000 since announcing the change of lifestyle brand name on February 18.

This is a remarkable milestone for Meghan, given that most of the news about her has received negative reactions. This growth seems to confirm the unconventional comments of Mark Borkowski, a British public relations and crisis management expert.

While many believe Meghan was forced to rebrand and did so in haste, Borkowski believes Meghan had a clever strategy to attract attention. The expert stressed that the former Hollywood actress did not lose control of the situation, but instead people seemed to underestimate her.

In addition to increasing her social media influence, Meghan also has her own Instagram account for As Ever, @aseverofficial, which has attracted more than 668,000 followers after only 2 days of operation (since February 19).

Previously, the media believed that Meghan might face barriers in protecting her personal brand on Instagram because most of the accounts related to As Ever such as @AsEver, @AsEverByMeghan, @AsEverMeghan, @As.Ever.Meghan or @AsEverMeghan2025… were used not long after Meghan changed her brand name. People also speculated that Meghan had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy back the accounts, like what she did to own her personal Instagram account @meghan.

Is Meghan Markle being sued?

In another development, despite being criticized for copying logo ideas and using an already used brand name, the possibility of Meghan getting into a lawsuit is very low.

The As Ever logo (left) is accused of copying the Porreres village coat of arms.

The mayor of Porreres called As Ever’s logo an “exact replica” of the historic symbol associated with the Spanish village. However, in addition to suggesting that Meghan consider changing it, Ms Mora said taking Prince Harry’s wife to court was not a viable option.

“It is very complicated and expensive to sue for plagiarism. A small town council like ours does not have the means to fight the British royal family,” Ms Mora told local newspaper El País .

A source close to Meghan denied the plagiarism allegations in an interview with The New York Post . This person pointed out: “The logo features a palm tree reminiscent of the Duke and Duchess’s home in California, along with two hummingbirds – Prince Harry’s favorite bird. The distinct shape surrounding the bird and tree was intentionally designed to create a unique and personal symbol.”

Similarly, the boss of clothing company As Ever told The Sun he could not afford the huge legal team and money to pursue legal action against Meghan. Mark Kolski appeared to implicitly admit that he had not registered the name “As Ever”.

Additionally, Page Six sources said there was no conflict between Mr. Kolski and Meghan because her brand is about lifestyle, not selling or manufacturing clothes.