The Duchess of Sussex released her newest As Ever products yesterday, with special product bundles for Mother’s Day gift-giving. The new products included another collaboration with Compartes for dark-chocolate and caramel bites, plus two new candle scents. The new candles reference Meghan’s two children – the names of the candles are for Archie and Lili’s birthdays, and the kids’ names are mentioned in the candle descriptions on As Ever’s site. Contrary to Page Six’s “palace source” hissy fit, the kids were referenced without their titles. Also contrary to the palace source’s hissy fit, Meghan wants people to know that she hasn’t trademarked her kids’ names.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have not trademarked the names of their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, despite reports suggesting otherwise, PEOPLE confirms.
Reports claiming Harry and Meghan have taken steps to secure their children’s names across trademarks came after the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle line announced a Mother’s Day collection that included tributes to her children.
The birthdates of Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, were described as the inspiration for Signature Candle No. 506 and Signature Candle No. 604, respectively, paying homage to their birth dates of May 6 and June 4.
Although Prince Harry and Meghan’s children were born as “Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor” and “Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor,” they were afforded the titles of prince and princess when their grandfather King Charles acceded to the throne in 2022. The kids are listed as “Prince Archie of Sussex” and “Princess Lilibet of Sussex” in the official British line of succession to the throne.
The royal titles did not appear on the As ever website when the Mother’s Day collection launched online on April 22. There, Signature Candle No. 506 and Signature Candle No. 604 are described as being crafted and curated by Meghan, “inspired by her son Archie’s birthdate of May 6” and created “to honor her daughter Lilibet’s birthdate of June 4.”
In earlier press materials and product descriptions, the candles were framed using their royal titles, with Signature Candle No. 506 tied to “Prince Archie of Sussex’s birthdate” and Signature Candle No. 604 to “Princess Lilibet of Sussex’s birthdate.” Each candle retails for $64 or can be purchased in larger gift sets, including The Mother’s Day Edit and The Signature Scent Collection.
Over the weekend, Town & Country’s advance report on the new products also referenced the kids’ titles, but I thought T&C was just… using the kids’ official names, given the children actually are prince and princess now (and have been since 2022). But it’s possible that Meghan and the As Ever team did a quick edit on the draft of the site’s descriptions for the candles, an edit to remove the royal titles. It does not matter to me whatsoever, but I know it matters a great deal to Meghan’s unhinged critics. I wish she didn’t have to temper every single thing she does because of the wall-to-wall criticism, you know? As for the lack of trademarks… that’s so weird to me, because I thought most “celebrity parents” trademark their kids’ names, not to create merch, but to keep OTHER PEOPLE from merchandising their children.
Photos courtesy of As Ever’s site, Meghan’s Instagram and As Ever’s Instagram.
