Does Meghan Markle make subtle dig at royal family in new Netflix series?
Duchess of Sussex hails her ‘new chapter’ in lifestyle series With Love, Meghan
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The Duchess of Sussex appears to have taken a veiled swipe at the Royal Family at the end of her new Netflix series.
In the final episode of With Love, Meghan, the Duchess hosts a brunch for Harry, her mum Doria Ragland and several of her friends and she gives a speech about her new business venture, As Ever.
She says her "new chapter" was "part of that creativity that I've missed so much."
It has been claimed previously that Meghan and Harry felt held back in their roles when working members of the royal family, with their biographer Omid Scobie saying how they were "held back by tradition and hierarchy".
The actress, who starred in TV show Suits, put the brakes on her entertainment career after marrying Prince Harry in May 2018 and starting a family one year later.
She also closed down her lifestyle website called The Tig, which she had used as a platform to discuss social issues such as gender equality in addition to articles on travel, food and fashion.
And Meghan's speech has been interpreted as a subtle dig at having to step back.
She said:"I just want to raise a glass to you guys. This feels like a new chapter that I'm so excited that I'm able to share and I've been able to learn from all of you."
She added:"And here we go, there's a business! All of that is part of that creativity that I've missed so much, so thank you for loving me so much and celebrating with me."
Read more: With Love, Meghan review: will this series fly? For laughs perhaps
With Love, Meghan. (L to R) Matt Cohen, Brian Kocinski, Heather Dorak, Doria Ragland, Prince Harry, Genevieve Hillis, Julian Zafjen and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in the episode
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Earlier in the final episode, while making salad, Meghan - who returned to the US in 2020 - says of the final dish: "It tastes like home, and I've missed California."
In another apparent nod to her troubled time with the Royal Family, in the fifth episode her Suits co-star Abigail Spencer says "we've all been through a lot" - then looks at Meghan.
Meghan's speech at the end of the series comes after she introduces Harry to the camera at the brunch party in his brief appearance in the show.
After they kiss and hug and look at the spread of food Meghan has made, the prince tells her: "Well done. You did a great job."
Meghan adds: "Thank you" before Harry says: "I love it."
The Duchess of Sussex's lifestyle series premiered today on Netflix, launching on the streaming platform at 8am UK time - midnight on the west coast of America - after being delayed from January due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
The show is being seen as a make-or-break moment for the Sussexes, who signed a multimillion-pound deal with Netflix in 2020.
Meghan began a soft launch of American Riviera Orchard - now rebranded to As Ever - in April last year by sending famous friends jars of her homemade strawberry jam, numbered up to 50.
In episode two, called Welcome To The Party, Meghan tells how the numbered jars caused some friction: "It was not a ranking, it was just 'let me share them' and then people started to take it very personally."
Actress and comedian Mindy Kaling, who chats to Meghan about the jam, tells her in a light-hearted exchange: "When I received that in the mail, a box of your preserves it was probably one of the most glamorous moments of my life.
"But then I looked at the label, and it said they were something like 50. And then I of course, as a very hierarchical person, was like 'who are these other 50? Does having a lower number make me more special...?"'
She adds: "(I went) straight up on Instagram. I'm looking to see who the other people are, and I'm zooming in to see what numbers they have."
Meghan reveals she saved the number one jar for her mother Doria Ragland.
"I did save one of 50 for my mom of course, felt like the right thing to do," she said.
With Love, Meghan.
Netflix
"And then I just thought, anyone who got one of those 50 jars that I was making on my stove in my actual kitchen at my house, I hope they all felt like 'I want to share this with you'."
The eight episodes, which are each 33 minutes long, see Meghan inviting famous friends to "a beautiful California estate, where she shares cooking, gardening and hosting tips", Netflix says.
The show, which has the mood tags "relaxing", "feel-good" and "lifestyle", also features Meghan's former Suits co-star, Abigail Spencer.
Episode one called Hello Honey! features Meghan's "dear friend", make-up artist Daniel Martin, as she prepares him a "thoughtful guest basket" and cooks cherry tomato and kale spaghetti with him.
It began with Meghan harvesting honey from bees as she says: "The biggest thing is keeping a low tone - talk in our bee voice."
She also makes bath salts in a kitchen for Martin who is "coming over" plus a tray of snacks including truffle popcorn, carefully presented in see-through presentation bags.
The duchess, who faced criticism over authenticity for hosting With Love, Meghan from a Californian farmhouse rather than her Montecito mansion, acknowledges she is not filming in her own home.
"This isn't my house. Daniel's (Martin) gonna be staying at my house but I'm gonna prep everything here as I would at home and then bring it back to my house so I can have it there for him," she says.
Meghan renamed her lifestyle brand As Ever, switching from the name American Riviera Orchard just weeks before the launch after facing trademarking setbacks.
Netflix is a partner in her business, the duchess has said.
With Love, Meghan. Grab from Netflix
In an interview with US magazine People to promote her show, Meghan opened up about the "learning curve" she experienced with her series and brand, admitting there had been "tons of twists and turns".
But the duchess, who has been accused of promoting the tradwife trend - short for traditional wife, said she did not see herself as a tradwife.
She described how she liked to do a "hybrid" and detailed how she preferred to present Chinese takeaway food as beautifully as possible.
"I like being able to do a hybrid but even when I get takeout, I will try to plate it beautifully," she said.
Meghan has previously described As Ever as meaning "it's always been, and if you've followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know, I've always loved cooking and crafting and gardening".
She said, in what was taken to refer to the restrictions she faced as a member of the royal family: "This is what I do, and I haven't been able to share it with you in the same way for the past few years but now I can."
As Ever trademark applications include a vast range of products from shower gels, incense, pet shampoo and gardening trowels to cutlery, stationery, diaries, paper party decorations, wrapping paper, ornamental non-precious stones, bird houses, honey stirrers, jams, marmalades and tea sets.
A family-run clothing business called As Ever based in New York spoke out about Meghan's brand, saying they would continue with their original name and had been struck by the "outpouring of support and concern" over their firm.
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