Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer: Photos: Instagram/Meghan
Did you find that video of Meghan Markle dancing with Prince Harry in the delivery room awkward or relatable? Do you think that opinion was influenced by your age or nationality? Did the video make you think, I would love to buy raspberry spread and possibly rosé wine from this lady?
These are the questions we must ponder, as the whole As Ever–With Love, Meghan industrial complex is about trying to figure out who we think the Duchess is, what our take on the American royal says about us, and what the heck we’re supposed to do with “flower sprinkles.”
For those who missed the latest British American royal-family controversy, last week Meghan marked her daughter Lilibet’s birthday on Instagram by posting photos of the 4-year-old with her parents, a video montage of their family trip to Disneyland, and never-before-seen footage of the Duchess’s attempt to bring on labor by dancing to Starrkeisha’s “The Baby Momma Dance” (which was reportedly a viral TikTok challenge at the time).
As with everything Meghan does, reactions ranged from positive (“joyful” and “deeply human”) to lightly negative (“cringey“) to wildly racist and unhinged (pregnancy “twerking” is “vulgar,” and somehow also proves the persistent fake-pregnancy conspiracy theories).
Supposedly, the Duchess is fine with sparking all this conversation — particularly because she believes the video was a hit with her core As Ever–buying audience. The Daily Mail reported on June 7:
… The Mail on Sunday can reveal that, despite the backlash over her dodgy dancing with Harry to the soundtrack of Starrkeisha’s Baby Mama song, defiant Meghan is thrilled by the reaction in America.
Last night a source close to the Sussexes said: ‘Meghan is very pleased with the video. In the UK everyone’s reaction has been a bit prudish but everywhere else, particularly in America and especially with young people, it has been a huge hit.’
… A source said: ‘Meghan doesn’t care about the haters in Britain calling her vulgar. Americans thought the twerking video was hilarious and relatable.’
It’s unclear where the alleged Sussex source is getting this data. To be sure, U.K. press coverage of Meghan and Harry has generally been more negative and racist than its U.S. equivalent. But in this case it’s not clear that the “haters” were mainly uptight Brits or that Gen Z loves videos of millennials doing corny dance moves.
Even more dubious: The source’s claim that the video will help move As Ever products — including a new wine:
Meghan is about to launch a series of new products as part of her As Ever line — including rosé wine.
The source added: ‘She and her team count it [the video] as a “win”, which can only be a boost for sales. Her new products are marketed at Americans and not at the UK market.’
The Daily Mail mentions in passing that “Meghan launches her rosé wine in three weeks.” The Duchess has hinted on Instagram that some new As Ever products are coming soon, but it has not been reported elsewhere that she’s releasing a wine by the end of the month. And trying to build buzz for the launch of an alcohol line by dropping a video from a phase of life widely associated with abstaining from booze doesn’t really make sense.
On the other hand, the Meghan Markle brand is all about embracing contradictions. Perhaps in three weeks the Duchess will be raising a glass of sold-out As Ever rosé to all the old British fogies who keep her name in the headlines.
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